Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone,been following this Forum for a while now and its second to none,believe me i'm in the uk and we have very little help/info on Uromastyx! My question is: I have had a supposed female Geyri for 6 month's now and thought it would be good to add a male to the viv for companionship more than anything else. But on adding the male who is an inch smaller i am wandering if i have made a mistake! Within 5 mins he was head bobbing and doing a snake like motion infront of her,then he started to bite her sides and tail. She head bobbed back at him but made no attempt to bite and although he chased her she keeps coming back for more but does nothing more than head bobb at him! They sleep in the same cave although there are several to choose from and the one they sleep in is not the warmest but iam worried as the male does hiss and seems quite aggreesive to her. My question is, is this normal behaviour between males and females or is my original female really a male? Shorley if she was a male and being bigger she would have put up a fight to the new Geyri?? Also i have done some homework on sexing and the new Geyri seems to be a male but my supposed female does have really good colouring although not such a wide head!! I,m sorry for such a long first post but i know you guys are the experts.Thanks for reading and hope you can help!

They might be trying to breed... but check out these link below for helpful info on uros... and if you are on facebook make friends with Troy Jones of uro ranch...he is awesome and very helpful. I love geyri and bred 13 babies this year...go to my link and see some of mine.

www.deerfernfarms.com
www.uroranch.com

my uros:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27471&id=100000499320614&l=3d5e1d5af1
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Bearded Dragons(orange, red,)
Uromastyx(orange saharan/nigerian and blue philbyi)
Box Turtles(yellow and orange easterns)
Gargoyle Geckos(red retic, normal)
Leopard Geckos(Connelly Red Stripes)
Frilled Dragon

It is definitely too late in the year for breeding. This is almost certainly an act of aggression. Separating the 2 immediately is the best course of action. Also a possibility that you have 2 males but unless you have pics of the head/body/belly no way to tell just yet

you should also google 'urowiki' there is a TON of information there, very up to date as well. I have noticed that most sites have very little updates these days, especially with all the new things we know about Uros

>>It is definitely too late in the year for breeding.

I used to think that, but a friend of mine just got eggs yesterday - it's the third year in a row he's gotten eggs in December. Go figure.

Definitely separate them. Uro aggression can lead to quite serious injury. Please don't risk it.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.2 Saharan Uros (Joe, Arthur, and Hitch)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
1.3 Collared Lizards (Ripcord, Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin)
1.0 Green Anoles (Sprocket)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

Thanks for the quick reply's, have put another hot spot in the viv out of view from the dominant Geyri so the other can get some basking time,have also made sure there are plenty of caves ect for a cooling area! I must say since doing this they both seem happier and the aggression has subsised a bit so fingers crossed! If it comes to it i will seperate them but was sold them as male and female and its kind of annoying if they turn out to be both males!! By the way Darkenism your babies are Beautiful,may i wish them a long and happy life!!

Here is a French web page that shows the bellies of male and female Saharans. Males have color on there bellies and females mostly do not. Both male and female U. Geryi has the bars on there bellies, they are more pronounced in males.

Female Saharan Uromastyx:
http://bebesaurus.pagesperso-orange.fr/image/Uromastyx geyri/Faceventraledunefemelle.jpg

Male Saharan:
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/bebesaurus/image/Uromastyx geyri/Faceventraledunmale.jpg

One way to check for sure is to hold the Uromastyx right side up and gently curl tail toward ceiling. Check the vent to see if there are any hemipenal budges. In males it looks like a V and in females it is flat.Doug Dix has good pictures on his facebook.com page demonstrating this.

Male
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=103721256323362&set=a.101070969921724.2434.100000564644984

Female
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=103721252990029&set=a.101070969921724.2434.100000564644984

Defiantly separate them. Even if there are male and female the aggressive behavior can cause lots of health issues.

Thanks Troyuroranch for the info,since my last post there has been a complete change in behaviour from the red Geyri who now shares the same basking spot,has stopped biting,lets the yellow climb and rest on top of him!! They seem to be good pals now and follow each other around the viv,there is still some head bobbing going on but this is mainly from the yellow Geyri.I'm still unable to be sure on sexing them and am thinking that maybe they are still a bit small to sex,8/9 inch, stomach colouring on both is good going most of the way down but their necks/throats are still white,anyway i'm just glad they are getting on now but will keep a close eye on things!Has anyone got an explanation as to whats happend?Thanks for your time.