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Aggressive Uro behavior

strangelysara May 20, 2009 07:58 AM

For a while I've had what I believed to be a female mali uro. Last year I bought a male companion for her. The female is larger than the male (I assume because he's younger, I have no idea how old either of them are). They've gotten along fine (aside from some initial tension when they met) until the past week or so.

She hisses and chases him relentlessly around their tank. And when she catches him, she bites him, hard, in the back and tail. He's got wounds on his back from her constant attacks and seems highly stressed.

At first I wasn't sure what was going on, so I decided to wait a little while and see how it played out. However, it does not seem the female will be letting up any time soon. This week I will be separating them due to my growing concern for the male.

They are both in a very large enclosure with plenty of floor space, are fed regularly and eat well, have a hot basking spot and a few hiding/burrowing places, etc.

I'm not certain how to tell if she is gravid or not - but again, I was never 100% sure of her gender in the first place. Her head and tail seem to be too light for her to be a male, but there are times she turns bright yellow and her head darkens.

Can anyone offer an explanation for my supposed female to behave this way?

Replies (5)

rtl402 May 20, 2009 09:10 AM

Could be that the supposed female is actually a male, in which case you will definitely see aggression such as this. You may want to post some pictures of the Uro in question and see if anyone may be able to take a guess as to its sex.

strangelysara May 20, 2009 11:58 AM
strangelysara May 20, 2009 02:07 PM

Here's an older photo of when they were first introduced to each other. They waited in this enclosure while we prepared the large one for them. Our newest is on the left of the picture.

el_toro May 20, 2009 12:29 PM

Immediate separation is necessary. She could kill him. If you can't get a regular cage before later this week, you could get a very large rubbermaid to use in the meantime. Keep him on paper towels until his wounds heal to keep sand or other irritants out. He should see a vet if you haven't yet taken him.

Could be than your female is really male. Or it could be that your female is just a really nasty female. Some uros are just aggressive and can't be kept with others.
-----
Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.1 Collared Lizard (Ripcord and Rorschach)
2.0 Green Anoles (Bowser and Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

strangelysara May 20, 2009 01:59 PM

I will certainly be separating them ASAP (I'm posting from work). I just found the behavior bizarre considering they've been living together peacefully for the past 8 (or so) months.

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