Male mating behaviour

Easdown

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May 7, 2017
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I have an 8 year old marginated tortoise. He's very active and very friendly. I've not had any problems with aggressive behavior until the last month or so. He has started biting us and rams into things (literally anything fluffy), he has also started humping things. I understand that he has reached sexual maturity but will the aggressive behavior stop or will this be a continuous thing now?
Has anyone got any advice on how help?
Thanks in advance!
 

tarta4ever

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May 14, 2010
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yes this behavior is due to testosterone, i ve a male that have to be isolated because he is very aggressive towards the female but he ignored any other things so i think that you should take a couple of female
 

Yvonne G

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Hopefully he will tone it down once he becomes used to his new, more virile self. Some do, some don't.
 

tglazie

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Yes, this is really a wait and see situation. Virtually all marginated males I've encountered are aggressive, but they vary wildly according to degree, and they are all different in what elicits an aggressive response. All of my mature males are very aggressive toward all tortoises, and one of my females shares the same characteristic. Luckily, none of them are aggressive toward people, but I do have an eastern hermanns tort who is exceptionally aggressive toward any creature that moves into his territory. I can't watch him eat, even, because he constantly wants to attack any time my form drifts within view. I try to watch him through binoculars to ensure that he's engaged in all the normal tortoise behaviors. He's an oddball, that fella, but not at all unusual. He's still young, so he may yet grow out of it, but honestly, you just never know how these guys are going to act until you see it play itself out. Ultimately, you'll get used to it. At least he's not a sulcata. Those boys, when they get irrationally upset, can cause some damage. An angry margie, fortunately, just means you have to watch where you're walking so you don't get your foot humped or bitten.

T.G.
 
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