Frustrated Tortoise?

[Hantslad]

Hi everyone, I'm new here so forgive me if this is in the wrong section.

I would like to introduce Archie, who is our 5 year old male Herman and currently a naughty boy! We've had him since he was a tiny baby and is a healthy active little boy.

He is biting anything that moves, literally! This has only started the past 2 months and he is becoming more and more obsessed with humans. The only way to stop him biting is to put him on your lap and give him cuddles (I know that sounds stupid).

We have now bought him a female, hoping he can learn to play nicely, although she's a little young at the moment, we figured that in future years they may grow together, she is 3.

So my question is, will Archie give up on the biting and obsessiveness or will this just go on as we can't introduce the female until he stops the biting.

Thanks for any advice and suggestions.

 

[Tortoise]

This is likely due to Archie growing older and becoming sexually mature.
Hermanns males can be very aggressive and it would not be wise to put him with a young female-he would only harass her and may cause injuries to her with his persistence.He could in fact kill her as a worst case scenario.It would be unfair to put another tortoise with him.
He may be best kept alone-this is normal mature male hermans behaviuor for the most part.

If you were serious about breeding you would need mature females and at least 2 or 3 to the one male so they get a rest from him and even then you may have to house him alone so he doesn't stress them constantly.

has he got lots of room to roam in? they are active and can cover a lot of ground, that may help burn off his energy.

Sorry that may not be what you would have liked as an answer and you were hoping he needed a friend-it may just make things a lot worse especially as she is young and will be the only female.

 

[Hantslad]

This is likely due to Archie growing older and becoming sexually mature.
Hermanns males can be very aggressive and it would not be wise to put him with a young female-he would only harass her and may cause injuries to her with his persistence.He could in fact kill her as a worst case scenario.It would be unfair to put another tortoise with him.
He may be best kept alone-this is normal mature male hermans behaviuor for the most part.

If you were serious about breeding you would need mature females and at least 2 or 3 to the one male so they get a rest from him and even then you may have to house him alone so he doesn't stress them constantly.

has he got lots of room to roam in? they are active and can cover a lot of ground, that may help burn off his energy.

Sorry that may not be what you would have liked as an answer and you were hoping he needed a friend-it may just make things a lot worse especially as she is young and will be the only female.

Thanks for your reply, Archie has the free run of the lounge and Diner, we have a Viv which he knocks on the glass when he wants to go in or come out.

I'm not really looking to breed, but rather just satisfy his needs as he's becoming obsessed with biting us lately. We figured a female when she is big enough would encourage him to calm down. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.

Appreciate you taking the time to reply, thank you.

 

[ascott]

Pairs are a rough thing to bring harmony to ...regardless of tort species...he will not work it out....he will stay consistently horny (apology) for the lack of tacked with the descriptive word....you may now find that you will need two individual equal enclosures for the male and female ......they are a bit rough and can be very tenacious....

 

[dmmj]

Adding another tort, especially a female is like throwing gas on the fire. Biting can be a sign of sexual maturity ( something I have yet to achieve) it could just be territorial. He will more than likely see the additional tort as either 24/7 love companion or competition for food and such.

 

[Hantslad]

What we have decided to try is to send Archie for a holiday with his friends Shelley and Minnie, a male and female who are twice his size. He usually stays with them when we go away on holiday.

As he always mounts Minnie we thought maybe this would get rid of some of his frustration, or will it make it worse? We are going to get our spare viv from the Caravan on Friday so we can house them both seperate. Yes, all our children come away with us in the caravan, sad I know, but they are our children!!

 

[Hantslad]

Just another quick update, as Dolly has settled in and becoming more adventurous she bumped into Archie whilst we supervised. Archie had a sniff then walked away to chase after ME for a biting session. Obviously, we aren't going to leave them alone unsupervised, but at least he's just sniffing and walking away at the moment, it's a start I guess.

Now to work on how stop him chasing humans and biting Whilst it's amusing, it can become annoying when you're cooking and suddenly get a bite at your toes.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

This is likely due to Archie growing older and becoming sexually mature.
Hermanns males can be very aggressive and it would not be wise to put him with a young female-he would only harass her and may cause injuries to her with his persistence.He could in fact kill her as a worst case scenario.It would be unfair to put another tortoise with him.
He may be best kept alone-this is normal mature male hermans behaviuor for the most part.

If you were serious about breeding you would need mature females and at least 2 or 3 to the one male so they get a rest from him and even then you may have to house him alone so he doesn't stress them constantly.

has he got lots of room to roam in? they are active and can cover a lot of ground, that may help burn off his energy.

Sorry that may not be what you would have liked as an answer and you were hoping he needed a friend-it may just make things a lot worse especially as she is young and will be the only female.

Absolute agreement w/ everything Tom has said...Archie is growing into a sexually mature Hermann's, and that's pretty much how a nice healthy Hermann's will act...about all that'll calm him down is access to 3 or more females (some recommend 2 or more, but 3f to 1m is, in my opinion, a better ratio, as males pretty much have a 1-track mind...ADVANCED ROMANCE!!!

And build as large an outside enclosure as you can...right now, my 4 live in a 8' X 5' enclosure, which is really kinda small (poor planning on my part), so, while they're spending the winter inside, I'm building them a new 16' X 8' enclosure, so they can move out in April. Males really do do better with plenty of roaming space.

 

[Hantslad]

This is likely due to Archie growing older and becoming sexually mature.
Hermanns males can be very aggressive and it would not be wise to put him with a young female-he would only harass her and may cause injuries to her with his persistence.He could in fact kill her as a worst case scenario.It would be unfair to put another tortoise with him.
He may be best kept alone-this is normal mature male hermans behaviuor for the most part.

If you were serious about breeding you would need mature females and at least 2 or 3 to the one male so they get a rest from him and even then you may have to house him alone so he doesn't stress them constantly.

has he got lots of room to roam in? they are active and can cover a lot of ground, that may help burn off his energy.

Sorry that may not be what you would have liked as an answer and you were hoping he needed a friend-it may just make things a lot worse especially as she is young and will be the only female.

Absolute agreement w/ everything Tom has said...Archie is growing into a sexually mature Hermann's, and that's pretty much how a nice healthy Hermann's will act...about all that'll calm him down is access to 3 or more females (some recommend 2 or more, but 3f to 1m is, in my opinion, a better ratio, as males pretty much have a 1-track mind...ADVANCED ROMANCE!!!

And build as large an outside enclosure as you can...right now, my 4 live in a 8' X 5' enclosure, which is really kinda small (poor planning on my part), so, while they're spending the winter inside, I'm building them a new 16' X 8' enclosure, so they can move out in April. Males really do do better with plenty of roaming space.

Archie has the run of our garden, we have secured it by putting concrete on the outside of all the fences, so he can't escape. Although next year the spoilt boy is having a new house built where my vegetable patch was. The things I sacrifice for my children! If only I could make the garden Spike proof as Bearded Dragons climb fences lol

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

This is likely due to Archie growing older and becoming sexually mature.
Hermanns males can be very aggressive and it would not be wise to put him with a young female-he would only harass her and may cause injuries to her with his persistence.He could in fact kill her as a worst case scenario.It would be unfair to put another tortoise with him.
He may be best kept alone-this is normal mature male hermans behaviuor for the most part.

If you were serious about breeding you would need mature females and at least 2 or 3 to the one male so they get a rest from him and even then you may have to house him alone so he doesn't stress them constantly.

has he got lots of room to roam in? they are active and can cover a lot of ground, that may help burn off his energy.

Sorry that may not be what you would have liked as an answer and you were hoping he needed a friend-it may just make things a lot worse especially as she is young and will be the only female.

Absolute agreement w/ everything Tom has said...Archie is growing into a sexually mature Hermann's, and that's pretty much how a nice healthy Hermann's will act...about all that'll calm him down is access to 3 or more females (some recommend 2 or more, but 3f to 1m is, in my opinion, a better ratio, as males pretty much have a 1-track mind...ADVANCED ROMANCE!!!

And build as large an outside enclosure as you can...right now, my 4 live in a 8' X 5' enclosure, which is really kinda small (poor planning on my part), so, while they're spending the winter inside, I'm building them a new 16' X 8' enclosure, so they can move out in April. Males really do do better with plenty of roaming space.

Archie has the run of our garden, we have secured it by putting concrete on the outside of all the fences, so he can't escape. Although next year the spoilt boy is having a new house built where my vegetable patch was. The things I sacrifice for my children! If only I could make the garden Spike proof as Bearded Dragons climb fences lol

Sounds excellent, then!

 

[Hantslad]

Well Archie is currently on holiday with his friends Millie and Shelley, we took him last night and watched them all for an hour, his biting was much less as they are far bigger than him. This gives us a chance to allow Dolly to settle in without being harassed.

Dolly is turning out to be a little climber, she likes to climb on anything, so we're going to have to keep a close eye on her incase she tumbles and turns over. Bloomin kids

She already seems to be showing signs of settling in, still want to see her eat, but she may be eating when we're not looking, she's definitely a nosey girl though, she loves to explore the house and has made good friends with Spike the Bearded Dragon, they always sit together for a warm up and cuddle, it's really cute!

 

[Hantslad]

Well, we've had Archie back for 6 days now and he's so much calmer. I think being with two much bigger Tortoises has put him in his place. He is much better toward Dolly, although does go for the occasional bite so we are still keeping them seperate unless we are watching closely.

Seems Dolly and Spike the Bearded Dragon have bonded, they go everywhere together and sleep together, it's really cute. Dolly is now eating lots and has a wonderful little personality. She will sit at your feet looking at you waiting to be picked up and then will sit on your lap for hours.

As for Archie..... Well I've lost my warm coat as Archie has chosen it for his bed, little rebel!

You have to love Tortoises, they all have their own personalities and are great to watch.