Tokay Gecko Breeding

[Gexter]

Hey Everyone!

I've been having a bit of trouble with some of my tokay lately. I have established a great trio in one of my 18x18x24 exo terras and they are breeding and doing great! I have a proven male who has been with me for a while and I figured I would switch up blood lines for the guy because he has been with the same females for about a year.

I put in two new females last night and I've never seen as much aggresion in tokays than I did last night. Don't get me wrong I know that they are naturally that way towards each other but when i woke up to check on them the next morning, both females I introduced were cut up (bite marks) and one was pretty stressed.

Do you think this is something he will get over and simply leave them alone, other than to breed of course, or have you seen worse than this???? I have heard stories of some females actually dieing :? Any information would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cliff_f]

sigh.....Ok.....Once tokays are paired up you never ever ever separate them, they are bonded for life!! Tokays are very sweet animals to each other once they are bonded. The bite marks all over the females are most likely from each other and not the male. It is best to keep them in pairs, you can keep them in trios but it is rare. Now that you have took out the old females you have pretty much messed up all your hard work. Good luck getting them to live together with the male again. Females do not like other females around "their man". That is why it is best to leave them in pairs.

 

[Gexter]

Thanks Cliff for the response, it makes a lot of sense. I've seen that when I introduced another female to a bonded pair, and I quickly learned my lesson. Not doubting you or anything but, these are two females that have never seen another female in their lives......and it seems to be the male biting them.

When they go near him, he will puff up and turn his head their way and they will "tail wag" and that's when he will bite them. Are you sure they aren't taunting him or something, as silly as it sounds. Because even after getting bit, they go back and do it again.

I greatly appreciate your time Cliff.

 

[cliff_f]

My guess would be the male does want those females he wants his woman (in your case women) back. It is hard sometimes to get a bonded trio but if you get one going you should leave it that way. The other problem you will run into when they breed is the females might live together ok but they will eat each others eggs (that is what I ran into alot with trios). With the Gekko genus pairs are the only way to go.

 

[Gexter]

I figured that would be the case if I wanted to establish a trio I would have to leave them together. They each have cuts but they are getting more communal every night. I did like the idea of having pairs though and it would be nice if they did actually gaurd their eggs, as mine get eaten once in a while.

You have some nice photos of some of your stuff on your site! How long have you been breeding reptiles and tokays in particular? You've been a big help

Oh, yeah, and one more thing, I see you do Phelsuma Grandis too....have you ever had issues growing them up??? I have 4 in a 18x18x24 as well and they are about 5 months old. I've noticed a couple bite marks in them too.....is that normal, and should I do something about it?