Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi
just wanted to know if anyone has witnessed cannabalism in cresteds, ie: older eating younger. i have a 8/9 month old pair but have recently bought a little yellow 2/3 month old (if even).i want to put them all together. I know there may be some aggression as it matures (if male)but as far as cannabalism goes, i don't know. it doesn't seem to fit with their personality but i'm unsure. I have a juve Leo as well and tried getting it a buddy, albeit a lot smaller and after a week of tolerance, HE ATE IT!. Cresteds don't seem to have that "Killer" instinct but i'd like to hear if anyone has tried something similar.
thanks
Brian

That's a problem right there - why do it?

While I’ve not heard stories specific to cannibalism in Cresteds, certainly there’s plenty of information about aggressiveness from larger to smaller ones. Certainly the smaller gecko could look forward to living a life of stress from bullying and other potentially problems like malnourishment from not being allowed to eat.

If the cage mates size was large enough that they were able to eat the small gecko at some point. Then common sense should have dictated that it not have been placed in the same cage to begin with.

Safety of the animal should come first and comes best through educating yourself on their needs.
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-Randy May
www.neoscales.com
Email Me

if you've ever seen male cresteds fight you would know that they can go from very docile to extremely viscious when put together. they will attack and keep attacking for quite sometime. i've pulled two males apart once and since have never put them in the same cage, even for a few minutes. definately would not put a young crested in especially because of hunger issues. by the end of the day if a crested hasn't eaten it may need a " snack"

Gimme some credit Neoscales. I observed both of the leos for the week preceeding the "eating", they basked and slept together after the first day and both were always fed well. i had no reason to suspect that would have happened especially since there was no fighting etc. i'm not a muppet!, though i'm sure little Slinky (RIP)would dissagree.
If the third crestie turns out to be female,and if i integrate her when shes mature enough, can i expect rejection from the male or aggression from the other female?

I would suggest separating your current pair, as , if I recall correctly, 8-9 month old female created geckos are not yet old enough to be safely mated. I keep my crested geckos in separate sterile containers, especially considering I bought them as juveniles and still don't know their sex for sure. (ones about 7 months old, the other 8-9) They are also siblings (from different clutches) which is another reason I don't want them to breed together, if they turn out to be a m/f pair.

I don't know if crested geckos will eat eachother but stress and competition certainly could mean dropped tails. (not that I find tailless geckos look worse..the tail looks like bird poop anyway). Food competition could spell disaster with the smaller crested. I would keep it separated till all are the same size, then you can put both females together (if the small one turns out female) and watch closely for any hostility. Size of cage will play a part too. If extremely large, than even two males can stake out territory and keep their distance. (though I wouldn't recommend keeping males an females togethet)

i've definately seen a great deal of aggression between females also. my orange female lost her tail to it.

assuming ldy meant 'sterilite' containers....not 'sterile' .....you don't need to keep things that clean lol
WiG are you in England? the British are the only ones I've ever heard use the term 'muppet' like that
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Sue

0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
1.0 Crested gecko (Gator)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
2.2 mini rex rabbits (Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
0.1 'found in someone's garage' kitty (Terra)

1.0 Betta (Flash) and 1.0 FL kingsnake (Vega) currently living with boyfriend

No. Better again, Ireland. as you can imagine, info and choice are limited here. the best reptile store (only 1 of 2) in Ireland gets like two cresteds every month or so, three of which i have. I think muppet's a great name for someone, not too harsh but still enough to let them know you're annoyed. i grant onto you the permission to use the "sacred" word in the future. Amen

haha...thanks for permission though spending a year in school (should have been 5 but oh well) in London has acquainted me with many great words which are useful in situations that we just don't have over here....though hearing people call each other a 'twat' was quite a shock the first time I heard it....regional variations are such fun.
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Sue

0.1 Western hognose (Sola)
1.0 Crested gecko (Gator)
0.1 Egyptian spiny mouse (Mia)
2.2 mini rex rabbits (Reggie, Hayden, Jackie and Peek-a-boo)
0.1 Plott hound (Molly)
0.1 'found in someone's garage' kitty (Terra)

1.0 Betta (Flash) and 1.0 FL kingsnake (Vega) currently living with boyfriend

I have seen many cases where Cresties have been kept together, and almost always the tails start dropping immediately.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican kingsnake
1.0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0 BTS
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

You obviously realized that this wasn't the best idea or you wouldn't have posted, but you've got the wrong mindset about the possible outcomes.

The problems that will surely arrise are not because of killer instinct, agression or cute personalities. These geckos are simply hard-wired to survive and as such, they don't know what cannibalism is, nor do they care about what makes sense to a human.

If the younger gecko is small enough to swallow, even if it's the same species, it's prey...not a cute baby or a little kid. Cresteds pounce and bite first and then decide if it's something they really want to eat.

On the other hand, if the other gecko is too large to swallow, it will be unnecessary competition for food...not a neighbor or a friend. Like any other animal, the gecko will not share its food with another animal if it doesn't have to.

Again, this has nothing to do with personalities and everything to do with their natural survival instincts.

Just my .02

-Anthony

>>Hi
>>just wanted to know if anyone has witnessed cannabalism in cresteds, ie: older eating younger. i have a 8/9 month old pair but have recently bought a little yellow 2/3 month old (if even).i want to put them all together. I know there may be some aggression as it matures (if male)but as far as cannabalism goes, i don't know. it doesn't seem to fit with their personality but i'm unsure. I have a juve Leo as well and tried getting it a buddy, albeit a lot smaller and after a week of tolerance, HE ATE IT!. Cresteds don't seem to have that "Killer" instinct but i'd like to hear if anyone has tried something similar.
>>thanks
>>Brian
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Anthony Caponetto
www.ACreptiles.com

Thanks for the two cents everyone. sometimes i forget that they're "wild" animals and not lumps of playdough with big eyes and smiley faces. i wouldn't mix them until i got an answer anyhow and suspected it would be this. however, ldypayne mentioned that i should also separate my original pair. they have been inseperable since day one pretty much and i haven't noticied any attemps by the male to mate, i know that doesn't mean there haven't been any. i just assumed once i kept the temps up, i could lower them when they were mature enough so as to encourage breeding, or will they just go at it when it suits them despite temps/seasons etc.
brian

Separating a male and "almost ready but not quite" female is the best idea; as health problems could be in store for her if she is bred before her time. If they continue to inhabit the same cage, mating will occur eventually.

i could lower them when they were mature enough so as to encourage breeding,

Lowered temps will actually dissuade breeding, not encourage it.
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www.neoscales.com

separating and reintroducing definately encourages breeding however. just wanted to make that point. i've removed a male for as little as one day after not seeing him mate for 6 months. then BAM... almost the instant i put them together they start going at it. just keep the temps above 70 and below 80 and you'll get eggs before you know it.

i was going to separate my aurics this same way because i have never gotten eggs from them, however the female is about two years old. (as far as i know, i got her a year ago and they said she was around a year old then) i know aurics can be "late bloomers" compared to ciliatus. i am thinking it should be alright to try and stimulate breeding after 24 months. input anyone? she is nice and plump and has been on GGD and dusted crickets for a while now.
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