Lesbian tortoises? Female mounted other female with grunting

Stoneman

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How crazy is this? I have heard stories of males mounting other males, but a female mounting another female? She did it to a small Male that I have, and I figured she was just trying to crawl over him in a tight quarter, but then she did it to a female. I thought she was just trying to take a short cut passing above instead of alongside but then she started thrusting and making the grunting noises.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is this possibly a display of dominance? She was pacing back and forth like a Male patrolling territory.
 

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Yvonne G

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I don't know if this hold true with all tortoise species, but when my female Manouria was ready to build a nest and lay eggs she became aggressive towards the other females in the yard and mounted them, etc.
 
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Toddrickfl1

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I think that's pretty common. It's a dominance thing. My female water turtles do it too.
 

Lyn W

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This could be bullying behaviour.
I would make sure they have enough space to spread out with sight barriers like plants etc, so they can avoid each other.
 

kazjimmy

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My female sulcata is the dominator. she is just one inch bigger then others but she ram both male and female.
 

Lyn W

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Sorry could post the photo earlier due to the innerweb being janky. View attachment 278836
My sisters dog which looks similar to yours (a Pomeranian? ) tried to mate with her chicken called Shirley.
He pinned her down last week and didn't bite her but pulled out some feathers.
They are usually kept apart and he's had the snip but he obviously likes feathers.
 

Blackdog1714

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The girl is a 47 pound 7.5 month old Chow Chow. She is pinning the 105 pound Shiloh Shepherd that is fixed. We are getting her spayed after her first heat
 

RescuedSulcata

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How crazy is this? I have heard stories of males mounting other males, but a female mounting another female? She did it to a small Male that I have, and I figured she was just trying to crawl over him in a tight quarter, but then she did it to a female. I thought she was just trying to take a short cut passing above instead of alongside but then she started thrusting and making the grunting noises.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is this possibly a display of dominance? She was pacing back and forth like a Male patrolling territory.
How about not remotely crazy in almost any animal in the animal kingdom? and humans are the only ones naïve enough to think that it’s sexual... And even if it were sexual there are actually plenty of animals that have same-sex relationships and it’s not crazy or abnormal. Have a great day.
 

ScienceGeek

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Definitely dominance. My female welsh terrier was humping her male cousin just this morning. Not that uncommon in the animal realm.
 

ScienceGeek

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The time to worry is if she starts biting - don’t want to worry you but they can take heads off. Just keep an eye on it and try and separate them if it looks to be chronic bullying or intimidation. From what I’ve read, sitting on food, staring, following and crowding are bullying behaviours. If the one being mounted starts to go off her feed, it’s a sign that something needs to be done. It could be a passing thing, just keep an eye out. Good luck.
 

Stoneman

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I don't know if this hold true with all tortoise species, but when my female Manouria was ready to build a nest and lay eggs she became aggressive towards the other females in the yard and mounted them, etc.
That is good to know. That is was thinking. She was pacing and moving about pretty aggressively. I was thinking that maybe she was trying to move everyone else out of the area, that one side of the enclosure. I think it got more heat and sunlight than other areas and she was trying to clear the area so she could lay. The main reason I observed them for a couple hours was because of this atypical behavior. Thank you for your input, that's exactly what I was thinking.
 

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