Introducing 2 Tokays?

brookedaninja

brookedaninja

New member
I'm new here to the forums. I currently have one female adult Tokay, and I have fallen in love with the species!

I plan on getting her a male for a mate pretty soon. However, I got her as a WC juvenile (not a baby by any means, but not up to her full size) about three years ago, and have no idea how much contact she has had with other Tokays. She is not handleable, and I am concerned that introducing a male could be a problem. Has anyone ever had a similar situation?

I figure it would be best to introduce them without the tank's lights on, and maybe having the male in a smaller container inside the cage to let them see each other before letting him out. Are these good ideas, and is there anything else you can think of?
 
billewicz

billewicz

New member
Hello and welcome.

Tokay are fairly easy to breed, just put them together in an enclosure with plenty of vertical hiding places so they can each have their own safe place.

They will either bond and breed, or not. This is the beginning of the mating season so your best chance is now through February. About 70% of Tokay will breed almost anytime of the year. The rest may only bred now.

When pairing Tokay, I would not suggest a male that is a lot bigger than the female. Some males, (150 grams and up) are just too strong for smaller females.

Since your girl is wild caught, once she has laid her 3rd set of eggs, pull the male so she can build up her reserves for next season.

Good luck,

Michael's Tokay Hoard at:

www.billewicz.com
 
Riverside Reptiles

Riverside Reptiles

Administrator (HMFIC)
Also, always be prepared in case they don't get along. Make sure that you have an extra enclosure just in case. Too many times I've seen people come in to these forums saying that they've put two tokays together that won't get along and then they don't have any way to separate them. It happens more than people realize.
 
billewicz

billewicz

New member
Riverside Reptiles said:
Also, always be prepared in case they don't get along. Make sure that you have an extra enclosure just in case. Too many times I've seen people come in to these forums saying that they've put two tokays together that won't get along and then they don't have any way to separate them. It happens more than people realize.
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Yeah, I've read this too on several occasions. Having an enclosure for the male is required anyway because you can't keep them together year round without exhausting the poor girls' reserves. There are a few exceptions, especially with the patternless for some reason, but most WC females need a break.

Over the last 4 years I've got 100+ pairs together at any given time, especially at this time of year and I've only lost one female and one male because they were just too small compared to their mate. Also, I have at least three good vertical hides for them to choose from while they are getting acquainted.

As you well know, Tokay are very territorial and the biggest mistake I see is that the enclosure set-ups look nice with branches and such, but there is no place for a vertical crevice loving Tokay to hide. Or there is only one hide and they fight for it.

Good Luck!

Michael
 
brookedaninja

brookedaninja

New member
I have two good vertical hides in the cage right now along with the other decorations and hiding spots, and will definitely be adding more before introducing the male. How much aggression should I expect between the two of them at first, and how much is too much?
 
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