Calling all P.M.Grandis experts

[stephluvsgeckos]

Ok so we rescued a group of female grandis and got them fat and healthy again. Then we obtained a male and so the group is now 1.3. THey all seem very happy together but I'm really unsure of their breeding habits...I have a book on them but it does not really clarify much. I'm wanting to know when they breed and if it is ok to have males and females together all year. Thanks in advance

 

[Phelsumaker]

HMMM!

Well I wouldn't consider myself an expert but I have been keeping P.m. grandis for several years- If you wander to the Care sheet section I have written a care sheet for grandis that might answer a few more questions then I will answer here. Basically my grandis seem most productive when kept in a 1.1 ratio. These day geckos are verty territorial and will fight often if not kept in a large enough enclosure. Males will fight with males and females will fight with females. In many cases and unreceptive female will be treated much the same as a rival male-Looking at the picture of you grandis it is apparent that the scars were caused either by mating or by aggression. Since you don't currently have a bunch of baby grandis I would assume it is aggression from the other females since it is not fresh. Often when mating a Male grandis will grip the female by the neck while copulating. This is normal activity and if breeding is your desire can not be stopped. I would seperate the geckos as soon as possible and feed them a nutritious variety of gutloaded insectcs and fruit nectarsuntil their optimal health and weight is reached. At that point I would start thinking about breeding but from the looks of things it may take a while to get to that point - Hope this helps a bit- Best of luck- Baker the Phelsumaker

 

[stephluvsgeckos]

Thanks.....this group of females were a rescue. None of them had any calcium pouches at all and the male that had been with them was dead They are finally getting some calcium stores and starting to gain weight. Thanks for your info and I will check out your care sheet

 

[Phelsumaker]

another thought

They appear to have an overall fine weight. The tail looks fat- I am just thinking if you keep all of those females together more then likely one will be dominant and not allow the other two to breed. In which case you might as well have 1.1- However if you seperate the other females you can get 2 more males and have 3 pairs or attempt to rotate the male depending on his aggresive disposition. At any rate health does not appear to be the issue however relieving stress from cohabitation would probably help a great deal. at least thats what I think- Others may have different opinions-

 

[JBReptiles]

i agree very much with what baker is saying.ive never kept them in groupls(1.2 or more)ive always kept mine in 1.1.But i had a buddy who had a group of like 1.3 and he came home one day and found all the female tore up,tailsing missing and all.So i would recomend finding out which one is the dominant female and putting the male with here.and get 2 more males and have a 3.3. or sell the females off.it just depends on what you want to do.