Breeding or Bullying?

[Rosiek15]

I received two box turtles from the girl at petco. Random people had brought them to her from the wild. She has had the male for about 6-7 months and the female for about 1 month. She didn't have the space so i took them from her since i knew more about them then she did.

The male seems to always wanna climb on top of the female. I believed he was trying to mate with her. The girl from petco advised me that she had pulled them apart once and some weird stuff came out of somewhere.

He will randomly go over to her climb on top and get in position. He also snaps at where her head would be if she didn't tuck it in. Is that normal? Also he never seems to actually make contact and i've never seen his "man part" appear.

Is this bullying and should i separate them? I know pairs aren't the greatest but its temporary until i get all my tanks worked out.

 

[Tom]

It is breeding behavior, but it can be very aggressive. The female should not be housed with him full time as he will never leave her alone. The chronic stress can lead to appetite suppression, a weakened immune system and eventually sickness and death. To house them together you really need one male and several females in a very large outdoor enclosure. One on one is a recipe for disaster.

 

[Rosiek15]

It is breeding behavior, but it can be very aggressive. The female should not be housed with him full time as he will never leave her alone. The chronic stress can lead to appetite suppression, a weakened immune system and eventually sickness and death. To house them together you really need one male and several females in a very large outdoor enclosure. One on one is a recipe for disaster.

Im worried because they are from the wild but i'm from philadelphia so if i put them back chances are someone else will take them or they will die. Im almost done building an enclosure to separate them so it wont be a problem.

Do you think he will actually make contact or no since he hasn't already?

And Thanks!

 

[Tom]

If they've been living together, chances are pretty good that "contact" has already been made.

Is there no place away from civilization that you could re-release them. Sorry, I don't know Philly at all. I worked in Pittsburgh and there were lots of areas around there just a short drive out of the city.

If you are intent on keeping them, separate enclosures will make everyone involved happier.

 

[ascott]

If there was any chance that they came in contact or cross contamination of any of the other reptiles in the store and the one was there for over 6 months then likely that has occurred then I would not re introduce them into the wild....this could be dangerous for the wild population that encounters them....

I would throw a rush on getting your enclosure hammered out and until you have the enclosure(s) set up, I would house them in two different containment areas...

 

[Rosiek15]

She had them at home not at the store so there's no worry about the other animals. But ill make sure I finish the enclosure today.

Sent from my C525c using TortForum mobile app

---

The girl is a hunter loves live food and she was only housed like a month do you think I should release her?

The boy she had for 6 months so I don't believe I should with him

Sent from my C525c using TortForum mobile app