Male or Female Sulcata ?
- Thread starter taufanss
- Start date
The sulcata that we took the pictures was claimed as female and said that already lay eggs two times by the seller.
But when my friends put the newly arrived male sulcata inside the enclosure. The one that was claimed as female (the one that we took the pictures of) is trying to overcome from the top like mating.
Is it the sign of teritorial or mating ?
Please help us to identify the genre of this sulcata.
Best regards,
Taufan S
Females often do this. It's a dominance act, not a breeding act. The pictures in the first post look like a female tortoise to me.
Thank you Yvonne.. I'll tell my friend tommorow..
That is indeed a female sulcata.
I agree female and they should not house 1 male and 1 female together. They can be aggressive and one will bully or the male will try to breed the female to illness or death. They need separate enclosures and only put together for monitored breeding then separated again.
The same for your two aldabras if you see any bullying aggression. Aldabras are not as aggressive as sulcatas can be and Yvonne had two males living together for a long time. So you just need to watch for it where the sulcatas will for sure need to be separated.
The same for your two aldabras if you see any bullying aggression. Aldabras are not as aggressive as sulcatas can be and Yvonne had two males living together for a long time. So you just need to watch for it where the sulcatas will for sure need to be separated.
Thank you Mark..
Thank you so much for the knowledge and guidance you gave this several days. It really mean so much for me, truly..
Marlin4000
New Member
We have very large Sulcatas living together... 2M and 1F. All happy and no bullying. There are 4 "caves" for them to sleep in and often all 3 sleep together. When I place their large food tray in their paddock, no one ever crowds the others for a spot, but the last one to the tray walks around to find their spot. No one is stressed. Perhaps the secret is providing them with ample room to roam, dig and places to sleep... along with a good diet, as the mix of 2 males and 1 female don't seem to be any issue for them living here together happily in Miami. (We have kept one considerably smaller female, about 10 pounds separate from the 3 big ones until she is of safe size to put with our backyard monsters.)
How old are they and what size? I got away with this same thing in a giant outdoor enclosure for several years… until the day I didn't get away with it anymore.
Understand that this is not ideal, could end at any time, and you'll need three separate enclosures since they can't be kept as pairs.
Marlin4000
New Member
Our two males are approaching 100 pound monsters with the female slightly less. Big. Big.and very active, as all three come running (as fast as big tortoises can move) when they see me with a big tray full of 15 pounds of assorted greens mixed with two kinds of tortoise pellets. No conflicts whatsoever between them. Please understand that I have years of experience with a vast diversity of exotic creatures, as I owned a corporation that bred and imported many species (always with a great respect for the environment, nature and species) for zoos and public aquariums. (Two exotic fishes include my name in their formal designation and I have been honored with many awards for my work.), and I have been blessed with a lot of respect from the world zoological community, so I am not exactly a novice keeping animals. Years ago, when I began my work and research, one of the world's greatest reptile people, whom I'm proud to still have as a friend, (he is now in his 80's), warned me that the first rule of real science was to not blindly believe what others have written as fact before me. While I am not some nutcase rogue trying to disagree with everyone who has experience with particular animals, I've tried hard to form opinions on what I observe based upon a reasonable sampling, while taking in and respecting the sincere work of others too. Over the years I've worked with many many species of animals, and still keep many more than probably the most avid private keepers. (Two hours of feeding all our animal friends each day and a animal food bill now exceeding $150 a week, sometimes double that....). In posting my remarks about my Sulcatas, I can only comment on my own experience and not knowing the circumstances or precise housing arrangements of others, I cannot dispute or agree with their findings.
