Divided Enclosure

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Falcon70

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Hey everyone, it's been awhile. Last summer I built a 6ft x 5ft outdoor enclosure for my male and female Russians, but had to divide it in half because of aggressive (mating) behavior towards the girl tortoise. I was hoping to try and make it a single enclosure again, and was wondering if having multiple hideouts such as plants, rocks, and logs would stop the male from seeing her so easily would help prevent further attacks.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 

wellington

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Yes it will help. Make the enclosure very large also. Another female would also help, as he would have more then one to both, therefore, would not be bother one all the time, but hopefully only half.still keep a very close eye on him, even with all the sight barriers.
 

Falcon70

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wellington said:
Yes it will help. Make the enclosure very large also. Another female would also help, as he would have more then one to both, therefore, would not be bother one all the time, but hopefully only half.still keep a very close eye on him, even with all the sight barriers.

I'll definitely keep an eye on him, and will have a barrier ready in case they need to be separated. Hopefully the sight barriers and size will work, it will give them a lot more room to roam, but if not, it's an easy fix.
 

lynnedit

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If he is determined, he will seek her out and she won't get any peace. They really do like to bask w/o having to constantly move.
That's why it's best to have one male to 3 females.

Still, sometimes as Spring turns to Summer, behavior can change. If not, you have the option to separate!
Either way, they will like the additional room.
 

Tom

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Sight barriers and hidey holes will help, but having just a pair is your biggest problem. Like Lynne said, the ratios should be more like 1:3, not 1:1. The other problem is the enclosure size. It's much too small. Double or triple that, or even the whole yard would be much better.
 

Falcon70

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Unfortunately I have to admit defeat:(. I was able to separate them before anything happened to the female. I'm not really sure why, but she would follow him and find him which would switch on his "instinct."

I know about the more females the better rule, but when I got them, the seller sold in sexed pairs explaining they wouldn't be aggressive towards each other. At the time, I didn't know too much about behavior and they coexisted for about 4 years. I think the male just recently sexually matured (past year or so) and that is why he is always so needy:D.
 

Tom

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Who is the seller? I can't believe that anyone who actually owns Russian, successfully bred them, and produced hatchlings would A. Tell you they are a sexed pair as hatchlings or B. Tell you a pair of Russians will get along at all.
 

Falcon70

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I purchased them from The Turtle Source. They were somewhere between 8-12 years old when I got them (so at least teens now), however, he does sell hatchlings as well.
 
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