Aggressive FEMALE Sulcata

[ascott]

Sounds like a plan....I believe that Yvonne and you are a couple of smart cookies.....keep us posted, this will be fun

 

[Livingstone]

Tom,

With a bully its not always a good idea to have them be bullied to fix the problem. It sounds like Daisy is an introverted tortoise, she likes to be alone hence why she chases the others away. If you interfere and move her to a location where she feels threatened, (aggression can be a defense mechanism) you may end up making her shyer and removing any trust she has in you and other tortoises.

For example, I had to administer injections to livingstone when she was a baby, she did not like me one bit for that and it was obvious, she always peed on me, never on Kate (my fiance), prior to the injections I was the food god and she would pee on Kate when she picked her up.

Im just saying that for an animal with the brain the size of a lentil they are very good at remembering who does what to them. You might actually try and socialize her yourself, normally I would say human intraction is bad, but in this case it might be better for both of you.

Of course I could be wrong, in which case... I raised my post count, and maybe stimulated your thoughts.

 

[dmarcus]

Yes I'm sure she will have a attitude adjustment after being run over by a few large Sulcata's... A taste of her own medicine my wife just said...

 

[Tom]

While all of us are sort of guessing here, my instinct tells me that she just needs some desensitization to the presence of other tortoises. I'm hoping that once she gets used to seeing the adults moving around her and doing their thing that she'll be less "bothered" by the presence of the littler ones too.

Time will tell. The big ones don't bully her and she really can't do anything to them other than slightly annoy them, so I'm going to give the "desensitization therapy" a try for a while and see how it goes.

Thanks to everyone for the input and discussion. I'll keep y'all posted and we can discuss it some more later.

 

[Weda737]

Just a random thought, Does the "super female" thing ever happen in tortoises like it does in leopard geckos? Maybe it's just individuality and she just likes being alone. For example, I do not like mayonnaise, apparently that makes me 'weird' around here lol

 

[Tom]

Just a random thought, Does the "super female" thing ever happen in tortoises like it does in leopard geckos? Maybe it's just individuality and she just likes being alone. For example, I do not like mayonnaise, apparently that makes me 'weird' around here lol

Yeah, but do you like Miracle Whip?

 

[EricIvins]

Give it about 6 months and the aggression should go away.........I've delt with a few different species that had the same issues, and that usually how long it took to become complacent and play well with others........

 

[Tom]

Give it about 6 months and the aggression should go away.........I've delt with a few different species that had the same issues, and that usually how long it took to become complacent and play well with others........

6 months of what routine though? She has daily forays in the adult enclosure, and that seems to be going well. She's already mostly ignoring the adults now and just going about her business of exploring every nook and cranny of the ENTIRE 7000 square feet. She's already learned to avoid Scooter, the male. I might try letting the yearlings run around in there a bit too, with close supervision, of course. This way I can see how she reacts to them now.

 

[kbaker]

Give it about 6 months and the aggression should go away.........I've delt with a few different species that had the same issues, and that usually how long it took to become complacent and play well with others........

6 months of what routine though? She has daily forays in the adult enclosure, and that seems to be going well. She's already mostly ignoring the adults now and just going about her business of exploring every nook and cranny of the ENTIRE 7000 square feet. She's already learned to avoid Scooter, the male. I might try letting the yearlings run around in there a bit too, with close supervision, of course. This way I can see how she reacts to them now.

I don't see the issue. They are just enjoying life now. Isn't that what you wanted?

 

[EricIvins]

Give it about 6 months and the aggression should go away.........I've delt with a few different species that had the same issues, and that usually how long it took to become complacent and play well with others........

6 months of what routine though? She has daily forays in the adult enclosure, and that seems to be going well. She's already mostly ignoring the adults now and just going about her business of exploring every nook and cranny of the ENTIRE 7000 square feet. She's already learned to avoid Scooter, the male. I might try letting the yearlings run around in there a bit too, with close supervision, of course. This way I can see how she reacts to them now.

Letting them stay together 24/7.......The dynamic will also change as the animal matures.......It will either get better, or exponentially worse......

The younger animals that I've had generally got over it a whole lot quicker and easier.......The older they are, the harder it is to correct the behavior.......I will say that with all the aggressive Tortoises I've had, I have been able to break them of the habit and they become functional members of the group eventually......