Is Your Tortoise a JERK?

[MPRC]

I'm just curious. I have 5 redfoots. (3 Females, 1 large male [Vern] and then one small male, Mango).

Everyone gets along great except Mango is a JERK. He humps, guards the food, chases, etc. He's not even nice or personable toward me. This has resulted in him being isolated for everyone's well being. I was just curious if it is common for tortoises to act like psychopaths. Especially a 3 year old who has just discovered his manhood.

He's been with us a little over a month and his behavior has been consistent when they are contained in the small yard. If I open the gate and there is a 100x60ft yard there is plenty of cover and he forgets that he needs to show how macho he is.

I guess I'm just curious if anyone has had this behavior and seen it decrease after puberty or if I am going to be feeding, bathing and housing him separately for the next 50 years.

 

[kathyth]

From what I have learned, tortoises prefer to be alone. There certainly are exceptions.
I have 7 Reddoots together. As they age, I anticipate potential problems, only because they're tortoises.
I have an aggressive 3 year old desert tortoise. He or she will live alone, in a nice enclosures for as long as I own her. No problem.
Your tortoise probably wants to be left alone.

 

[wellington]

I think he wants his own haram. @allegraf and @N2TORTS can probably a set this better, seeing they have a herd of them.
Btw, why not just let them have the large area where he acts fine?

 

[MPRC]

I think he wants his own haram. @allegraf and @N2TORTS can probably a set this better, seeing they have a herd of them.
Btw, why not just let them have the large area where he acts fine?

The large yard includes the front of the house and we haven't put up our cameras yet so I close them off in the back if we aren't home. I worry about the neighborhood kids coming onto the property and causing problems since we have already had to chase them off the driveway. The backyard is still large (15x30ft) but he is a pest there.

I worry about getting him his own harem of ladies since he is sooooo persistent. Vern will occasionally hump one of the girls, but they usually just walk away and he doesn't pursue them. He'd really prefer to make love to inanimate objects that can't get away.

I guess I'm trying to determine if I need to set him up alone permanently or if it may work itself out when they have more room. I am not seeing signs of stress from the herd, everyone eats heartily (though I usually feed them all first then add him to the food trough so he doesn't push anyone out) and activity and bowel movements are normal. They are all gaining weight like little piggies.

I just want to do what is best for everyone. Separation, wait it out, get more redfoots , send him off to be a stud....

 

[allegraf]

Yup, torts are like people. Some are sweet and easy going and others run with scissors and don't play well with others. Try putting up visual blocks, plants, cinder blocks, etc., anything to break the long visual lines. This will help diffuse the aggression and allow the others to hide from your Napoleon Dynamite. 3.2 ratio is good. It is actually good that Vern is laid back, two dominant males will fight, bite and bleed. Just make sure everyone can hide when needed and that the enclosure is big enough for them all. Are you separating them and then putting them out together? If the enclosure is big enough keeping them together is good to allow them to work out the group structure. Unless the little man is biting and causing some real injuries then he needs to be separated for sure. It is good that Vern is bigger. just make sure to watch them and that there are no aggressive bites involved. Otherwise, watch them and let them sort out the dominence issue. If a girl doesn't want the attention, they will simply sit down and push their butts to the ground.

 

[MPRC]

He's more of a pest than anything. He follows the girls and humps them without making actual internal contact, which is good, because they are still too small for eggs. I am getting a little fed up with scrubbing sticky goo off their shells, but at the same time I'm glad its on them, not in them.

He likes to follow Vern, but Vern doesn't even notice. If he turns to go the other direction he just walks right over him. Mango is about 4lbs and Vern is 12lbs. If Vern starts sniffing him he just shells up and waits for him to go away or he high tails it the other direction.

@allegraf - In your opinion if he's not charging, biting and causing damage do you think he's okay to be out with the group so long as the girls have ample hiding spots?

 

[jay surfs]

If my 3 year old Sulcata ends up being a jerky when he matures, I will get rid of him and get a new one. Simple as that for me.

 

[allegraf]

Yes. Sounds like Vern is keeping him in check and already has established the roles of them both. If the girls are too small to safely pass eggs, you may want to separate them and put Vern and Mango together. Make sure the enclosure for the boys is big enough.

 

[Yvonne G]

If my 3 year old Sulcata ends up being a jerky when he matures, I will get rid of him and get a new one. Simple as that for me.

Oh no! Did he just say that?​

 

[allegraf]

If my 3 year old Sulcata ends up being a jerky when he matures, I will get rid of him and get a new one. Simple as that for me.

Sounds like a personal problem. Ha! Just kidding.

 

[MPRC]

If my 3 year old Sulcata ends up being a jerky when he matures, I will get rid of him and get a new one. Simple as that for me.

I just saw this. I think it is a pretty terrible thing to say. All of my tortoises have been surrendered to me from less than stellar situations (Not enough space, time, illness, neglect, etc.). Even a mean tortoise is still just being a tortoise. Notice how I didn't jump on here and say, "This Jerk needs a new home or he's turtle soup!" I'm trying to be accommodating and meet his needs while maintaining a happy healthy balance for the rest of my herd.

Animals will be animals, even my least favorite of my pets will be treated with love and respect.

 

[wellington]

I just saw this. I think it is a pretty terrible thing to say. All of my tortoises have been surrendered to me from less than stellar situations (Not enough space, time, illness, neglect, etc.). Even a mean tortoise is still just being a tortoise. Notice how I didn't jump on here and say, "This Jerk needs a new home or he's turtle soup!" I'm trying to be accommodating and meet his needs while maintaining a happy healthy balance for the rest of my herd.

Animals will be animals, even my least favorite of my pets will be treated with love and respect.

I agree with you 1000%

 

[surfergirl]

my sully has never been aggressive or a jerk. I think he behaves himself because he has been solo since I got him at the size of a 50 cent piece.

 

[lisa127]

I just saw this. I think it is a pretty terrible thing to say. All of my tortoises have been surrendered to me from less than stellar situations (Not enough space, time, illness, neglect, etc.). Even a mean tortoise is still just being a tortoise. Notice how I didn't jump on here and say, "This Jerk needs a new home or he's turtle soup!" I'm trying to be accommodating and meet his needs while maintaining a happy healthy balance for the rest of my herd.

Animals will be animals, even my least favorite of my pets will be treated with love and respect.

Agreed.

 

[Gillian M]

OLI gave me a hard time when he kept flipping on his back. But he was not doing it deliberately of course.

 

[tglazie]

Me personally, I love tortoises that are jerks. The jerks are the most interesting. They are generally outgoing, and most of them learn that I am the source or hibiscus and Chinese lantern flowers (well, I have a little Hermanns who, hilariously, angrily rushes over to me to confront me anytime I step into his paddock; he will quickly overlook any food item I throw in his path to meet the challenge of my intrusion; he's a jerk to everyone). Sure, you have to keep them isolated, but I always find this to be the better situation for all tortoises involved. Now, this isn't to say I don't introduce my males to one another from time to time. A little supervised time for the macho males to get into one another's faces and make a big show of their supremely menacing maleness, all that is a good thing. I also think it is good for females to get a chance to mingle every so often. They can often be as aggressive as the males in the case of my female marginated tortoises, especially around egg laying time. But yes, tortoises who are jerks need to be isolated, but that is no reason to get rid of them.

T.G.

 

[JoesMum]

I finally read this through and I guess Joe qualifies as a jerk.

We have had him for 46 years. There's no way I would inflict him on another tort. He's even had to have hormone implants when the testosterone raged to such huge excess that he stopped eating and drinking, lost one third of his body weight and made himself very sick.

We love him though - except when he catches you on the ankle bone unexpectedly

 

[Kori5]

If my 3 year old Sulcata ends up being a jerky when he matures, I will get rid of him and get a new one. Simple as that for me.

Horrible thing to say. I hope you don't mean it. After all, he is not an object.

 

[Big Charlie]

Once in awhile, Charlie will go on a rampage, stomping around and bulldozing the lawn furniture, but most of the time, he is fairly placid, almost friendly. It probably helps that he has no competition.

 

[jay surfs]

A client of my dad was moving, so he left his seven tortoises/turtles at my dads animal hospital. I decided to take two of them home, a Giant Asian Pond Turtle, and a Ca Desert Tort. The Asian Pond Turt was very large for his species. He was not friendly to humans. Obviously scared. He would run when we got near. Try and bite when we reached for him. Shot projectile poo/pee on us when we picked him up. He would attack the CDT if given the chance. Essentially we owned a turtle that we couldnt spend time with, couldnt watch eat, couldn't even observe, as he would always hide. Wheres the joy in it for us. Why should I care for an animal that brought no joy to my family?

We kept him for a few years. But I found a person that was excited to take the Asian Turt in. He had other turts of the same species, and a great water setup for them.

Giveing up a tortoise doesnt mean throwing it out to the wolves. If my Sulcata isnt personable/friendly/however you want to define it, then I will find a GOOD home for him.

I have come to use this forum for the invaluable information that I so duly need to properly raise healthy Tortoises. If you want to continue this public lynching of me, so be it. But finding a new home for my tortoise, that would be thrilled to have him, is not a crime against tortoises.