LUNA'S BACK SAFE

[Russianuncletwo]

LUNA'S BACK SAFE AFTER 10 DAYS!!! My missing/lost tortoise, Luna is back home safe and sleeping with his new Tortoise bride, Jadely at this very moment! The details (half of which currently on one of my town's websites by another resident) of him being reunited with me were outrageous. After their meeting and Luna "squeaking" (I forgot they do that when meeting one of their own, particularly male meeting a female if I recall), not believing in anything but separate "hides", I raced out all over to get another, only to come home and find the two huddled together, sleeping like babies! My Luna's back and I'm getting real fond of Jadely.

 

[Jodie]

Congrats! That's great news. I would keep them in separate enclosures though.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

Yeah, I know. I'm at the edge of my seat at this point and the newbie is smaller and may not be ready for my Luna.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Squeaking is what the male does during mating. A pair of Russians can be a recipe for disaster. Bullying is easy to misinterpret, easy to assign different meaning.

 

[Careym13]

That is great news!!!

 

[wellington]

Glad you got him back. I have to stress the seperating them, specially Russians can be really scrappy fighters.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

Congrats! That's great news. I would keep them in separate enclosures though.

That's what I'm thinking but Luna's so relaxed with her around after all he's been through (ending with a "vigilante" putting him in his pocket on a motorcycle (vibrations alone must have made Luna freak) on a 91 degree day to "save him" from captivity.) The new female also seems to have calmed and huddles nearby and shares the hide but I know these critters and am keeping a wide eye out - "the party" may be over soon and all torts to their respective quarters; still keeping an open mind though to the fact this may be just what is needed-they're all different.
My Luna who has been antsy around any noises if I’m not directly with him suddenly stretches out and looks so much more secure, maybe thinking these noises were just his new female tortoise companion? Taking notes, I am practically writing a thesis (!) on the observations. My biggest concerns-checked out as she was supposed to be, did she bring in parasites and were her eyes closed today while basking next to him in relaxation or fear? (I've seen that kind of thing.) No, I don't think so. I have a good feeling about this and if Luna, who initially (despite his mating call Tuesday) seemed apprehensive going into the hide at first after she went in, most likely has not done a turnaround as watching them today, if he were harassing her, she wouldn't have ended up laying next to him and would have been burrowed further away or "climbing the walls". Tonight Luna went in the hide first and Jadely, the female followed right behind him. I know someone in another forum who has a male and female (formerly a trio-2 males and one female) that have gotten along with no issue and literally seem like pals. Size of enclosure probably makes a difference.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

Glad you got him back. I have to stress the seperating them, specially Russians can be really scrappy fighters.

Have you seen this between a fairly young male and a smaller, younger female? Have you been able to judge their potential for aggressive behavior by their normal personality-in other words, would an extremely docile, shy male tort be much less likely to become a tyrant with a "peer" out of character?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Have you seen this between a fairly young male and a smaller, younger female? Have you been able to judge their potential for aggressive behavior by their normal personality-in other words, would an extremely docile, shy male tort be much less likely to become a tyrant with a "peer" out of character?

They're Russians. They will fight. It may start out very subtle, but it's going to happen.
Sleeping together means that it's a nice place to sleep and soon one will be pushed out of there.
Your heart is in the right place, but Russians are about the scrappiest species on the planet.