Help! (male/female aggression)

[coledoug1]

Help (breeding aggression)

Hi I have 2 Russian tortoises a male and a female. My male was just biting the female all over and head bobbing. What does this mean?

 

[Tom]

RE: Help

It means you should separate them right away and give each of them their own habitat. Russians almost never get along in pairs. Introduce them for breeding in a large outdoor enclosure periodically, but be ready for combat. They can be brutal breeders.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: Help

Great advice given above.

The behavior you are seeing is courtship for mating. He could literally hassle her to death.

Sent from my TFOapp

 

[coledoug1]

Help

Okay thanks. So this means that they are mating?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

RE: Help (breeding aggression)

It means he wants to and is trying to.

That doesn't mean she will want to let him, it doesn't mean it will be successful either.

He could kill her trying before she "gives in". Do you know how large the female is? Is she ready? She still needs her breaks from him. He can't be there to go at it all day long day after day on her.

Separate them. If you want to have a try at breeding then only allow them short times together for mating.

 

[coledoug1]

Help (breeding aggression)

The female tortoise is 6 inches long. She is 7 years old also

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: Help (breeding aggression)

The female tortoise is 6 inches long. She is 7 years old also

Then, separate them but allow for brief periods together if you are trying for breeding.

Sent from my TFOapp

 

[coledoug1]

Help (breeding aggression)

Why would I seperate them?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Re: RE: Help

He could literally hassle her to death.

Like I said, he can literally mate her to death. It isn't fair or healthy for the single female to be subject to this constant behavior.

I keep a male with 3 females. His "attention" is divided among them enough to give them rotating breaks.

Sent from my TFOapp

 

[coledoug1]

Help (breeding aggression)

Should you seperate the male or female?

 

[Beck]

Re: Help (breeding aggression)

It doesn't matter who you pull out. It sounds like you'll need two permanent enclosures. Can you split your outside space down the middle with pavers or bricks for now?

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[coledoug1]

Help (breeding aggression)

I have an indoor enclosure also. I will put the female in there for a little while. How often should they be wit each other?

 

[tyrs4u]

Help (breeding aggression)

Russian mating is so evil... But then again the Greeks with their shell bashing isnt better [TURTLE][TURTLE][TURTLE]

 

[biochemnerd808]

RE: Help (breeding aggression)

The behavior of biting and head bobbing is usually a combination of mating behavior and territorial behavior. In the wild, the male would encounter a female, court her briefly, mount her, and go away (or chase her away, depending on whether he is in her territory, or she in his).

In captivity, she has nowhere to go, so he not only will continually mate with her, he will also bite her and show aggression because he can't figure out why the heck she won't go away after mating.

I learned this lesson the hard way a couple years ago - with 1 female and 1 male, the male will mate her (or bite her, or both) so often, that the female will become withdrawn, might hide all the time and stop eating. Worst case, she'll die.

This is why people are recommending you separate them. Keeping them in separate enclosures will relieve the stress, and will also reduce the frequency of mating (cuz really, does the female need to be mounted 15x daily to produce eggs? no!) I have personally seen cases where the female was mated so often that she got raw skin 'down there' (that wasn't mine, it was a rescue @Lynnedit took in). My female got a bunch of scales pulled off her front legs, as well as a bite on her nares (nostrils) and neck.

Outside in a very large enclosure, they MIGHT do ok, but again, 1 female and 1 male can be very problematic, because the female just won't get a break.

Why would I seperate them?

 

[peasinapod]

RE: Help (breeding aggression)

I've seen pictures of females with holes in their shell near the back end, because a male would constantly try to mate with them.

 

[coledoug1]

Help (breeding aggression)

How often should they be able to be with each other?

 

[coledoug1]

Yesterday my Russian tortoise was biting my female and bobbing his head back and forth. I seperated them after he stopped. Today she is not eating. I am worried because she eats everyday. What does this mean?

 

[Beck]

Re: Help!

She may just be stressed from the ordeal yesterday, and not sure if he's creeping in the bushes ready to pounce again. Give her some time.

Did you move her or the male into the indoor enclosure? Are the temps correct?

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[coledoug1]

Help!

Yes. I moved the male inside by himself. She is outside and it is about 80 degrees.

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Re: Help!

This is the Russian Tortoise's mating ritual, very aggressive. Its best to not keep them in pairs, this is a prime example of why.