Re: Caiman agression.

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Posted by thebersrkr on March 30, 2003 at 10:20:32:

In Reply to: Re: Caiman agression. posted by Danny Conner on March 29, 2003 at 20:36:47:

::::I am a long time reader of the forum and would like to thank everyone for all of the input I have recieved over that last few years. I obtained my first Spectacled about 18 months ago. A little female 11 months old. She did fine for the first year but quickly out grew the tank she was in. I then built an enclosure that is pretty much the standard in ground garden pond with a plywood box built around it. The pond is 150 gallon and is kept at 80 degrees. It is kept clean with a couple of fluval filters and a water change weekly. The rest of the enclosure is kept around 90 during the day and drops down to around 75 at night. She has always been a fantastic eater until I "inherited" another Spectacled. This one is a male and is only a few inches longer then her, but has almost double the mass. He is very aggressive and seems to do his best to keep her from eating and also to prove that he is the king of his little domain. He was given to me as a Christmas present and I realy didn't have any intention of getting a second animal, but I have read they are social creatures and I am concerned for the well being of the first. Is this something I should be concerned about, or is it something that will pass with time? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
::::Chris

:::Chris
:::You may have a potential problem. There is no guarantee every situation is different. I will give you some of my experiences.
:::I had a long term 4 foot female gator that I introduced an inherited 2.5 foot male to.
:::He turned her every which way but loose. I thought he would kill her, she was terrified and I seperated them.
:::Three years later she went over a 4 foot fence to "be" with him he chewed on her pretty good. I moved her back.
:::A week later same thing with same result, again I seperated them. Next week same thing happened I left her. It's been 3 years and you can't seperate them. In my eyes she wanted to be his mate.
:::That is the best case scenario. Unfortunately yours are not quite big enough to be interested in breeding. The only motive your male has is being terrortorial. Even if he does'nt physically harm the female the stress may kill her.
:::If there is anyway you can divide the water it does'nt have to be completely divided just partially.
:::What your trying to do is slowly introduce them. Sooner or later they will probably be best friends. They may be already.Remember males are dominant in the croc world. So there will always be some subservience on the females part.(exception Black Caiman). D.C.

::Mr. Conner
::Thank you so much for the input. I will try to figure out a means to seperate them, but keep them together. I don't know if this is important or not, but the male keeps rubbing his snout around the females vent. When he does this she goes wild and dashes around the enclosure. It is something that has only started in the last few days. I have read that spectacled are capable of breeding once they reach the three foot mark. The female is 35" and the male is 40". Is this some sort of breeding ritual?
::Thanks again.
::Chris

:Chris
:I've never seen that behavior in mine but it sure sounds like it could be a mating ritual of some sort. Has he allowed her to get in the water? If not I'm afraid it is an aggressive territorial behavior. Keep an eye on them. D.C.
Mr. Conner,
She spends 95% of her time in the water. They both do actually. They only they come out to bask is the day after feeding. They will spend about half the day under the lamps, usually just long enough for them to leave a bowel movement on my freshly cleaned basking area. lol
Thanks again,
Chris

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