Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently introduced a single female to a single male, in the male's container and a fight ensued. No tail loss,just biting and tail wagging but it got pretty elevated so I split them up. I was hoping they would mate but man the female would tense up if the male even licked her tail. The male just continued to persue her as she moved around the cage and then it got to the fight. I wonder if anybody has any tips on this. The female is 55 grams born in late '04 and the male is about 45-50 grams born early '05.Should I put the female though a cooling period? Maybe try introducing them on a neutral territory? Maybe introduce the male into the females cage?
Anything you guys have tried that worked for you will be appreciated. Thank you

Phil

I forgot to add this to the above post.

I know that the female has never been in contact with a male, and I have no clue as to what the male has seen, he was with another family before me. And the male was actually really passive when she was introduced, but her flighty response seems to have aggrivated him. Thanks again.

Phil

you should introduce the male to female to reduce stress.

She simply may not be ready to breed at this moment. Wait a week or 2 and try again.
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www.StoplightCityLeopardGeckos.com

Truthfully, I wouldn't be too worried about it... I'd introduce them and just let them sort it out...What you're seeing isn't really fighting.. its a ritualized dominance practice. They'll work it out on their own. The world of gecko breeding isn't nearly as simple as "fighting or not fighting" Their struggle may leave marks.. small teeth wounds... etc.. as long as they aren't causing large wounds or tail losses, leave them to work it out on their own. 9 times out of 10 everything will settle down within 36-48 hours once they have time to familiarize themselves with each other. Every year after breeding season all my leos get moved around.. the females are put into all female groups and the males into seperate enclosures... there's always struggles between the females at first and then later on when the male is trying to reinstate his dominance upon reintroduction later on... Its nothing big to worry about really. Its leo courtship at its finest.. there's nothing gentle about it as everyone seems to expect.

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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
5.11.Leopard geckos (1.2 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 0.3 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, and Aris), 1.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.2 Normals)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)