Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 2 monkey skinks that appear to be trying to mate.I bought them as a pair,but the "female"is the one biting and mounting the "male".
I was wondering if its a social dominance thing possibly?
Im asking because i recently introduced 2 females into the cage,and i was under the impression the pair was actually 2 males becaue they were initially so aggressive to each other and the 2 new females.
Or if there are alot of hormones floating around now,and the 2 "males"are a bit confused by each other?Both times ive caught them now its by the food dish when both have just woken up for the evening.

You said you had bought a pair! 1 male, 1 female! Correct?
A) How did you arrive at the idea they were one male and one
female? Was this gaurenteed to you?
You said one tried to mount the other, only it was the believed female that mounted the believed male!!!!!!!
1) It could be possible that you did buy a pair but had
mistaken the sexes and there was an attempt at breeding
made!!
"OR"
2) They are are both males and the percieved mounting one of
the other was a really a sign of aggression towards one
another!!
"OR"
3) They are both females and are just not compatible and are
agressive towards eachother!!!!!!!!
"OR"
4) They are male and female and are:
A) Just plainly not compatible
B) Or are just not ready to breed yet!!!!
ex: Some of my females are very aggressive towards any
and all of my interested males for months, then all
the sudden give in allow a male to mount and breed
with them several times and even pursue them to
breed!!!!!!!!!

As far as the social dominance theory goes, I know everyone has opinions on this and their own experiences with it, but the only social dominance I have witnessed is who eats first at the community food station(Bowl). I guess as far as social dominance goes though, nothing could more apparent than feeding order. All I am saying is that I do not believe I have ever witnessed a physical display of social dominance other than a female not ready to breed with a male or two males that just do not get along( thats not to say it has not happened, I am not there to witness it 24/7). But I do have 18 Corucia (MTS), soon to be 20 or 22 depending on if twins pop out or not again. I do not claim to be an expert, but do have quite a bit of experience raising and observing Corucia Zebrata and their social structure which again in my opinion I have not seen evident other than feeding time. They all have their favorite hides, roaming(active) times, ect but other than that I really havent witnessed any physical diplays of "Hierarcy". I hope I did not confuse you, I am just trying to give you some ideas to think about!!!!!!!!!

You also said you purchased two new females!!! Correct?
AGAIN A) How did you arrive at the fact they are both females,
were you gaurenteed this?

****** Are they all housed together, if so what size is the
enclosure, what do you have as far as inside furniture
for lack of a better word?
A) What kind of substrate?
B) What are your temps and humidity at?
C) Do you know or have any Ideas of age of these Corucia
D) Do they all look the same, as far as body
pattern/color?

Pirranha, I am not trying to grill ya here, I see great potenial in your group to form a successful breeding colony to help further the growth of this species in captive breeding programs and genuinly want to help you find out what the gender of your group individuals are so that you can be successful!!! If you can answer any of my questions or add things I have not asked that you can think of that would be helpful to determining your groups sex ratio, please do.
There are several very intelligent individuals in this forum who raise corucia and other species that can give you excellent advice. The more we know about your situation, the better help we can be. I am a smart and educated individual but can't really put things in scientific terms for ya. I have a group of corucia and am very passionate about them, so much so that I want nothing more than others like yourself to be 100% succesful.

Thanks for reading and I hope I may have or be of some help to you and your crew of corucia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck and keep us updated on your progress as well as any questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-----
Eveyone Is In A Hurry To Get Nowhere Quick, Fast!!!!!!!!!!!

wow lots there to mull over!
the reason i decided to post here is because ive seen some people here with a wealth of information who might have some answers for me.
I was told they were a pair by the reptile shop i bought them at.I cant remember,but i belive it was a guarentee-i would have to dig out the recipt.They were housed seperatly at the store and the "male"looks like he had a rough childhood-end of tail missing,toe missing,scar on the end of nose.The "female"was the same size when i bought them this time last year,but is now much bigger.They did not get along at all until a few months ago and the "male"took a few toes off the "female"on one of there first encounters-,but now dont seem to have any problems-the"female"had some scratched scales from meetings that have since shed away also and i have not seen any aggression towards the other from them either of them for a few months.
I purchased 2 females last fall and housed them together,but seperate from the original 2.The 2 new skinks get along with each other completely fine,and sleep together always.
I introduced them to the original on neutral ground in a spare bedroom where the computer is.The original 2 skinks chase the 2 new skinks around the room,wasnt sure if it was just aggression,or trying to mate,cause the 2 new skinks would not sit still long enough.About a week ago i introduced the 2 new skinks into the 2 original skinks enclosure.There were a few chases,but nothing serious.The 2 new skinks have decided to stay high up on a small platform together while the original skinks are down eating-im watching them cause im not sure if there coming down much to eat or drink,so ive been hand feeding them.
The enclosure is 4'w x 4'h x30"deep with a section at the back left for hides-enclosed shelves with a hole big enough for 1 skink to enter.The original 2 used to sleep in different hides,but now share sometimes.Furniture is different sized branches and sticks with a platform wide enough to comfortably rest on at the top.
the temp in this room is about 80.In the day it sometimes gets a bit warmer-up to 85 and at night it often gets a bit cooler,but no lower than 74-76.
Humidity i had a problem with at first but ive got a humidifier now and right now its at 68% and varies from 40-80,but is usually about 60-70% depending on how good the filter is at the time.
I have pics of them all-but the original "male" is darker and hasnt got the light colors on the head or body like the usual skinks pictured.The other original skink is brighter and has a yellow throat.The 2 new skinks have lighter heads similar to the original"female"and lighter banding.
As for age-i was told the original 2 were younger,about 3yrs old-ish.The 2 new skinks are imports,so no idea how old they are.
I have,or can get pics of everything to email if someone would like to actually see-a pictures worth a thousand words(or more by this post )my email is m21puma@hotmail.com

LEEWAY CORUCIA RESEARCH CENTER (LCRC)

Hello,

If you check the forums posts just recently-you''l get alot of info on sex determination-behavior-care etc.

I want to add that 40% in any range is unacceptable. For Corucia it is best to never go below 60% on the Humidity. Also, BE SURE to provide proper air flow. Stagnant air is a quick ticket to disaster. Have proper ventilation vents or screened siding in your enclosure. Also, If housing indoors, you may need a small fan in the room to achieve this-Very important. Most people think high humidity and keep it stagnant which leads to mold spores-fungal growth etc.

It is often observed with Corucia aggression that the male will concentrate his bite in the hip region. A female is not so selective and indeed she will more often land a bite in the side. Like the C/A, it is not an absolute-but a good guide. At the risk of stating something again that I just posted a week ago, Males will also tail-twitch like a cat when encountering another male intruding on his Circulus territory.

Sincerely,
Brian
LCRC

I was reading about the C/A ratio a few days ago to determine sex-i was planning to try that and see what numbers come out.
The air flow is exellent i have learned that with red eyed treegrogs-high humidity and stagnant air=dead frogs.The enclosures face is a double door made of 1/2inch wire and the humidifier has a fan that moves air constantly.Its like a battle between the electric heater and the humidifier to keep the humidity up.If the humidifier should run out of water in the night(i usually fill it 2x a day-once about lunch and once before bed)then the humidity drops a for a bit,but like i said its usually 60-70%.
ive seen the original male(that was mounted)tail twitch quite a bit,also usually the aggressive one,which is why i was confused when i saw him mounted to breed and not run away.

Shouldn't be lookin here.