General Care Discussion :: pileing up!

[scary7480]

ok, We have two males, and the are always "piggy-backing" each other, is this normal?

[steve]

In water or only when they are basking? How big are they now?

[marisa]

Welcome. If they're doing it in the water, as long as there's no aggression (nipping at the neck, etc.) then there shouldn't be a problem. If it's while they're basking, the one on top is trying to get closer to the heat.

[scary7480]

actually mostly when they are resting, sometimes when they are basking. the other thing is sometimes they get face to face, with their front feet pointed at one and other and kind of shake their claws. My wife calls it "spirit finger fights" because for lack of a better description it seems to fit. We have had them both for six months, adopted them from a family member who could no longer care for them. They are both approx 5-6 years old. approx 4-6 inches in length. we have them housed in a 120 gallon tank with a 12"x 6" basking platform centered 1' under the heat/uv source. I was just unable to find any information on the behavior and wanted to make sure it was not an issue.

[steve]

If they do it while basking, it's called "stacking". As marisa said, they're trying to get closer to the heat. Be careful so they do not get too close to the light or heat source or even have a chance to escape.

Shaking claws is called "fluttering", males do it to females to get their attention, but either can do it to warn the other as things may lead to aggression.

[scary7480]

thanks for all the help! the tank is 24" deep so they cant get to the heat lamp or escape. the "fluttering" never amounts to anything, so I guess I won't worry about it! thanks again for the responses!