I am not sure if this topic has already been discussed, as i am new, i looked on several pages but did not see anything resembling this... so i am sorry if it has already been posted. A friend of mine has her leo's at my house, and we noticed the male who is approx. 3-4 yrs old was picking on the female who is approx. 6 months old, i pulled him out the cage to give her time to hide, but the damage was already done, we believe he was trying to hump her, based on the fact that he has left her alone since, and they were even hiding in the same area earlier today when i got home from work.... The male is reasonably larger than the female, as to be expected since there is such a difference in the age of the two leo's, and he had her by her front right leg, to which we believe is broken now, she's been walking a little funny ever since, and there is a small bump on her leg, which looks like a bone wants to come out of her skin, and she is missing a few toes on the same foot... My friend and i were wondering, we know there are some lizards that can regenerate their body parts if they happen to be pulled off by a predator, and we know that the tail will grow back on the leo, but what about a limb? And also what do you do about a Leo with a broken bone?
The only thing a leo can regenerate is its tail. Whatever damage done will remain and possibly get worse. I would keep those two separate PERMANENTLY and get the female to a vet as soon as possible. If you don't already have a vet you can try finding one with www.herpvetconnection.com As for biting her leg, I know that mating can seem violent, but to the best of my understanding biting and grabbing at limbs is NOT a normal mating habit. Again, I would keep them separate and get the female medical attention. Good luck.
The tail is the only part that regenerates. Many things should be done about the broken bone. Especially since the bone, as you say, looks like it wants to come out of her skin, I think this would be a good time for her to see a vet. I just can't imagine trying to set and splint a gecko's broken leg, and then there is the question of what to do when it's time for the leo to shed. Leos are really solitary animals, and should be housed separately. Sometimes, it can work to house them together, but in your case they definately should not be together because 1) She is too young to breed, and he is already trying to breed her. Breeding too early, especially with the females, can bring on lots of health issues. 2) She is injured, and needs peace and quiet and time to herself while she heals. 3)They are different sizes ; When leos are kept together in one enclosure, it is important that they are all the same size. 4) Male and female housed together will result in eggs and babies . . . whether her body is able to handle it or not; whether you are prepared to incubate, raise, and find homes for babies or not. Well, these are a few good reasons to find separate enclosures for each of them. Especially with her injury, and now the possibility that she is gravid, she really needs to have her own quiet little home, where she can heal, and crawl around the tank without danger of high things to fall off of and re-injure the healing bone, and without another leo around to pester her take the best hiding places and food. Also, since she may be gravid, be sure to give her all the calcium dusted insects that you can get her to eat. I hope that everything goes okay with her, and she is able to recover from this unfortunate incident.
Wow, get the female isolated asap. She is waay too young to be exposed to a male. Females need to be atleast 1 yr old and have good weight on her otherwise process of developing eggs and laying can be extremely risky. As for the limb, there's not a whole lot that can be done - the damage is already done unless you took her to a knowledgeable vet who cld splint it right away. She probably will be lame but otherwise assuming no other damage was done, she shld heal up ok on her own. but as Fiche said, its always prudent to get her examined as there may be other injuries/damage that you can't see. But what's important is for you to get the male away from her permanently. Even breeding pairs are recommended to be separated after mating to protect the female from unecessary male 'attention'.
it doesn't make sense to me It just doesn't make sense to me, they have been in the same cage since the female was bought, she may be older than 6 months, my friend isnt sure... i dont want to sound like a complete moron, but why in the world would he start picking on her now after they have been in the cage for so long?
RE: it doesn Dominance and territory issues can develop at any time. In fact, they may have been going on for a long time now. Sharing hides is not companionship, but is a sign of territorial struggle. There is often food hogging and they may snap at one another during feeding time. You didn't mention the size cage they are in, but without adequate space and hides the male is sure to get territorial at some point. Lastly, are you positive the little on is female? At such a young age it can be hard to accurately sex them. Regardless of all the above, it is most important that you separate them into individual enclosures and take the small one to a vet. Aside from her injured leg, if they did successfully mate she could easily become calcium deficient or egg bound from being bred so young.
RE: it doesn It could be that she began ovulating for the first time. The males can sense that and it's sort of like their sign to go for it. I'd tell you to take a look at her stomach to see if you can see the red splotches but with her leg being messed up I wouldn't recommend it. I'd recommend a vet like the others, and definitely seperate enclosures.
