# Is there a difference in personality between a male and female tortoise?



## TortoiseKeeper6 (Jul 15, 2017)

Just like the title. Is there a difference in personality between a male and female tortoises if so what are these differences?


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## Tom (Jul 15, 2017)

In general males are more bold and outgoing. Males are also more likely to fight and be territorial. This will vary by species, and there are always exceptions.


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## wellington (Jul 15, 2017)

I have two female leopards and two males. My males are friendlier and will go in and out of their hide and roam their enclosures daily. They will also come right up to me. The females mostly want to just lay all day and barely come out, maybe 1-2 times a week and would rather I never came near them. In general, I think it's the same for most tort species.
Also, if you don't want to breed, a male in my opinion is better not only for their better personality, but you don't have to worry about males becoming egg bound like you would in a female. A female can still lay eggs even if never with a male. The eggs of course would not be fertile if they were never bred.


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## ZEROPILOT (Jul 16, 2017)

My Redfoot males have always been more social towards humans and more bold.
However. My biggest bully was and still is a female. (And I don't mean my wife)


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## Yvonne G (Jul 16, 2017)

I think it depends upon individual animals, and species. In my desert tortoise yard, I see absolutely no difference towards me or each other between the sexes. I once had a large female sulcata in with my large male. The male has never offered to ram me, but that female would if you weren't paying attention.


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## seanang168 (Jul 18, 2017)

I got a star tortoise couple. The male is very active and outgoing. He would come after me and also walk over my feet. The female usually prefers to hide and go to a corner


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## Alaskamike (Jul 18, 2017)

I see differences in the torts I've cared for in general. The males do seem to be more active, less shy. 

There is a genetic / hormonal component to this , as it is the males that roam looking for females to mate , & occasionally fighting off another male for the privilege or territory 

No all species ( or individuals within a species ) demonstrate this. But in general , yes. 

I once watched a 'cowboy' try & break a Stallion . It was enough to convince me that was a bad idea, at least for me , 'course that was a horse , not a tortoise. . Lol.


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## orv (Jul 30, 2017)

I am a long-term keeper of CDT's. Currently living in our habitat is a 34 year old male and a female that is approximately 75 years of age. I am of the OPINION, based on observation, that CDT males live for three things and clearly in this order: food; sex; maintaining territory. Both genders will take food from the other. The male desires sex frequently (but then so did I at age 34). The male clearly desires to maintain and acquire territory aggressively. The female is merely curious as to what is happening in her world. I do not have a broad experience with CDT's, merely a long experience. My experience seems to be affirmed by talking with friends with CDT experience. I hope to have helped.


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## Teodora'sDAD (Jul 30, 2017)

My female Sulcata is a mixed bag. She keeps me on my toes.


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## David Save (Sep 10, 2017)

ZEROPILOT said:


> My Redfoot males have always been more social towards humans and more bold.
> However. My biggest bully was and still is a female. (And I don't mean my wife)


 How early can you tell the gender of redfoots?


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## Aeva (Sep 11, 2017)

It's funny. My males are more shy and less active than my females. Sometimes I can tell that my females are the bosses, and the males are scared of them.


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## tglazie (Sep 11, 2017)

It depends on the species and individual. I keep marginated tortoises, primarily, and they are the species with whom I've had the bulk of my experience. I've also owned several sulcatas in the past, a few for several years, and one big one for all of his decade plus of life that was unfortunately cut short by disease. My uncle owns several leopards and red foots, and I've fostered everything from Russians to Hermanns to various hingebacks, and my first tortoise and most longstanding resident in my group is a Southern Turkish Greek tortoise. To generalize, yes, males are more gregarious than females, and my longest standing resident, that Turkish ibera Graecus, is a total monster. He will run up on you without a moments hesitation if he thinks there's food to be had, and he will knock the snot out of anything that even remotely resembles a tortoise. I remember some years back when a large female red ear had escaped her pond and made the unfortunate mistake of escaping into Graecus' paddock. He had the poor girl in a corner as he rammed her without refrain. During the spring and autumn, the guy paces twenty miles, sun up to sun down, seeking food or an enemy to run off his lot. During the hottest days of summer, he paces maybe ten miles. Hot summer days remain as hot summer nights, and I often find him crashed out in some random spot out in the open, because the guy just keeps going until the darkness tells him he can't be awake anymore. He's a charming little fellow, until you pick him up to inspect him or take him for a twice weekly bath. It is then that you realize his incredible strength as he twists his legs to find the best spot to dig his claws in. I have marginateds that are twice his size, and he is indisputably twice their strength. I love that little guy. 

Most males aren't as crazy as he is. All of my marginated males, for instance, are actually rather reserved, and they range from anti-social and shy to social but wary. None of them charge me to get a meal. Big Gino is my most outgoing male, but even he won't charge at me for a meal. He will simply be in the right place in the morning for when I walk about for the supplementary feedings. Every morning, I walk into his pen, and he doesn't charge at me. He simply knows where he has to be so that he may be seen. When I drop the food item, he generally waits for me to give him some space before he starts eating the grape leaves, hibiscus flowers, whatever it is I've picked for him that day. The guy's got manners. 

Regarding the females, mine are generally fairly reserved. However, I've had some memorable exceptions. Lady Gino, my biggest and oldest female marginated tortoise, is ridiculously outgoing for a marginated tortoise. She sleeps in late in the morning, which is very odd. Usually I find her either in her insulated shelter or nestled in some overgrown weeds. Whenever I find her running about, it is primarily in the evening. Usually I'm able to catch her right when I get home from the shop, and she's usually jonesing for a pile of mulberry leaves or some dandelion (or any sort of flower, really; she's not a picky tortoise). Unlike the other margies, this girl will come charging over to get my attention. She's also one of the most aggressive females when it comes to combat that I've ever seen. What's interesting about her is that I always kept her and two other females with a single, very aggressive male named Little Gino, who is quite shy with people, but is a complete psychopath when it comes to interacting with other tortoises. Due to my ignorance, I kept these animals together, and Lady Gino really never blossomed into her full potential. Once I separated these animals, Lady Gino really started coming into her own. Interestingly enough, once I reintroduced Lady Gino to her former domestic partner, I saw a whole new side, the fighting side. See, Lady Gino is bigger than Little Gino, on account of the fact that she is three years his senior, plus the fact that she's just rather big for a marginated. She used this size to her advantage, and though she seemed to be pulling her punches at first, she soon bucked Little Gino when he tried to mount her, turning around to bite his arms and face, ramming and pushing back. Since that time, I've tried reintroducing her to some of the other girls, who are generally not so aggressive. Every time I've done this, she goes into domination mode and starts biting and mounting and shoving the other girls. And she does this no matter what time of year it is, whether she has eggs or not. She's just one of those gals who doesn't take any guff off of any tortoise, and she's happy to dispense the guff to anyone within visual range. 

I used to foster a female sulcata that I housed as a juvenile with two other sulcatas, a juvenile male and a juvenile female. Interestingly, I've heard from my uncle and many others who have kept sulcatas that males are often the ones to display aggression first. This wasn't the case with my little foster group. The male was just a big dumb eating machine, but he was harmless. The female, on the other hand, was a monster who would viciously ram and push the other tortoises. I couldn't tell you if any one of that group was more gregarious than the others, given that they were sulcatas and sulcatas, in my experience, seem to be pretty much universally friendly and willing to approach their keepers for food. But when it came to outright animosity, you could see how that lady would be one way in front of me, neck stretched out, legs pushed upward to reach my level, and another way around the others, head tucked into the shell, low to the ground, constantly aiming to overturn the others. She was just mean. 

My uncle's redfoot is also a giant bully, but she isn't so much a beat 'em up, alpha type. She just practices more passive forms of dominance. She will sit on the food and puff herself up when any of the others attempt to access the food pile. What's funny is that when I would offer the food in multiple piles, she plays musical chairs with them and becomes quite exasperated in her attempts to hog all the food for herself. Whenever I would sit for my uncle, I'd often put her in the time out pen for morning feedings, allowing her access to the group quarters at midday. 

So yes, generally speaking, males are bolder, but there are some gals out there who suffer no fools and will upturn that which you thought you knew about these little beasts. 

T.G.


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## Hermany'sMum (Sep 14, 2017)

I only have a girl and she's very friendly and bold. Happily says hello to folk when we are out, never seems to get frightened and the only time she shows any aggression is if she comes across something orange. So far she headbutts an orange bag of leaves at the church we walk at and she has headbutted a pumpkin  Tortoises are strange!


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## the Turtle Shepherd (Sep 14, 2017)

fun post to read my redfoots are the same: female is more reserved and less active and the male is more active and is named Buffalo for a reason, lol


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