Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi again,
i have been doing loads of research into aggression between male and female madagascan day geckos, not having much luck though. As you may have noticed from a previous post i have recently introduced an adult male and an adult female madagascan giant day geckos. i introduced them into a new enclosure so that neither of them were territorial. I have been watching them for a week since i have put them together, at first they seemed ok, lots of head bobbing and tongue flicking from the both of them. tonight i was watching them; the male was head bobbing and tongue flicking then the female attacked him.

Can head bobbing etc be an aggressive behaviour aswell as during mating? As they have only recently met are they just setting up a pecking order? is it generally the female who is more aggressive over the male or vice versa? or will they ever reach a happy medium and calm down?

Should i remove one, if so which one - dominant or submissive? I have limited space, so what would be the smallest size vivarium to keep an adult in?

Ingo informed me before that this will calm down (thanks) but i am wondering if any one else experiences problems like this and what happened in your circumstances?

I need hands-on advice as all the books i have read and the websites i have looked at do not seem to cover all the answers!

Thanks in advance

Julie

just one more question..

If the female is being territorial then how can i either prevent or reduce this territorial behaviour?

Thanks

My experience with Phelsuma (especially the larger-bodied ones) is that one of the two will be dominant; doesn't matter whether male or female, although usually the male is larger, hence the boss. I've have some situations where a mature female and a young male when the female is the boss. The more dominant one always picks the best basking site, always gets the crickets first and always gets the babyfood first. I think you should be concerned with whether the dominance of one is causing damage...is the submissive one being attacked? Little bites are to be expected--chunks of skin missing are something else.

Excessive mating behaviors are often indicators of aggression, especially when it is the female making most of the gestures.

Contrary to previous advice, this may not "calm down", do not let the two geckos "work it out." If they do not respond to each other in a positive, mating behavior within thirty minutes, do not leave them together. There are reasons why a pair of day geckos may not get along: it is not breeding season and the female is not giving any but the male wants some; the two are incompatitable and the result will be injury or death; the specific species is highly aggressive and another type of introduction would be necessary; the ground was not "equalized" and someone is unwilling to share territory or resources. The result of an incompatitable pair can be disastrous -- don't take chances.

Winter is not the best time of year to introduce a pair. Spring is better. Equalize the enclosure so neither have been inside previously. Make sure you have a sexually mature male and female, no one too old or too young.

An enclosure that is too large tends to lower mating behaviors, and an enclosure that is too small increases the likeability of aggression.

Leann Christenson
Leaping Lizards Day Geckos
Day Geckos In Captivity
www.daygecko.com