Reptile & Amphibian Forums

During the day my male crested sleeps w/ his stomach against the glass.. This afternoon i notice that he was licking his hemi bulge and a black slimy thing was peeking out.. Im guessing its his "JUNK". But his hemi bulge was flexing and the black slimy thing stayed out for a few minutes... Is this normal and if it is should i ever help him in any way?!?! Im confused.
P.s After reading this it sounded kinda dirty but i dont know any other way of explaining it.

The hemipenes normally aren't black...usually pink or reddish..unless it was just in shadow...but as long as it isn't hanging out all the time, shouldn't be an issue.

Do you have females in with him or in other cages near by?
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PHLdyPayne

Hmm.. maybe it was in a shadow!.... And yes.. I have introduced him to a female but now she's in a separate cage because you told me to sepaate them for quarintine... But I take both of them out at night and let them hang out from a distance.. She's only 32 grams w/ her tail so im waiting until she is 35grams or so to put them together... she is directly across the dresser from him...

Is that why this is all happening... Also he eats less.. is this because he's wanting her?

Thanks for all the advice.

If you are going to be taking them out together anyway, kind of pointless to continue to quarantine them now.

Either way, he is in breeding mode because you keep exposing him to her and that is where his mind is focusing. It would be best to not let him see her or even be in the same room. Then he should return to normal behavior. Right now you are just teasing him but letting him be close to a female he wants to mate with, but not allow him to copulate. Also, taking them out every night can be stressful to one or both animals as well.
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PHLdyPayne

Got it.. Well.. I actually re-built the bigger terrarium tonight and i decided that im going to put them together tomorrow and not touch them for a while.. I just feel that since i have already ruined it by introducing them to one another i should just go for it.. Im gonna introduce them during the day and hope for the best.. I am going to keep a watchfull eye on them so they dont hurt eachother...

Wish me luck... =)
Thanks for all the info!

Definitely keep quarantine in mind when you buy new animals. Maybe 90% of the time nothing happens but it is very heartbreaking to bring in what you thought was a healthy animal only to have it sicken and die, and the rest of your animals catching the same disease. This is very try for some species that can carry untreatable ailments, like IBD which affects many boids (ie boas and pythons), adenovirus which affects bearded dragons and other lizards and that fungus that wrecks havoc with amphibians, especially frogs...crypto something or other.

For the most part, its to avoid infestations of parasites, internal and external. To my knowledge, crested geckos are very hardy and don't seem to have any external parasites that i have read about. Nor do they seem to suffer much from internal parasites...but always good to practice quarantine with all new animals. I recommend at least 3 months, to ensure a healthy fecal (ideally once per month) and to ensure any incubating diseases that may take awhile to show symptoms, have a chance to appear. A vet check during that time is recommended.

I do admit that i don't always bring any new animals I get to see a vet for a checkup...mostly due to funds..but I do my best to ensure quarentine measures are taken. For snakes I spray the cage I intend to put any new animals in with Provent a Mite, to take care of any mites that the animal may already have, or picked up during the usual passing through hands at a reptile show. One mite infected animal handled by one person, can easily result in mites getting on that person's hands and clothes, then spreading onto other animals unintentionally. For a mite infestation, all it takes is a pregnant female mite to lay a bunch of eggs, then two months later, you suddenly have mites on your snake..and no clue how that could be, since no new animals came in in that time nor did you see mites on the snake prior to their sudden appearance...Hence I spray cages first, put in new snakes, keep them separate from my current collection and hopefully after three months, they are still healthy and can be moved in with my other animals.

As a final note, now that you built a larger cage you wish to keep both your crested geckos in, make sure there is plenty of climbing spaces and visual barriers (ie live or fake plants, or both, with broad leaves). Use two feeding stations as well, this way if they want to avoid each other they can. Fortunately for the most part Crested geckos do get along. Just make sure the female doesn't get roughed up by the male's attempt at mating (they do bite the scruff of the neck or sometimes the fleshy 'crest' around the eyes.) if you see blood or lacerations, may be a good idea to separate for a few weeks, give the female time to heal up. I also recommend leaving in a shallow dish, like the lid of a baby food jar or small deli cup and put in calcium powder. This will let the female lap up additional calcium to prevent calcium crash when shelling eggs.

Crested geckos can crash fast, after shelling their eggs, if they are low in calcium, it can affect them fast and not even be noticed in time to help. Thus keeping calcium powder in the cage, allows the female to replenish her stores as needed. Change the powder when it runs low or if it gets soiled.
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PHLdyPayne

Thanks a lot for all the helpfull information...

I put her in the cage this morning and already he has mated w/ her.
I feel bad for her because it seems all he's interested in is to mate mate mate! When they were done mating his sex organs were exposed and it seemed like he was having trouble getting it back in, so i took him out and placed him in a separate container w/ moist towels and it quickly retreated.. ( I had read in an earlier post by you that it helps to do that)

She's been doing a lot of digging. I dont know if it is to hide from him or to look for a place to bury her eggs.

She's constantly trying to get away while he is constanly trying to get close... Hopefully its only temporary cause i wouldnt want it to effect his eating habbits...

I will Definetly keep some calcium out for her as well as a lay box and 2 feeding station.. Im buying 2 of those really cool Gecko Dishes made by Exo-Terra.

Thanks for all the info!

I would definitely watch them both..he may calm down after a few days or so but if he doesn't eat or seems to be constantly after the female, it may be necessary to separate him, just to give both a break.
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PHLdyPayne

Sometimes my guys get exited if something in the terrarium changes or after a cleaning.They are good breeders for a reason.I'd just leave um alone unless you see a real health issue.