Dragon on Dragon Intros (observations)

[Pooka]

Hi folks,
As you know from my other thread Skittle and Pooka will be co-habitating by the end of this weekend (or have failed miserably) I wanted to kind of keep you all updated (and future keepers to come) by documenting this event. Feel free to comment after my posts as feedback is always appreciated.

Ok so the I introduced them this week by letting them both free roam in the bed room. Both dragons where on my bed when Pooka started waving and bobbing her head at skittle. This time skittle didn't bob back but I have seen him do it in the past. Pookas waves are cute little circular motions with a splayed hand. Her head bobs are movements that range from slow to violently fast. Skittles Bobs are usally very short range of motion and either super fast or very slow. After a few moments of Pooka waving if she is within 3 or 4 feet she will rush skittle. Skittle will dart about 8-12 inches and Pooka will stop when she gets to the point where skittle was. This usually ends the encounter with both dragons ignoreing each other for quite some time. Here are some pictures of Pooka waving at skittle. I am still trying to catch skittle on camera. The head bobs of either dragon are difficult to capture on film as the positions are not akward just the movements.

[DaremoAlpha]

Those arm wavings you have pictured are actually your dragon saying " no pictures without cash up front" LOL ;D

[Pooka]

Hi all,
Ok here is my update to the orginal post (pictures will follow within a few days, I have them I just need to resize and upload them)

Ok so Friday I rushed home from work and did a thorough cleaning of all Pooka’s articles and all of Skittles articles. This included bleaching then rinsing then dunking in boiling water then rinsing again all melt-able items and baking at 350 for 25 minutes all non melt-able items. I then changed out the carpet in Pooka’s tank and added skittle for an hour all by himself.



Skittle seemed rather unphased by the change in venue. He poked around the cage for a while before settling under the 65watt flood lamp on the rock archway to soak up some heat. After this initial hour I added Pooka to the cage. There was no arm waving, neck puffing or head bobbing at all between the two of them. They just kind of eyed each other up. After a few minutes pooka made a move for the archway and skittle made a mad dash to the back of the tank and under some plants. Pooka settled on top of the arch and started soaking up heat, seeing as she had been out and about all evening who could blame her. All in all at the end of day one I was pleased that neither one was charging the other. When lights out came I put skittle on his stick which is in one side of the tank and pooka on her’s which is on the other and they both rested in those spots for the evening.

Day two started out great with both dragons staying on there respective sticks until I got up. By the time I was done getting there morning meal together pooka was down prowling the basking area (near skittles stick) and wanted out to run around. I took Pooka out and put a bowl of 6 plucked crickets and 2 mini mealworms in for skittle. Skittle bounced off the stick after a very short inspection period (less then 2 minutes) and at the meal down to nothing. I then took the second bowl, which had the same arrangement of bugs only Pooka appropriate sized and added it to the tank. I removed skittle and placed pooka back in the tank. Pooka took a bit more time before eating (she usually does) and was dining at about 6-7 minutes. After she had cleared her food I removed the bowl and let them both wander for a bit. I was pleased to see no bobbing or waving from either dragon as I had witnessed on previous joint free roams. I placed Skittle back in the tank and let him warm up for a few minutes before I added pooka back in. As soon as I added Pooka skittle freaked and made a dash into the vegetation again. I took him out of the plants and placed him on his stick. From that vantage point he watched pooka for most of the day.

Saturday evening when I got hom I found Pooka basking near the UVB source on top of a driftwood jungle gym and found skittle in pooka’s favored spot on the stone arch. Obviously, she wasn’t being extremely aggressive or I would guess she would have gone after him for being in ‘her’ spot. This continued until I removed them each in turn to feed them again. Neither of there appetites seem effected by either the scenery change or the new company and color is still good. They sleep in the same respective spots as the night before that night. Still no bobbing, waving, or charging. Other then when skittle is alone in the tank he will do a slow bob two times with his head every so often as if he is warning an unseen watcher that he is going to move or eat something. I speculate that he is asking pooka for permission to do something even though he cannot see her. Any thoughts on this behavior are welcome.

Sorry this is so long so far. I will included Sundays observations with pics later on this week. That way you have time to read and digest this info. Thanks again and I hope this helps some one in the future.

[DaremoAlpha]

Sounds like things will go good for you.

[Pooka]

Ok folks here is the conclusion to my first weekend of observations:

Sunday morning started out with the removal of each dragon in turn to allow the other to feed without any distractions. Then both were allowed to free roam for a few minutes while the cage was misted down, towels wetted down and draped over the top of the screen and water bowl cleaned and refilled. Pooka still appeared uninterested in what skittle was doing. I placed both dragons back in the tank, skittle on his stick and pooka on her stone arch and then layed down to observe them for a while with the girlfriend. What happened next was both sad and hilarious at the same time. Pooka jumped down and splashed around in the pool for a moment (over the top of the pool is where skittles stick is) after splashing for a bit she stopped and gave skittle the curious eyeing up and down. Then with only slight hesitation hoisted herself onto his stick where it was closest to the pool. Now keep in mind pooka is almost 3 times wider then skittles small stick. She looks like a clown on a highwire on this stick and is looking at skittle with a cocked head.

Skittle looks like he is about to die of a panic attack pooka inches up the stick and bumps skittle off (actually one she brushes against skittle he bails off the stick). Then he just sits underneath the stick and looks at her like WTF. She peers down almost as if smiling and just lounges on his stick.

What a brat. I’m not sure if this was coincidental or pooka observed new territory she wished to conquer.

During the remainder of the day Pooka was removed at 1 or 2 points to allow skittle time to explore his new environment and bask under the megaray UVB without worries of pooka being in his lap. Feeding time came and we removed each in turn. Skittle and Pooka are still showing excellent coloration and appetite at this point so I am feeling more confident about leaving them alone when I come back to work Monday. At this point the girl friend and I leave for the evening to go eat dinner at her fathers house. When we come back this is what we find…<br>

[Pooka]

And this has been the scene every night since. Of course the order changes sometimes skittle is higher, sometimes pooka is higher. Skittle still is a bit skittish during the daylight hours around Pooka, but pooka has been well behaved. I will continue to monitor them and share my findings with the group. I just want to point out to new members that this has been a really stressful thing to do. I was always worried one was going to hurt the other. Tricia says in her site that she lets the dragons work there social structure out as long as no one is being hurt so this is the mantra I have repeated over and over again. It has worked for me thus far. I hope you enjoyed the article. Replies are always welcome ;D

[RedDr4gon333]

You worry too much dad! They appear to be doing great! Their coloration seems right on, you've seen no change in behavior, AND THEY ARE SLEEPING BY EACH OTHER!!! Sounds like it's going great to me. And OMG those pics!! HOW CUTE!!! I wonder how long it'll take Skittle to catch up with Pooka in size. Is Skittle's appitite still greater than Pooka's, or has he kinda slumped off in the eating since you've had him and cared for him properly? Keep up the excellent work!

[dragosmom]

Kiley, you and GF are excellent "parents". You have "observed" and properly introduced both of your dragons and I think those last pictures prove it was worth the effort. It is amazing how much Pooka has grown and matured. Good job!

[ziggyintn]

I'm so dumb Why didn't I read this first, Poor bandit. The arm movement was the same with ziggy and the rushing, if I only had another cage. Well Thank you for sharing this experience . Now I feel reassured about introducing a new cwd in the future to Ziggy!

[Pooka]

Don't be too rough on yourself. There is no gurantee they would have ever settled down, just like there is no gurantee my two will remain tolerante of each other in there respective territories. All we as owners can do is provide the correct enviromental conditions and make sure both animals are healthy then observe and hope for the best. I think you did the right thing in returning bandit but I still think you would do great to get a 2nd or even 3rd dragon for a colony when you have the spare tanks and equipment to do a proper quarantine(if your like me you probably have a good start at 2 or 3 tanks because of upgrades instead of going all out from the start) I'm glad you took time to read the artcile and see your own situation in it thats why I took the time to write it, so that others could benefit from it later on.

[ziggyintn]

Do you have any new updates, are they friends nowl?

[Pooka]

Sorry for the lack of updates folks, I have been sick for the past 2 weeks and now am out of the office moving into a new house. Skittle can be a bit skittish around pooka during the day but usually they get along really well now. They often sleep togther on the same branch. This picture is from last week.

[dragosmom]

What a sweet picture! Have fun moving! I'd rather have all of my finger nails pulled out with pliers than move. Check your temps carefully in the new home. Sometimes even having the viv in the path of a window or a wall that faces the sun can change your temperature gradient considerably. Check your temps several times the first couple of days!

[ziggyintn]

That's cool!! ;D I'm sorry you were sick! A great picture! As they say " never go to sleep mad"!