I was thinking it would help by taking the female guimbeaui out and changing the tank that the male is in so he is not so territorial, so I guess I will have to do that. I do have bamboo that the male can't fit in and that works very well. I don't think I was very clear about the Madagascan photoperiod. The reason I asked is not to make the time in my tanks correspond with Madagascan time. Instead I wanted to make the day lengths I create more realistic to where they come from, since they have longer days and different seasons. It is summer in my terrariums, but I wanted to make sure the day length was more like the area around madagascar and surrounding islands. I was also wondering if anyone knows how many months are in winter and summer down there as well? Is it not much different than north america? So, is herptivite regarded as pretty much the best supplement? Thanks for the help.
Julie Bergman wrote: > A couple of comments more... I agree with Greg and Leann on everything, > however, regarding photoperiod- I have bred lots of Phelsuma using the > photosensor/Helix method. They seem to cycle just fine with > local-environmental input. I feel they should be adapted to the local > enviroment and kept on that cycle. Too many breeders, mostly of leopard > geckos, artificially induce their breeders to cycle way too early and > long. I don't see any way this can benefit the geckos. In the short term > it benefits the breeder's pocketbook, generating offspring before most > folks offer them - the real long term consequence is worn out geckos > with shortened lifespans. The only possible advantage of changing the > cycle (for the geckos) I see would be to shut down breeding early or > start it late, effectively shortening their season, giving the geckos a > chance to beef up their size in the off-season. > > I cannot stress the importance of getting the dominated gecko out of the > situation where they are being picked on. If you see skin patches > missing you have waited too long. Sean McKeown advised me to use lots > of small diameter bamboo, more female sized than male, so females have a > chance to escape from the unwanted attention of males. This seems to > work well. Escape routes are important. So is stratification (creating > different levels in the terrarium) so dominant geckos have their place, > etc. > > Sometimes, you have a real rascal male and in that case, try setting up > the terrarium differently, rearranging things, then letting the > female(s) establish themselves. After they have been in there a couple > weeks, introduce the male. > > Another thing to consider is that many times small - medium Phelsuma > will harem better than pair. This way the females "share" in getting > harassed by the male. We have discussed this several times here and > there should be a good amount of posting on this subject in the > archives. Perhaps someone would be energetic enough to make us a little > chart "Harem, Y or N?" > > Julie Bergman > http://www.geckoranch.com > GGA lifetime member > > ########################################################################### > THE GLOBAL GECKO ASSOCIATION LISTSERV > WebSite: www.gekkota.com Archive: [EMAIL PROTECTED]/ > The GGA takes no responsibility for the contents of these postings. > ###########################################################################
