Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The desert igs are bobbing at each other like crazy, and one of the fems has what looks like bulges in her belly, so I have a box set up in their viv.

And, my two baby granites are super friendly with me, though baby boy might have to have a room of his own. I caught him biting Hota a few days ago, and today, he bit right into Tehya's side! He didn't do any damage, but I quickly separated them. Then later, I had both out for a romp, and Hota, who had been sleeping in one of the caves, came out and watched them like a hawk! He even head bobbed at them a few times. lol! Is it possible that chucks have protective instincts toward the babies??

I have even seen mom chucks attack and kill there offspring on occassion. That is why I cringe when I see people keep hatchlings with adults. Remeber that chucks are not social animals and that they usually only hang out in the breeding season. I think they may tolerate hatchlings for a bit but eventually chase them out of their territory. You WILL eventually have to house all your male seperately. I have seen adult males fight to the death if they cannot stay clear of one another.

I will separate them as soon as I can get separate digs together! So far, there has been no aggression from the adult toward the juveniles, but I sure don't want to push my luck! I'll put the two males in separate cages and house the two fems together. Will that work?

You can keep the pairs together. Male/female in each enclosure. The enclosures shouls be at least 2' x 4'. Are all yours ater(can't remember). If one was a varius/hispidus hybrid I would house a pair of the ater together then the other ater male in his own cage and the hybrid in its own cage. Males and females are ok together.

My problem is that the Hybrid, Var./Hisp., is still fairly small, only 6 months old, but she clings to that adult male varius, and so far, he seems to either love it or is indifferent. LOL! Then I have the brother and sister varius, and he bit her today, but not hard enough to do damage. I worry that if I pair him with the hybrid, he will hurt her. What do you think? Can I pair the hybrid with the Adult male in spite of the age difference? Can I keep the brother and sister together for awhile longer?

Donna,
You mean ater, right?
I thought you had 1 baby calico (varius X hispidus),
1 older male ater, and 2 young sibbling ater.
The two sibblings should be ok together, as long as they still look like a pair. It is hard to tell sex 100% for sure until they get some size to them. You should be able to get a good idea by now. Just play it by ear and if the sibblings still fight after being separated from the other 2, you may need to separate them. The older male should be in his own cage, especially if he is starting to get territorial. The hybrid probably should be in its own cage too.

Good luck.
Nick

Well, the adult is not the one that is acting territorial. Its the 7 month old male! lol! I thought I would have more time before he started getting cocky! I will separate out the adult and see how the young ones do together. I am fairly sure that the hybrid and one of the babies are fems.

I'll try a few things, but definitely separate the males!

I wish you luck and hope you have baby iggys on your hands soon.