Lonely tortoise

[Nicholas999]

Does anybody have any advice for my hermanns tortoise Montgomery I had 2 for 2 years but had to rehome the female due to biting and mounting but since then monty won't eat much sits in his cave all day sulking the temperature is fine food is fresh all his favourite cleaned the vivarium fully to get out any female smell has the garden to himself these summery days but still sulking I was thinking about buying a tortoise figure to put in there for him to hump all day long if he wants has anyone ever heard of this or will that freak him out more or is this just something that needs to run it's course

 

[JoesMum]

Your tort is not lonely. They are solitary creatures that view other tortoises as rivals for food and territory. As you have discovered, a hormonal male will attempt to mate with anything and everything and there's not much you can do. A model tort will probably stress him further.

Inactivity is usually caused by problems with temperatures. What temperature do you have warm side, cool side, directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum?

Could you post pictures of the enclosure and lighting so we can give it a look over to see if there's any other issue.

 

[Nicholas999]

I know people say they prefer to be alone but literally since we rehomed the female he has been like this the temperature is fine nothing has changed temperature in the warm end is about 30 and it's changes incase it gets to hot or cold cool end I'm not to sure but it's a big 5ft by 2ft viv like I said before he was biting and humping the other all the time but they seemed to get along I only rehomed because I was worried for the female getting worried hes not himself thinking maybe a nice tortoise figure to hump would distract him maybe

 

[Nicholas999]

Some pictures you asked for

 

[Tom]

You think he's lonely.

I think he's finally relaxing after two years of extreme stress. He FINALLY succeeded in driving the other tortoise out of his territory. Now he can finally take it easy.

 

[Eduardo Hernandez]

I also think he is finally happy that he doesn't have another tort invading his space.

Also, I see some strawberries in your food dish. Just as an FYI its recommended do only give them fruit as a rare treat, if at all.

 

[JoesMum]

You think he's lonely.

I think he's finally relaxing after two years of extreme stress. He FINALLY succeeded in driving the other tortoise out of his territory. Now he can finally take it easy.

That's what I was going to say

An unstressed tort spends its day looking for food, eating and basking/sleeping off the eating.

If there's no need to defend its patch and no females to mate with then they'll relax.

I had a male for 47 years. He lived outdoors and had his moments mating with rocks, shoes, flower pots, shoes, the drain cover, shoes but the rest of the time he grazed and snoozed.

 

[Nicholas999]

I know I have only given him them strawberries to get him to start eating properly again I don't feed him fruit often he's just gone way off his food since the re homing

 

[JoesMum]

You have changed things. Torts react differently to change and some react worse than others.

Double check those temperatures and the humidity. Is that substrate damp? It looks quite dry.

I notice you have a red heat bulb. Your tort needs complete darkness at night. If your tort needs supplementary heat at night then use a Ceramic Heat Emitter with a thermostat.

How big is your tort? Here's how to measure Straight Carapace Length
http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm

 

[Nicholas999]

You have changed things. Torts react differently to change and some react worse than others.

Double check those temperatures and the humidity. Is that substrate damp? It looks quite dry.

I notice you have a red heat bulb. Your tort needs complete darkness at night. If your tort needs supplementary heat at night then use a Ceramic Heat Emitter with a thermostat.

How big is your tort? Here's how to measure Straight Carapace Length
http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm

The red bulb is just to help it warm up if it gets to cold but temperature in there at night is normally 22 ish so it rarely on and it's called jungle earth it's pretty dry but out of all the su bstrate iv tried over the years he seemed to like this best burys himself in it nicely at night the only change is the female is gone they were no problems when I had both brought them as hatchlings 2 years ago I guess il wait and see what happens but the neighbours took the female and by all accounts she is doing great eating loads active alot he is just taking it abit differently poor guy misses his women

 

[JoesMum]

It is very unlikely that either of these torts can be sexed accurately at this age/size. They need to be much older. They can be 'bred to be' a particular gender, but there is no guarantee.

Mounting behaviour is territorial as well as mating. What you saw was territorial mounting and biting. Your tort was trying to make the other leave.

Have you read the TFO care sheets? They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Baby Testudo Tortoise Care (covers Hermann's)
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/

 

[Nicholas999]

He's a male alright he's got no problem flashing his junk considering the size of it to you can't blame him

 

[MPRC]

He's a male alright he's got no problem flashing his junk considering the size of it to you can't blame him

Ain't that the truth...pervy little things.

 

[Big Charlie]

I think I read that once males have mated, it changes them so that all they think about is sex. It make take him awhile to get over it.

 

[Tom]

He's a male alright he's got no problem flashing his junk considering the size of it to you can't blame him

But the other one might have been male too. If they flash you know for sure, unless its a female that is prolapsing. If the tortoise doesn't flash it could be a female, or it could be a male that hasn't flashed yet. Many people mistakenly think their tortoise is one sex or another, especially with juveniles like yours. Even vets get it wrong on a regular basis.

 

[Tom]

The red bulb is just to help it warm up if it gets to cold but...

We know what red bulbs are for, but they should not be used. Tortoises have better vision than we do. If you can see the red, they can see the red better. Use a CHE set on a thermostat for maintaining ambient or night heat, if needed.

While we are discussing your set up, I should also point out that those water bowls are not suitable for tortoises. The sides are too tall and too steep. The one in the front left looks like one of those ramped water bowls, but I can't tell for sure. If it is one of those, its a big flipping/drowning hazard. Terra cotta plant saucers sunk into the substrate work better.

We are not trying to give you a hard time. We are trying to help your tortoise.

 

[Nicholas999]

I appreciate everyone's comments I believe everyone has there own way of doing things with tortoises I find them fascinating constantly learning new things about them I will take all the comments into consideration however the main question was would a tortoise figurine in there for him to hump whenever he feels like be a good or bad idear has anyone had experience with something like that

 

[JoesMum]

My male Greek humped anything going so much he made himself seriously ill.

His obsession led to him not eating or drinking and repeated liver infection as a result. He also lost around one third of his bodyweight - dropping from a healthy 3.2kg to just over 2kg

This is the most extreme case I have seen and required a hormone implant to control. Suffice to say we removed all potential sex toys from his environment whenever possible.

I would not add something for your tort to hump.

 

[TiffytheTort]

Torts are not very good with others. As it has been said, tortoises are solitary and do not like others in their territory. Tortoises are not very good with others (sometimes) and will probably fight with others. He is relaxing probably (as has been said) so don't worry