Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings everyone,

I was seeking some advice concerning the housing of two amazons. I have two Amazons (1 male and 1 female). The female will be exactly 2 years old Dec. 23, and the male's age is approx 2 years as well. Currently the female is in an enclosure that measures 18" wide 18" deep, and 2' tall, with a screen top and a screen front-entry "door". It is thick with folaige with many branches and 2 basking platforms. The male however is still housed in a 10-gallon aqaurium. I am fearful that he is outgrowing it. Technically i know it is "enough" room, but i think he deserves more vertical room. My question relates to housing the female and the male together in the females enclosure (if possible before spending money on a larger seperate enclosure for the male). I do have aspirations to breed them when they are mature. I would like to know (1) Will housing them together now adversly affect any future breeding attempts? (2) Is it "ok" to house them together now? and (3)If they are housed together now, are there any special procedures that i will have to be followed besides seperating them when they feed (fyi they eat frozen thawed)? Thankyou all for any advice or recomendations you can offer.

-Matt Fremgen

Matt, There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, housing separately and together. The advantage of housing together is obviously space. The disadvantages are obvious (disease, etc). I have housed pairs together for many years with no adverse affects other than one incident where they bred too soon. Your male may become "active" before your female is large enough to safely carry babies. The result can be retained slugs, etc. So basically, there is really no yes or no answer. Chances are it will be ok. If you do house them together, the major consideration is feeding. Other than that, it should be ok.

Good luck.