# are my pumilio courting or fighting?



## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

i recently got a calling male and a probable female mancreek pair. both are 8-9 months and the original owner said he only heard 1 call for the few months he had them separated. the other looked like a female. i finally put them in their new tank, and i was shocked. i don't think i got them mixed up... but the "probable" female saw the "calling male" and hopped over to him. i watched... "she" called. i was thinking i had a 2.0 and "she" would start wrestling with "him". i let them be , but i watched them closely... the "male" hopped away. he didn't bolt, like he was being chased, just slowly hopped away. then there was a point where they both went into a heavily planted area and kept switching places etc. so i didn't know who was who. one would call, i'd look away for a second, and then they would switch places and call... it was very confusing. so after watching them for 4 hours straight last night :roll: , i turned off their light and i thought maybe they were a pair since there was no aggression the whole time. this morning one would call like crazy, and the other didn't do anything. the calling one would go up to the other one, call, then hop away and continue to call, like it was trying to get the "female's" attention. they would follow each other eventually, but they didn't chase each other. i left thinking i did get a pair after all, came back an hour or so later, and they were sitting side-by side together. they would sit next to each other for an hour or so, but still move around the tank. is this courtship? or do i have 2 males and they are just not courting because there is no female in the tank. these are my first pumilio, so any advice on if this is or isn't courtship ould be great. thanks


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## pigface (Apr 28, 2006)

Sometimes its hard to tell , my cauchero are doing the same thing except the unknown sexed frog kept coming up to the male frog while he's calling and the male would walk away from the other then start calling again . But no eggs yet . They are still chubby and healthy looking so I'm hopeing that they are a pair But my solarte's when I first put them together ,after calling the male went over to the other and hopped on it and started pawing it with its front legs , I thought great they are fighting and I figured two males for sure but I waited to seporate them , I had eggs an hour later . Go figure . I would just keep a close eye on them for a while and if one starts getting thinner or looks like there is any problem , seporate them right away .


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

thanks. yea i was really confused because there was absolutely no aggresion that i saw, but i wasn't sure if maybe that could be since there might not have been a femlale in the tank. it was just surpirsing to see the probably female call in front of the probable male and then they both would be following each other and i couldn't tell who was calling or if they both were. i'll leave them alone, and hope for eggs then. thanks


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## pigface (Apr 28, 2006)

Another thing you could do is , maybe get pictures of each frog or draw down their markings so you can tell one from the other and keep track of who is calling . You could have two males but since their is no female in the tank they are not really going at it hard . They might get along good untill you add a female to the tank then go at it WWF style .


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

yea i considered that. i might just try separtating the probable female and see if "she"/ "he" calls, and see if the one i leave in the tank calls. i am just unsure if the one i take out would still call. the only reason i don't go up to the tank is because i don't want to scare them, especially if they are a pair and are courting. i am really hoping they are a pair. thanks


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## salvoz (May 10, 2004)

if the one not calling is "following" the other around the viv (without doing so merely to jump on the calling animal to wrestle) you probably have a pair. Males will generally not follow each other around the tank unless they are looking to wrestle


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

thanks. one question- when you said "males will not follow each other around the tank unless they are looking to wrestle", do they chase each other, like one jumping extremely fast away and the other one not stopping the chase? or like what i was describing they slowly follow each other around the tank. then they might brake up after afew minutes but would get back together after the "leader" decides to call in about 5 minutes? thanks


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## salvoz (May 10, 2004)

typically, the following during courting coincides with calling and the male leading the female by using a slow, jerky and somewhat exaggerated "walk"--it is much different than when the male is fleeing another male, as in that case, the male is usually jumping large distances and tring to find cover.


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

well i haven't really seen the "walk". i have seen the male call and the other one come over and they would sit together for a few minutes. then the male would take a short hop or two. it would take a couple minutes for the female to catch on and follow him, and somtimes she wouldn't. if she didn't follow him, he would backtrack, go back to her, call to get her attention, and hop away again, and then she would usually follow. occassionally i see them just sitting next to each other on a leaf. again it could be that there isn't a female in the tank so they aren't too aggressive, but i am starting to think they are a pair. i might try separating them again though to see who calls and who doesn't. thanks


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

well when i went into feed them i saw one on a brom not calling, and heard one calling. i looked, and saw the pattern/ coloring on the one that wasn't calling. it was kinda hard since they both look very similair. unfortunately, i think i mixed up who was calling and who wasn't :roll: . oh well better luck next time... thanks


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