aggression in juvie standingi?

PassPort

New member
So last week my buddy's pet shop gave me a pair of standingi as an engagement gift. I later went down and got another female to throw in with mine. The trio were housed together at the pet shop and were only split up for 3 days before I went and bought the other one. They all seemed to get along great before I they were split up. Now the newest one is shy and hides on the ground in a log most of the time, whereas the first 2 perch together and are never more than 4" apart.

Is this common?
 

DCReptiles

New member
Aggression, one female is dominating. I do not mean to be rude, but it is a terrible idea to house any trios of Phelsuma you will get aggression, and one animal will be beaten up and possibly killed. I house trios, because I know my Phelsuma i know how they will react with each other, and i know when aggression will cause problems, and i know how to stop aggression from being caused with my Phelsuma. I can tell you what to do so that your Phelsuma will not have aggression but that will not help. The only way you will really understand when and how and what to do with trios is with experience. Until you really have some experience under your belt and you are willing to observe and experiment and put your knowledge to use its pointless to have a trio. Until then I suggest you separate your trios and have 1.1 and have a female in a different tank, rotate the male.
 

PassPort

New member
thanks, I do know that Phelsuma are better in pairs, but the trio was fine until I split them up then put them back together. One of the managers at the shop even told me to grab the trio b/c he bred standingi for years and it was rare to have a trio that got along as well as these did.

I've been keeping and breeding geckos for over 10 years now, and other than having a male grandis for a few months in high school, these are really my first Phelsuma. Could you lend me some pointers, as I am more than willing to listen and apply any knowledge you can give me.
 

DCReptiles

New member
my only pointers for you right now, becuase youre keeping pairs of standingi is, keep large plants that can support there body weight, sanseveria, and large leafed bromeliads, and iron rod plants work well. standigi seem to bee happier on plants as opposed to bamboo unless their basking. Also with bamboo ( this is the prefered wood for species of Phelsuma) make sure it is large enough so that the standingi can high in it, lay eggs in it, and just be in it. If it is to large the geckos wont like it becuase they feel its not safe and they can hide elsewhere, if its to small they just wont fit... keep a medium humidity, give a light misting in the morning and at night, dont do any type of heavy misting all that does is makes the geckos uncomfortable, in the wild the geckos can escape the rain, but in a captive enclosure the geckos will get stressed if you bombard them with mist. They dont like it at all, all they seem to know is eat, sleep breed hide bask or get cool. When you mist them they dont get happy like someone in a shower they want to hide and then get warm. A good way to keep the gecko hydrated is just feed hydrated crickets. Multiple poeple i know have kept all species of Phelsuma with bare.y any levels of humdity and just fed healthy gutloaded crickets, and the geckos have no shedding problems and they breed well and are healthy. Also Phelsuma will happily drink water from a bottle cap, if their thirsty they dont mind drinking standing water. Make sure to fluctuate temperatures in the tank. Have a couple good basking areas, have warm areas, and have cool areas. This will make your geckos happier so they can relax wherever and the females wont have to stress as much to find an egg laying location. As far as egg laying locations go, have good sites for laying in each region of temperature, for cooler areas sanseveria offer good spots bcuase the pockets where the folds meet, in a medium heat region bromeliads planted in the background along with bamboo offer good sites for laying. bromeliads also have good pockets for laying as well as bamboo does, if the bamboo is a proper size for your geckos, the geckos will feel comfortable in the bamboo and will be able to lay there. In a high region the only usual spot you need for laying is bamboo, most of the time a Phelsuma wont lay though under a basking light i have only had that happen a few times, a good way to set up a spot under a basking light is make a little hole in a piece of bamboo so that the standingi can get in, next to the entrance cut out a large piece and put very tiny hignes on the piece, so it acts like a doorway, when the geckos lay you can open the piece like a door and snag the eggs. There is much more i can tell you but youll just learn with expierence, if you have questions just ask around the forums, everyone will be happy to asnwer your questions!
 

PassPort

New member
To my great relief my trio of standingi are all getting along again! :yahoo:WOHOOO!:yahoo:
They now routinely bask and lounge together. They even curl up together in the hide on the ground of their vivarium. Before only the two would act this way and the third was always on the opposite side of the tank. Now all 3 are happy campers like they were in the pet shop before I split them up.
 
Top