Re: [gecko]? on male R. cliliatus temperament

[Doug Johnston]

Hmmm... I just grabbed a nice juvie male and measured him at 31 grams. He is almost adult size, but is definitely male and is about 10 months old. He will get bigger! That said, keep in mind that age is only one factor in size... genetics and husbandry play a large part also. Without knowing where you got your animals, but saying that generally pet stores do not excell at correct husbandry, your animals could be undersize for their age. A lot depends on how long they were at the pet store, of course, and how old they were when they got there. IMO, you don't want to worry about ciliatus too much. As long as they are eating, pooping, growing and shedding every once in a while, don't sweat it. Activity at night is a good indicator of health,  too. They are an animal that should live well past 10 years with good husbandry (many folks think they could live 15-20+ years). You got lots of time!!! BTW... I assume your vet visit was an initial checkup? Hopefully, they did a fecal check for parasites? Running fecals a couple times a year (or if they are having problems) is a good thing! Even captive animals can have parasites... some small amount in their intestinal flora is normal. However, large amounts indicate a bloom. Often, that happens as a direct result of stress. Sorry if I'm "talking down" to you... I just intend to educate. :) Jim Hammond wrote: Another newbie question. I bought my two R. Ciliati at two different pet stores. They are not housed together at this time, but I would like to do that if they prove to be different sexes. I've had them at the local herp vet for an initial checkup and the smaller one weighs 6 grams and the larger weighs 25 grams. Any idea how old they might be from the weight? Thanks, Jim -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Doug Johnston Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 11:09 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [gecko]? on male R. cliliatus temperament Anyone who tells you they can accurately sex R. ciliatus at ages less than 6 months old is either blowing smoke or they've found something the rest of us haven't!!! Since most breeders see a 4:1 ratio of male:female, telling you it's male is a good bet. I've had animals that looked female at 8-9 months old that turned male almost overnight!!! If it's truly a female, that's great. You can call her Georgina!!! I wouldn't worry too much about housing them together. I don't usually see sexual behavior much before they are one year old. If the male is constantly harassing the "female", separate them at that point. Of course, if they are clutch mates or even from the same bloodline, you might want to separate them if George is really female. Two males can be kept together as long as there isn't a female present to get them fighting. Dana wrote: Hi All - To continue on R. ciliatus behavior, I have yet another question that ties in with this last one. I have 2 juvenile R. ciliatus housed together - I am not sure how old they are, but I suspect one is 5-6 months old and the other is probably 7-9 months old (I am a newbie so these are just guesses - their weights as of last week were: 12.5g and 15.1g. The older one is clearly a male, but the other I am not so sure about - there is only a small bulge so far so I'm thinking it might be a female (we were told it was a male when we got it, but I'm not so sure now - we already named him/her George - oh well). I am wondering if I need to worry about them mating prematurely if they are indeed male & female. Should I separate them? I hate to separate them because they do seem to get along quite well. - Thanks in advance for any advice, Dana ---------------------------- Dana Chyung 600 Hope St. apt. #1 Providence, RI 02906 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 401-447-9938 Message: 9 Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2004 13:56:31 -0700 From: Doug Johnston <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [gecko]? on male R. cliliatus temperament Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Catriona... Most of my females have small bulges under the tails. Compared to the males very obvious bulge, it is almost nonexistent. This is one reason I won't guarantee sex of R. ciliatus until they are about 1 year old... animals with small almost nonexistent bulges (and therefore assumed to be female) have the nasty habit of growing huge bulges almost overnight!!! If the animal you got from me at last year's Frog Day still only has a very small bulge, it is definitely female! Congrats!!! Of course, if it is really a male and being dominated by your other male, I suppose it could have it's development arrested. Two males would likely get along OK if there was no female present. It's most likely a female, though. See... I'm just as confused as you!!! Sorry to hear Brian was in a car wreck. Hopefully the trip won't tire him overmuch!!! See you then. Catriona Lindsay wrote: Thanks for the info Doug. I thought rachy males were pretty aggressive, so if I decide to take on the pair then I'll I will house the other male separately. I'll just have to keep an eye on the females. My pair still has their tails. Here is another R. ciliatus question for you. Do the females have any bulge under their tail? Caresheets make it sound like they do not. My female is about 3/4 the size of the male and she does have a bulge at the base of her tail. It is not as large as the males. This pair has been together for almost a year with no fighting, but the female was immature when added to the tank. My friend who wants to give up her pair, says that her female has no bulge at all. I have only found one picture of a females vent on the web, and it had a pretty noticeable bulge also. Is this normal or have I missexed this animal? BTW this animal is your baby from last years Frog Day. _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko -- Doug Johnston http://pages.sbcglobal.net/scubadug _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko -- Doug Johnston http://pages.sbcglobal.net/scubadug/