Male Combat

[spazhime]

So I got to see something absolutely incredible yesterday. I took Thresh and Rhea out for some ‘brother’ pictures. I believe the scent of Leliana was still on the floor from when I had her out earlier that day. I had gotten my camera out for photos, and they began a male combat dance. Now I only snapped a few pictures for educational purposes, then separated them immediately after. While they can’t actually hurt each other this way (it is essentially just wrestling) it is a stressful situation to be in. In the wild, male snakes will do this dance and whomever wears out first leaves, and the winner gets to mate with the female. They can dance for hours on end until one finally gives up. They were probably only doing this for about thirty seconds before I put them back in their cages to relax. Neither of them acted like they were stressed when I picked them up, so it did no harm. I figured it would be a good education opportunity
Because of the possibility of stress, they will not be put into a situation that could cause this again. Which means no more group photos with these two involved

[MJ_Bosley]

This is so cool

[Finn0208]

Wow, they both are so pretty and what cool photos


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[tttaylorrr]

how fascinating! what incredible photos!!! i'm sure we all appreciate you taking the chance to document this, so thank you!
were they moving fast or just kind of trying to stay on top of the other? and did they each go into the dance immediately or did one initiate? sorry for all the questions.

[BluuWolf]

Wow, that is really interesting. Thanks for sharing!


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[MasonC2K]

That is actually a valid thing to do for reluctant breeder males. The combat seems to help stimulate their breeding instincts.

[spazhime]

Thanks everyone! It was an incredibly cool moment to witness for me.
They were basically trying to get on top of the other and flip each other over using their necks. Very interesting to watch!

[Hannahshissyfix]

Great pictures!

[RickyNY]

How cool is that! Thanks for sharing

[spazhime]

Thanks guys! I figured it was an excellent opportunity for education on natural behaviors. Not the 'pet rock' that everyone thinks they are