Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased a pair of U. pietschammi. Wonderful animals. They have acclimated perfectly. Nearly every day, they sleep curled up next to each other. The male shows subtle signs of interest in the female, but she completely ignores him.

Last night the female was climbing up a branch parallel to the one where the male was perched. He was studying her closely. Then, he half leapt to her branch, grasping it with his front feet but leaving his back feet on his original perch. As she climbed past he vocalized at her. It was a breathy, high-pitch "honk." He did it several time as she walked past him, and once more as she disappeared higher up the branch. She did stop momentarily and look at him, but then just kept climbing. He climbed off in the other direction.

Has anyone else seen a display like this? It didn't seem aggressive at all. I interpreted it as interest in breeding.

The male is slightly smaller than the female. Does anyone have experience with size differences and its effect on breeding?

Thanks,
Mike

i noticed vocalization from my female late last year. there were several instances when i was in my reptile room spraying my geckos when i would hear some croaking/chirping. each time i noticed it, it happened when one of the males would crawl over the female.

as for the difference in size, it's difficult to tell. what are to total length and snout-vent lengths of each of your animals? you'd like your female to be a full-sized adult before trying to breed her, since little is known about breeding the species and unforseen consequences can result from breeding undersized animals. by sharing their sizes (weight would be good too), others here with corkbarks can perhaps tell you if that is comparably sized to their own adults.
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-Mike Martin
North Carolina

Thanks for your reply.

The female is 3.5 inches STV. With her tail, she is 5.5 inches. The male is slightly shorter (less than 0.25 inches shorter). Even though he is nearly the same length as the female, he appears smaller because he doesn't quite have her girth. She has a heavier body and her head is larger. I don't have weights.

How does this compare to your adults?

I have had pietschmanni for several years and they do vocalize often and for a number of reasons. I have witnessed the breeding of my pietschmanni several times and every time they vocalized but it was a barely audible almost grunt nothing like the loud sound you mentioned. During breeding they usually signal to each other through tail wavings and not so much sound. I have noticed that when my female is not receptive she will scream when the male is chasing her. They also vocalize for dominance/territorial reasons and that is usually louder and sounds a lot like what your male was doing. I only noticed this when I first got my pietschmanni and they weren't quite used to seeing each other yet. Mine usually chirp every night after I spray them also. It sounds like your male may be interested but believe me nothing is going to happen until your female is ready. All the successful copulations I have witnessed resulted in the female signaling first.
-Matt
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www.madagascarherp.com