Aggressive or hungry Male Gecko??? Need your help/opinion...

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Posted by SLCT_Rep777 on April 07, 2003 at 01:43:49:

Hi there. I need everyone's help/opinion. I recently put in my youngest (possibly friskiest) adult male Crested in with a female I wanted him to be paired with. I was doing work with my other geckos, so I was able to watch them fairly closely the first few minutes. A few minutes in as she crossed his path, I noticed he grabbed he on her side, she shook her tail as if to warn him and in a few seconds he let go. Then all of a sudden he started to go for her tail, which she was shaking (especially the tip) as if a warning. I quicky opened the cage and seperated the two.

Now my questions are :

Is it common for a young male (or any male for that matter) to be overly, even foolishly or dangerously aggressive with females in hopes of mating? Or was this likely a feeding reaction/mistake?

Was this behavior just a sign of immaturity?

He is the youngest adult male I have, I'm not certain of his age, but he is about 3 1/3 inches (snout to vent), while my other two males are 4+ " (snout to vent).

After seperating the two, I threw some crickets in with the male and he quickly ate them. I relize now that I should of fed him before putting him in with the female. I wouldn't think he would be so hungry as to immediately attack the female, as he was fed daily the previous two nights.

Has anyone ever had a similar incident, with an overly aggressive male?

Should I attempt to place them together in the future, or should I let him mature a little?

Sorry, one more thing. The tip of the females tail appears to be bent a bit now. This is the part that she was shaking so rapidly. Is it possible the male had seized her tale and caused this? It's not bloody or visably injured, it's just slightly bent in one direction. Does anyone know if this is common or know of in Cresteds (for the tale to be bent a little from injury, but not fall off). It is the very end (1 1/2") of her tale.

Thanks in advance!!!

--Chris--

Follow Ups:

Re: Aggressive or hungry Male Gecko??? Need your help/opinion... mikecoscia 04/07/03 (1)
- Re: Aggressive or hungry Male Gecko??? Need your help/opinion... SLCT_Rep777 04/07/03 (0)