EWD help, Fighting??

[Justdragons]

Hello reptilian enthusiasts,
I have a pair of Eastern water dragons that are almost 8months old now give or take and they have started to bicker quite alot, im unsure of their sex because in my prior experiance they dont enjoy being handled so i just keep and observe them and let them be. i have from time to time cornered them for a quick health check and to my surprise dont try to bit just freak a little and try to get away as quick as possible. ill attach a few photos of the two but i understand without a snap of the cloaca (sp?) its hard to tell. if they are both boys i just dont have the funds for another $600 dollar tank plus lights and what not .
They dont seem to be hurting each other just alot of bickering and pushing each other off logs and trying to dominate each other at meal time. for people who have owned EWD's before does this sound like the behaviour of 2 males fighting for dominance? The only odd this is they do snuggle up some nights on top of each other... again dominance or is it just the highest poin in the tank that is above water so there for the best sleeping point??

Any help would be great guys.

Thanks Toby

 

[-Peter]

Time to separate or move them to a larger enclosure. They may require their own water container each. Males without females get on quite well as a rule but not all animals get on all the time.

 

[nagini-baby]

ewd makes eight and start to at just under a year. I had the same issue. Seperate them or sell one before it gets more serious.

 

[Justdragons]

Cheers for the quick reply the tank is largeish,

I can fit another water tub in though. do you think they will hurt each other like beardies do? id hate for one of them to lose a toe of tail tip.. if so i think i might move one of them on.. do i have to be a subscribed member to use the for sale section? it wont let me post a thread?

 

[mudgudgeon]

I have a similar situation to you.

My two are a bit older, roughly 12months. They were fairly aggressive for a while, but seem to have settled down a bit lately.
I thought mine were both male, both had started to get red colouring on the chest. More recently, one has grown a lot more and his head and neck shape has changed and he has a very bright red colouring on his chest now.
He is a lot heavier than the other and has proven to be dominant. The other less dominant one has not grown as quick lately, and head shape, markings, neck etc have all stayed the same.
Im starting to think I have one Female, one Male.

Im not so worried about them fighting now, but the smaller one now waits for the other one to stop feeding before it will try and feed.

I'm in the process of making a much larger enclosure for them, so I will see how they go with more space before I look at separating them or moving one on.

I have a similar situation to you.

My two are a bit older, roughly 12months. They were fairly aggressive for a while, but seem to have settled down a bit lately.
I thought mine were both male, both had started to get red colouring on the chest. More recently, one has grown a lot more and his head and neck shape has changed and he has a very bright red colouring on his chest now.
He is a lot heavier than the other and has proven to be dominant. The other less dominant one has not grown as quick lately, and head shape, markings, neck etc have all stayed the same.
Im starting to think I have one Female, one Male.

Im not so worried about them fighting now, but the smaller one now waits for the other one to stop feeding before it will try and feed.

I'm in the process of making a much larger enclosure for them, so I will see how they go with more space before I look at separating them or moving one on.


Nice pics too by the way

the one by himself i would say is definitely male, red chest and the skin around his neck looks typical of a male AFAIK

mine lay on top of each other all the time, they both do it, No idea what it means, it doesnt seem to bother either of them.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Woops! I spoke too soon!

in the last week, my dominant EWD has clearly stamped his authority, the other is looking stressed, not eating so well and is hiding in the water pond most of the time :-(

I'm off to get a big click clack tub tomorrow to separate them until I can try them in a larger enclosure once its ready.

 

[PythonLegs]

From the strong facial stripes I'd punt that you have two boys. Can't make out both their chests, but if they're both red you won't need to wory about incubating eggs any time soon.

 

[vampstorso]

Hey Toby,

Just sent you a PM, pretty please read it before making a f/s thread!



Casey

 

[richardsc]

looks like 2 males to me,but even females can fight,they have a heirachy to,males tend to be more aggressive though

 

[Justdragons]

replied Casey, cheers. yeah i added another water tub and more branches which has stopped the fighting a bit. quite funny to see them both taking their morning poos in their own private bathrooms. also funny they dont mix and match. now they also both have their own branches next to eachother at the same height and place that the both seem to like. we will see how they go but i think seperation is the only answer.

Woops! I spoke too soon!

in the last week, my dominant EWD has clearly stamped his authority, the other is looking stressed, not eating so well and is hiding in the water pond most of the time :-(

I'm off to get a big click clack tub tomorrow to separate them until I can try them in a larger enclosure once its ready.

it does suck ay, i rekon that out of a clutch their must be 10/1/ ratio of males to females... i met a bloke at the reptile store the other day in the same position. i

if any one has females shoot me a msg yeah??