BassMaster4379
Member
I have three Russian hatchlings all from the same clutch that have been housed together since birth. They are approximately two and half months old and there has never been any signs of aggression, whatsoever.
I happened to be watching them, at which time, one hatchling was roaming the cage and ultimately ended up heading back toward the hide under the heat lamp where the other two hatchlings were basking.
The two basking hatchlings were blocking the entryway to the hide, which it seems is where the third hatchling was trying to go.
The third hatchling then proceeded to "check out" one of the other hatchlings by extending his head and appearing to smell him, almost how a dog would to a person's hand. Then, shockingly, out of nowhere, he bit him!
The hatchling that was bitten didn't shy away from the "biter's" initial approach, which leads me to believe this is the first time something like this has ever happened. I think the bitten hatchling was just as shocked as I was.
Additionally the three tortoises have been seen eating together and they have been soaked together repeatedly without ever witnessing any signs of aggression at all.
Was this a simple case of the biting tortoise asking the other one, rather impolitely, to move so that he could go into the hide, or maybe just a case of curiosity or confusion, or is this a case of aggression that I should be worried about?
It should also be noted that I regularly check and monitor the tortoises for injuries and illness, to which I have found no evidence of either.
I don't want to be hasty and separate them when it's not necessary, but I also don't want to allow aggression to continue unchecked. While I certainly have the "ability" to separate them, my preference is to keep them together for as long as possible, realizing, of course, that adulthood will likely call for separate enclosures.
My understanding is that aggression in small hatchlings is rather uncommon, particularly ones that have been together since birth, but I just want to make sure I'm making the right call by keeping them together.
Any help would be very much appreciated!
I happened to be watching them, at which time, one hatchling was roaming the cage and ultimately ended up heading back toward the hide under the heat lamp where the other two hatchlings were basking.
The two basking hatchlings were blocking the entryway to the hide, which it seems is where the third hatchling was trying to go.
The third hatchling then proceeded to "check out" one of the other hatchlings by extending his head and appearing to smell him, almost how a dog would to a person's hand. Then, shockingly, out of nowhere, he bit him!
The hatchling that was bitten didn't shy away from the "biter's" initial approach, which leads me to believe this is the first time something like this has ever happened. I think the bitten hatchling was just as shocked as I was.
Additionally the three tortoises have been seen eating together and they have been soaked together repeatedly without ever witnessing any signs of aggression at all.
Was this a simple case of the biting tortoise asking the other one, rather impolitely, to move so that he could go into the hide, or maybe just a case of curiosity or confusion, or is this a case of aggression that I should be worried about?
It should also be noted that I regularly check and monitor the tortoises for injuries and illness, to which I have found no evidence of either.
I don't want to be hasty and separate them when it's not necessary, but I also don't want to allow aggression to continue unchecked. While I certainly have the "ability" to separate them, my preference is to keep them together for as long as possible, realizing, of course, that adulthood will likely call for separate enclosures.
My understanding is that aggression in small hatchlings is rather uncommon, particularly ones that have been together since birth, but I just want to make sure I'm making the right call by keeping them together.
Any help would be very much appreciated!