World War Box

[pinkspore]

I have three male three-toes, one ornate/three-toe hybrid, and three females. I've been sort of expecting things to get interesting this spring, and as soon as the boys started harassing the girls too much I built a second enclosure.

The new habitat is 16' by 12', with a cement tub pond , tall weeds, and tons of leaf litter filled with slugs and earthworms. I took the boys out of their 4'x2' night box where they had been peacefully coexisting, and set them in different spots in the new enclosure.

They immediately started trying to chew each others' heads off. Georgie clamped down on Hy's leg, I stuck him in the pond so he had to let go to come up for air, no blood. Necker chomped Georgie's face and drew a little blood so Georgie got a betadine soak. I would stick the more bullied boys in with the girls, only to have them start fighting with each other in there or pushing the girls around a few minutes later.

The day has cooled off a bit and three of the boys have settled down and are peacefully hunting for slugs, the fourth is still in with the girls. I will need to round everyone up soon and put them back in their night boxes.

I'm hoping to avoid any further bloodshed, is there a proper way to introduce a group of males to a new enclosure? Why did they suddenly all get so bitey?

 

[Tom]

Ahh nature at its finest. Springtime, supercharged by the sun, multiple males, females close by... Looks like you will be building several new pens.

 

[pinkspore]

Everyone seems to have calmed down a whole lot today, or at least we have a clear victor. The other three box up when they see him coming, I did have to stick him in an empty flowerpot at breakfast, but otherwise we might be OK. Everyone is now calmly hunting for slugs or trying to figure out how chain link fencing works. Do they ever figure that out?

 

[Tom]

Everyone seems to have calmed down a whole lot today, or at least we have a clear victor. The other three box up when they see him coming, I did have to stick him in an empty flowerpot at breakfast, but otherwise we might be OK. Everyone is now calmly hunting for slugs or trying to figure out how chain link fencing works. Do they ever figure that out?

No. They don't ever figure out chain link and they can hurt themselves on it or climb it. Their enclosure needs to be made of something opaque and unclimbable.

You also need to separate those males. Hoping that every thing is okay, and that they won't tear each other up when you aren't looking, is not a good way to go in my opinion. Those males should not have to live in fear and torment in the territory of the dominant male. In the wild they would leave the area. In our captive environments, we need to provide them with another area.

 

[pinkspore]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll get another load of bricks this weekend to build some more walls. I've only put them back together today because I'm doing yard work and can spend all day observing them. I put the biggest and baddest boy in with the girls for now, he's hunting for tadpoles and leaving them all alone.