I need help : mating or fighting!

Lalaruth

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Jun 24, 2017
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I need help. I just acquired another box tortoise and the first one was a rescue the second one I found it through a website and somebody decided that it needed to be rehomed so I took it . Now I have two Box Turtles and I wanted to know if these two are mating or they are fighting and or I need to separate them. What do you suggest? There is a video to accompany my question and so far I haven’t separated but I want to know if the scratching could lead to a loss or a scratch on the cornea I’m just worried about the scratching because to me if there are mating is kind of aggressive. I will also include the photographs of both of their plastron and tell me if you can tell if one is a male and one is female. IMG_1567.jpgIMG_1571.jpgIMG_1556.jpg
 

Relic

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After many decades of husbandry, I've only had one aggressive box turtle - a large Gulf Coast male that would fight a grizzly bear if given the opportunity. He had to be separated from everybody. Usually, when a new turtle is introduced, if it is a female a male will quickly give her a go, or if it's a male he will quickly choose a new female for mating. It's like they encounter other turtles so infrequently in the wild, when they are suddenly in close proximity to several others at once, their hormones get jacked-up off the scale. And the mating ritual can get wild; the male biting the shell around the head of the female, him nosing the female around to the desired position, and then a dogged determination to complete the act that would shame many back-seat-Chevy teenagers...
 

dmmj

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Either way pairs are a bad idea. Not good to keep them in pairs. Solo or 3 or more
 

Blessus

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Normally on a box turtle if the eyes are red it is a male if the eyes are brown it is a female the female has a flat bottom in the male has one that is curved
 

ColleenT

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Normally on a box turtle if the eyes are red it is a male if the eyes are brown it is a female the female has a flat bottom in the male has one that is curved

No, the eyes are not a good way to tell. i have a male with brown eyes. The best way it the vent area. From what i can see in the pics, it looks like the top pic is a male and the lower pic looks more like a female.
 

Tom

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Mating can be aggressive in box turtles. Either way they should never live as a pair. In a large heavily planted enclosure it is possible to do one male and several females, but never a pair. You need separate enclosures for them.
 

Lalaruth

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Mating can be aggressive in box turtles. Either way they should never live as a pair. In a large heavily planted enclosure it is possible to do one male and several females, but never a pair. You need separate enclosures for them.

I have 4 females and 1 male is that a good ratio?
 

Lalaruth

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No, the eyes are not a good way to tell. i have a male with brown eyes. The best way it the vent area. From what i can see in the pics, it looks like the top pic is a male and the lower pic looks more like a female.

You are right! Her face started turning red within a month so highly colored. IMG_1560.jpg
 

oneilmatt

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Either way pairs are a bad idea. Not good to keep them in pairs. Solo or 3 or more
Why is this? I've never heard this before. I recently got a pair of 3-toeds, one male and one female, and I have yet to notice any issues.
 
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