- Joined
- Dec 4, 2011
- Messages
- 794
Love is in the air here and I have separated out a 90-100lb male to prevent carapace wear on the ladies. He rubs the keratin thin with his incessant breeding. The enclosure we moved him into is next to/sharing the wall with an enclosure housing a 45lb lone male. In hindsight this was obviously a stupid human error, an incredible lapse of judgement that almost cost me a tortoise. At the moment of separation, it never even crossed my mind. I have (foolishly!) grown so comfortable with these boys that even though I KNOW their aggressive potential I just keep them separated, never witness it, and thus it is not always in the forefront of my mind. Not anymore....
The walls around the enclosure are the same 24" wooden fences that enclose all of my tortoises. This morning I walked outside and to my shock and horror the large male had successfully rammed the fence at its base, causing the top to angle into his enclosure. Fortunately the posts held, and he still would not have been able to escape despite the warped fence. However where the fence was leaning slightly the smaller male had managed to climb up the incline of the now bent fence and he was essentially 'standing' on his rear legs with his front legs dangling over the side of the abutting enclosure, struggling to get himself in. The two of them were staring at each other merely inches apart. I believe if I would not have walked out there when I did the smaller male would eventually have managed to climb the fence completely, and hate to think what would have happened when he got into the enclosure with my large, unhappy male.
Very very scary and a definite wake up call. I have been owning these tortoises for years and years and know better than allow them access to each other. I never should have placed them so closely, but prior to this morning I did not doubt the integrity of my fence. Just wanted to share this information here, least it make someone else thing twice about the proximity of their adult male sulcatas. I feel so fortunate to be writing a post with the ending being a lesson learned, a fierce reminder and two healthy tortoises having been relocated on the property because this almost had a much more tragic ending. Still trembling as I type this.
The walls around the enclosure are the same 24" wooden fences that enclose all of my tortoises. This morning I walked outside and to my shock and horror the large male had successfully rammed the fence at its base, causing the top to angle into his enclosure. Fortunately the posts held, and he still would not have been able to escape despite the warped fence. However where the fence was leaning slightly the smaller male had managed to climb up the incline of the now bent fence and he was essentially 'standing' on his rear legs with his front legs dangling over the side of the abutting enclosure, struggling to get himself in. The two of them were staring at each other merely inches apart. I believe if I would not have walked out there when I did the smaller male would eventually have managed to climb the fence completely, and hate to think what would have happened when he got into the enclosure with my large, unhappy male.
Very very scary and a definite wake up call. I have been owning these tortoises for years and years and know better than allow them access to each other. I never should have placed them so closely, but prior to this morning I did not doubt the integrity of my fence. Just wanted to share this information here, least it make someone else thing twice about the proximity of their adult male sulcatas. I feel so fortunate to be writing a post with the ending being a lesson learned, a fierce reminder and two healthy tortoises having been relocated on the property because this almost had a much more tragic ending. Still trembling as I type this.
