# Imitator calling



## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

I was advised by someone today that male imitators only call if a female is present. I'm not saying this person is wrong or out to prove him wrong, I would just like some feedback from others. What do you guys say?


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## frogmanroth (May 23, 2006)

Nope they will call when put in a new tank and misted by themselves, thats how we sex them out most cases.


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## flapjax3000 (Jul 4, 2009)

I have a male that is in a container by himself. He calls on a consistent basis.


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## ggazonas (May 11, 2008)

They will call by themselves. I have one that calls when he hears the other imis is vivs far away from his


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I'm basically trying to guess at the sex of my unknown veradero imitator. I bought them as a probable pair and it turned out that the one thought to be female (slightly larger of the 2) is in fact a male. As soon as he came out of hiding this morning, he ate a couple ff's and then started calling lightly from the bottom of the viv. He did this maybe 3 or 4 times and hasn't done it since (that I saw/heard). The other imi was out and about before him and when the male did finally come out, the smaller one stayed high up on the back glass wall while the male explored all over (they were just introduced to the viv yesterday). I have seen no aggression between the 2, however.


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

I joked about this with Randy last time I met him but in fairness it's the first time I've heard him not guess the pair correctly. How old are they? Take photos of them from above and from the side, preferably both in the same photo. It's not an exact science but I'm game to try.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

johnc said:


> I joked about this with Randy last time I met him but in fairness it's the first time I've heard him not guess the pair correctly. How old are they? Take photos of them from above and from the side, preferably both in the same photo. It's not an exact science but I'm game to try.


Standby for some better comparison pics. I'll try to get some better ones today. Guess I should ask him how old they are...that one slipped past me lol.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Here is the image that was supplied to be before I purchased them. I have been unable to get a shot of them side by side, basically because they haven't really came into close contact. The male doesn't move around much after he wakes up and emerges from the bromeliad in the morning but he has been seen and heard calling a couple times after he does emerge. That is the only times I have heard/seen him call. The other one is usually high up on the glass when he comes out. I may seperate them and place the unknown in a 10 gallon to see if it starts to call or not.








I added the text myself. The male is a bit larger than the other one and was the one that was thought to be female. They are both 5 months old.


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

No one can give you more than a 50/50 guess from that photo but my instinct is to say they are both young males.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Yea, I'm pretty certain that the unsexed on is also a male. I'm thinking I should start looking for a female to trade one for. They don't seem too happy to be living in the same viv. While there hasn't been any fighting that I could see, the larger one that I witnessed calling hasn't moved around any today and only called once this morning when it finally came out of the brom a couple hours after the lights came on...the smaller one comes out as soon as the lights are on. He has literally sat on the same bromeliad 'leaf' that he crawled out onto when he came out of the axil....and is asleep there too, out in the open. The smaller one is also very active and constantly climbs around the top of the glass. I suspect that there is tension between the two in which I'll probably have to remedy by separation until I can locate a female.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Ok, now it gets more weird. The male has been calling almost nonstop this morning. The smaller one has been sitting up on high on the back wall of the viv. I looked overand saw the male dancing around the smaller one yet there was no fighting or contact of any kind. The smaller one moved around very little. Is it possible that this is actual courtship or could the male just be establishing dominance over the smaller one?


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

I think we have a score!!!!! The smaller one is following the male and the male has stroked it's head.


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Video?????


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

they stopped a few mins ago


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

been courting on and off today....safe to say that i have a pair?


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

Video!!!! 






Please?


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

I'm without camera...the kodak i was using had been having problems where the LCD would throw green lines and the unit would shut off. I took it back to Walmart today.


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

*sniffles...


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

I responded in another thread but if they are a pair, I think she's probably too small to do much right now. Maybe a month or two.


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## npaull (May 8, 2005)

I'd add that they won't ALWAYS call by themselves.

I had a suspected male intermedius in a tank by himself for 5 months. He wouldn't/didn't call. One day I got fed up with waiting and put him in with a known female. 

*Literally* within one minute he called. There was no significant change in conditions from one tank to the next.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Here's what's goin on with them:

YouTube - verimi2.wmv

YouTube - imicall1

(in case you didn't see in the other threads)

unfortunately, I did not see the 'female' follow him around today, but 'she' did the other day.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

M'lady, based on their behavior, you have a pair. Rest easy.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. I'm actually a guy though...Arrynia is the name of my paladin on world of warcraft LOL. 
Like others have said, she probably isn't quite mature enough just yet. Hopefully within the next month or so she will be ready.


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## earthfrog (May 18, 2008)

haha---sorry bout that---guess I assumed b/c it was a feminine sounding name


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

not a problem lol


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## johnc (Oct 9, 2009)

You had a good thing going there and you blew it!


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## D3monic (Feb 8, 2010)

So how they doing? Still calling? How many egg laying sites do you have in there for them? I ordered a bunch of film cans with suction cups from NE supply to stick all over for em. Id love to see some more pics too!


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

D3monic said:


> So how they doing? Still calling? How many egg laying sites do you have in there for them? I ordered a bunch of film cans with suction cups from NE supply to stick all over for em. Id love to see some more pics too!


They are doing great! Both are eating well and seem to be more comfortable in the viv as they spend a lot less time on the glass than they did when I first got them. Still calling? I think a better question would be: 'Does the male ever shut up?' and the answer is NO.  He sometimes calls in the middle of the night even. Today he was calling alot more vigorously than usual and was calling every 2 to 3 seconds. The one that is probably a female was following him around a lot until he got to his favorite calling spot, the billbergia brom leaf that rests just under the leaves of the restrepia orchid. He seems to call from this spot daily so he must really see it as a good place to lay.  There are alot of places for them to lay...4 mature broms, philodendron leaves, and I have 4 film canisters stuck in various positions on the glass. 2 of them are tilted upward at a 45 degree angle to hold water, 1 is completely vertical with the opening at the bottom and the other is completely horizontal. I was lucky and the local photo lab had a few that hadn't hit the dumpster yet. Walmart had some suction cups with metal hangers on them so I picked up a couple packages. Took the metal hangers off, melted holes in the canisters with my solder iron and popped the suction cups in. 
And...the yes, I do have a couple new pics taken just before lights out. They have been sleeping in the billbergia together every night for about a week. Mt el cheapo nikon camera isn't good at caprturing the colors very well at all...they look much prettier in person.


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