Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok. I may be adding a female Mali to my male's cage in a week or two and would like more opinions as I have never done this before. The cage is a 100 gallon and is 4 1/2 feet long and 2 1/2 wide. Sand substrate. Do you think if I added 1/2 as much sand (to help dissipate males scent) as is already in the tank, changed places of hides, basking spots, humid hide, ect right before she arrived and added them at the same time, would it help reduce aggression, or for that matter, do I even have to do anything different beside adding the female and an extra burrow? Thanks,
Mason

a thorough cleaning (scrubbing rocks, washing or replacing sand) and rearranging all the hides & basking spots will lower your chance of aggression displays. You should also make sure there are multiple basking spots & hides.
Watch them closely, inspect their tails for bites, watch to make sure they are both eating well, and weigh them frequently to monitor for stress-induced weight loss. Be ready to separate them if need be.
good luck.
benedita

>>Ok. I may be adding a female Mali to my male's cage in a week or two and would like more opinions as I have never done this before. The cage is a 100 gallon and is 4 1/2 feet long and 2 1/2 wide. Sand substrate. Do you think if I added 1/2 as much sand (to help dissipate males scent) as is already in the tank, changed places of hides, basking spots, humid hide, ect right before she arrived and added them at the same time, would it help reduce aggression, or for that matter, do I even have to do anything different beside adding the female and an extra burrow? Thanks,
>>Mason
-----

2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII (my care sheets)

I hate it when I hit the emter button.

NAyway, you want to acclimate the uro before introducing him. This is to help minimize the stress of the new move by not compounding it with a new cagemate. Also, you're going to want to make sure it's healthy, or you may end up with two sick uros. A few notes:

1) Get a fully set up and ready tank for the new arrival. Get all the temps and such right.
2) Get the new arrival acclimated to where eating is regular and gaining weight as needed.
3) After that, maybe move the tanks into the same proximity so they can see each other, and monitor them for any eating/appetite changes. After a week or two, if all looks good, try and introduce them.
4) If your going to use one of the existing tanks as their new home, you’ll need to make it a “new” home.
5) I’d remove the uro from the tank, and then take the opportunity to clean it out, including changing the substrate.
6) Rearrange the “furniture” so it really looks like a new environment. This will help eliminate any territorial issues from the one that was there originally.
7) Make sure there is at least one hideout for each uro, though three would be better (more if space allows).
8) Provide at least one food dish for each one as well as a separate basking spot for each.
9) Finally, if all goes well initially, I’d definitely watch and monitor them closely. Again, feeding and weight gain/loss. Sometimes, aggression is very passive and notice so noticeable. Watch for sores or thickening of skin in centralized places which can indicate one uro continually biting the other.

Hope this helps, got to run or I'd spend a bit more time...
-----

2.1 - Rocky, Runako, and RoxyIII (my care sheets)