I have a female that became egg-bound in 2005 and had to have a hysterectomy to save her. Her ovaries were not taken, as they are way too close to the vena cava, and I was warned by the vet to keep an eye on her at breeding time because she could form eggs with nowhere to put them. I have never put her in a cage with the male again. Increasingly over the past 5 years, she has become more and more macho! She even has a widening red strip down her back and an orange tinge on her spotty belly. She is doing push-ups like a maniac!! I pick her up and put her back in her cage and she does them. She catches a glimpse of another animal or lizard, she does them. She does push-ups for no reason at all! I wouldn't be surprised if she does them inside of her hide when she is dreaming at night. LOL Yesterday, I brought her in from her outdoor enclosure and set her on the sofa with the male. She did push-ups and then charged him, complete with circling and mouth gaping and repeatedly bit him in the side and then went for his face. He also circled, but he was a gentleman, and besides push-ups, did not try to bite, but just top get away. She was relentless and would give him no peace while he was in her view. Poor guy was really confused. You could feel his disbelief! So, has anybody else witnessed this behaviour in females, and more particularly, in "fixed" females? I banished her to her cage, of course, but not before observing them for awhile. (No harm was done)--except to his ego? LOL BTW, it is said that the speed, cadence and repetition of male Chuckwallas is a "signature" and unique to each male. Therefore, one male can recognize an arch rival from quite a distance because of his signature push-up pattern.

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