Dominant behavior?

[Taryn73]

Lately my cherry head Bruce has been very interested in Harriet. I got them at the same time about 2 1/2 years ago and separated them about a year ago as I witnessed Bruce bite Harriets leg and ram her when she was walking in front of him on a separate occasion. They are only together for short periods with close supervision and will never be together again. I have a well known exotic vet in my area and he believes they are both males. So my question is, and I know there is no certainty, but from experienced tortoise owners, does this appear to be dominant behavior in the video? He does it all the time but has not attempted to bite her again. He is so curious of her and I like to think he is being friendly. 🙃 He also follows her which I know can be a sign of bullying. Im just curious and want to continue learning about them and their behaviors. Regardless if it is bullying or not, like I said, they will never be in the same habitat. I'm not willing to take that chance. Thanks!!

New video by Taryn H

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Ink]

Yes, bullying. Keep them separate. Great job noticing and separating them. Pretty tortoises.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Yeah definitely not happy in one another’s presence, I wouldn’t bother letting them hang out together even supervised, I imagine their hang out time just feels stressful for both of them, glad you house them separate🙂no tortoise species does well in pairs, small groups work with the right amount of space and male to female ratio😊
Yours are gorgeous btw!

 

[wellington]

Tortoise should never be in pairs. No, not being friendly.
Post pictures of their bottom shell tail area where we can see the tail and we can try to see them
The one that walked away seem to have a short female tail, but hard to tell for sure how small from that angle.

 

[Taryn73]

Tortoise should never be in pairs. No, not being friendly.
Post pictures of their bottom shell tail area where we can see the tail and we can try to see them
The one that walked away seem to have a short female tail, but hard to tell for sure how small from that angle.

Yes, I bought them impulsively after the loss of both of my dogs because I wanted a pet that would out live me and knew nothing about tortoises. 🥴 However, I soon realized they are a LOT more work than I expected and took on the responsibility of learning everything I can in order to give them the best life possible. I'm grateful for this site and everyone's knowledge!! ☺️ I will definitely get a pic and see what you think..... I'm hoping both males honestly. I don't want to deal with eggs. Lol

 

[Taryn73]

Yeah definitely not happy in one another’s presence, I wouldn’t bother letting them hang out together even supervised, I imagine their hang out time just feels stressful for both of them, glad you house them separate🙂no tortoise species does well in pairs, small groups work with the right amount of space and male to female ratio😊
Yours are gorgeous btw!

Thank you!

 

[Taryn73]

Yes, bullying. Keep them separate. Great job noticing and separating them. Pretty tortoises.

Thank you!

 

[Taryn73]

Yes, I bought them impulsively after the loss of both of my dogs because I wanted a pet that would out live me and knew nothing about tortoises. 🥴 However, I soon realized they are a LOT more work than I expected and took on the responsibility of learning everything I can in order to give them the best life possible. I'm grateful for this site and everyone's knowledge!! ☺️ I will definitely get a pic and see what you think..... I'm hoping both males honestly. I don't want to deal with eggs. Lol

 

[Taryn73]

Tortoise should never be in pairs. No, not being friendly.
Post pictures of their bottom shell tail area where we can see the tail and we can try to see them
The one that walked away seem to have a short female tail, but hard to tell for sure how small from that angle.

 

[wellington]

@ZEROPILOT
Both look female to me

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

They do both look female, but possibly still a little bit too small to tell for 100%, especially if they’re under 3

 

[zovick]

Here is another vote for both of your tortoises being females. Males would have much longer and thicker tails.

On another note, tortoises are not "friends" to one another. They do not have the same emotions as humans or many mammals and do not need companionship to be perfectly content. In fact, they are quite solitary creatures and do not mind being alone in their own territories.