Erosa behavior

[tortadise]

Some very unusual behavior I noted shortly after putting the erosa outside in there pen. The males have been rubbing the bois d arc trees bark with there gular. Literally like a pig rubs on a tree to scratch. They have even shredded off a large piece of bark. Bois d arc trees are some of the hardest wood out there too.

Check it out. Those rub marks are from that male. Weirdest behavioral characteristic I've seen in any chelonian.


And seen here. That giant chunk was these guys playing lumberjack. Not sure how they ripped it off the tree. But these guys are loving this tree and doing some sort of ritualistic behavior with it. Hope whatever it is, leads to fertile eggs.

 

[naturalman91]

hmm that is weird is it possible they're marking there territory?

 

[tortadise]

Perhaps. I certainly haven't read anything in proceedings or journal entries of studies done on these guys about that.

 

[FLINTUS]

Never seen this with trees, but I have seen them do it to big limestone chunks in their enclosure. Not sure why, as @naturalman91 suggested, I would guess it is a territory thing.

 

[tortadise]

Funny how they act. Bob here loves to get atop the Boston ferns and eat them, the females just eat the leaves as they drape over onto the ground. I have to change them out about every month or 2 to allow them to grow back. At first I only placed them in for shelter/hides but quickly found out, this one of their favorite food items.

Almost up there Bob


And of course he falls off and takes a different angle of approach.

 

[Benjamin]

Turtles can be weird sometimes, goes with the territory!

 

[tortadise]

Turtles can be weird sometimes, goes with the territory!

Thats so very true. Especially with kinixys, and any deep forest dwellers. One of those bromeliads you sent me is one of the Peruvian amazon basin yellow foots favorite place to sleep and hang out in. She gets up on the pot and just smashes the plant and hangs out in it. Luckily it's one that I have multiple specimens of.

 

[chelonologist]

My male erosa does this, too (rubbing his gular against objects). My guess is he's 'blowing off steam' so to speak, perhaps because his blood testosterone levels are high and he's looking for a fight with another male.

 

[tortadise]

It's definitely possible. I have seen the females do the same however. He is house with another 1.1 too I've never seen them battle at all. They just claim one of the females an breed always both at the same time. Always at the same time when this behavior occurs. For sure something peculiar with Erosa breeding habits.