Bleeding on my female....

[hannah]

Hi! I havent been on the site in a few months, not since I got my male and female RT and got them settled in. They get along great, never fight, she is smaller than he is, I assume that means she is younger.
Anyway, lately we find him on top of her a lot, so I've been keeping on eye on them, thinking perhaps he has reached mating age. Tonight I went to get them to bring them in from their outdoor inclosure ( a 6 ft by 6 ft pen with lots of hiding areas, two houses, etc) and she has blood on her, cant tell from where it originated but I think it's a foot, making me wonder initially anyway if he has begun to bite her.
If he is mating age, and she is getting beaten up, do I need to seperate them for good?
They are seperated tonight for the first time, although I know they are just going to go to sleep but I'm really concerned and willing to give away my male if I have to....or my female. My male is such an outgoing little cutie!

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm not familiar with the breeding habits of quite a few of the different tortoises, however, I AM familiar with Russians! Male Russians are VERY aggressive breeders. I have seen females with their eyelids bitten off, with some of the horny scales on the front legs actually bitten off. If your female is smaller than your male, chances are pretty good that she is not of breeding age yet. Since your outdoor habitat sounds like you have plenty of hiding places and sight barriers and he was still able to grab her and injure her, in my opinion, they should be separated...that is, unless you do want them to breed. If that's the case, you might as well get used to it, because that's what those guys do! Just keep your Neosporin handy.

Yvonne

 

[stells]

In my opinion they should be seperated... or you need to get more females...so she isn't pestered continually... if that is something you don't want to do then they will need to be seperated and only put together for a short period of time if you wanted to breed once they are big enough... to let him get the job done then seperate again... i myself don't think its fair to keep a lone female in with a male esp with Russians...

 

[hannah]

i agree, my female will be seeking a new home. she deserves it!