Keeping males from fighting

[HI Tortoise Rescue]

We have 2 huge (200+ pound) males that we keep in separate pens, but one of them managed to bulldoze though 6" of wood into the other pen, & this morning, we found them fighting, gular to gular. There are no females nearby, & we're not sure why they're doing this dominance battle. Does anyone have experience in keeping large male Sulcatas together without fighting?

Ken

 

[wellington]

HAHAHA, your funny. I have no experience with sullies. But with all I have learned from this forum and from what has been preached time and time again, two never is a good idea, specially two males. And now specially that they have already fought. Your going to have to beef up their enclosures so they can't break out, or rehome one.

 

[HI Tortoise Rescue]

You forget that we run a rescue facility, & all of our rescues become permanent residents. My wife & I were astonished to find two males this large, as the average Sulcata we take in will fit into a plastic postal service box. But when I walked around the corner, & stared at the first one, I told her that we wouldn't need the box. I really thought that a stack of 4"X6" wood boards 3' high & connected to the ground with rebar would serve as a suitable barrier, but it was flattened. Yup, they really are bulldozers with brains!

Ken

 

[Jodie]

I agree. They fight. That's what they do. To the death sometimes.

 

[Yvonne G]

It's a territorial thing. Of course, we don't know who started it, but my guess would be the inhabitant of the broken in to yard, trying to chase the interloper out of his territory. Any chance you can make the other guy's yard somewhere else? Someplace that he can't smell the other tortoise?

I have my own 110lb male sulcata, Dudley. I also take in rescues, but to me a "rescue" is a place that rehabs the tortoises then finds homes for them, so I don't keep them any longer than 2 weeks. Sadly (for Dudley), my quarantine or rescue yards are next door to Dudley's yard...one on either side. The yard on the north side is a 6' redwood privacy fence, while the yard on the south side is only about 2' tall, horizontal boards, but not see through. When I have a large male, he goes into the north yard, and the smaller ones into the south yard. When Dudley gets a whiff of a new, of age, male sulcata somewhere on the property he starts marching up and down the perimeter, and looking for a weak spot in the fence. Fingers crossed, so far I've been lucky and he hasn't been able to break through.

 

[wellington]

You forget that we run a rescue facility, & all of our rescues become permanent residents. My wife & I were astonished to find two males this large, as the average Sulcata we take in will fit into a plastic postal service box. But when I walked around the corner, & stared at the first one, I told her that we wouldn't need the box. I really thought that a stack of 4"X6" wood boards 3' high & connected to the ground with rebar would serve as a suitable barrier, but it was flattened. Yup, they really are bulldozers with brains!

Ken

I did forget about the rescue, however I agree with Yvonne. A rescue doesn't have to keep everything they take in. Your rescuing them from their situation, rehabbing them if needed and then trying to placing them in an appropriate forever home. If you can't fix this situation, don't feel bad about finding one a new appropriate home. That would be more human to them, then keeping them in a situation that always has them uptight and on the move looking for the intruder invading their territory.
Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[Fredkas]

I would like to see them in pic. 200lbs is big! And can you take a pic of the mess they did?

 

[Maro2Bear]

I concur with Fredkas, pix of both torts and the damage. Our Sully is still quite the baby @30 lbs! Good luck with finding a good home for one of your big boyz!