Male aggression after hibernation

[Mgridgaway]

Howdi all,

It's been quite warm lately, so I thought it would be a good time to unbox the boxies and get them out in the sunshine.

Now, my two males have never been on good terms. They usually will get into biting fights when they see one another mating or trying to mate, but other than that they're usually fine.

But today, they really have it out for each other. The slightly smaller male (Leon) is trying to bed his favorite girl, but the larger male (George) won't have any of it. He's attacked him at least 3 times in the last hour, and they get into these head biting matches that don't draw any blood but leave nice turtle beak dents in each others heads. I've broken them up more times than I can count, but even if I put them on opposite sides of their pens, George will chase Leon down.

For now, I've put Leon back in his hibernation box, but obviously this can't be a permanent home. Any thoughts? Should I let them duke it out? Should I keep them seperate for a few days? Should I seperate them permanently?

 

[dmmj]

Letting them duke it out is a bad idea, injuries can and do occur. Have they ever done this before this badly?

 

[Mgridgaway]

They fight occasionally, but never this much and never this concentrated. They've lived together as adults for at least 5 years... honestly I haven't kept track... it could even be 10 years. Let's just say a long time.

And yeah, I thought duking it out might be a bad idea.

 

[dmmj]

I was just wondering if this was a yearly occurrence and if so how long does it usually last? I would try a time out for now and then see what happens.

 

[Mgridgaway]

I think that's what I'll try. Who do you think I should leave with the females? George seems to be the agressor, but doesn't seem interested in mating yet. Leon started chasing the girls not 5 minutes after being placed in the pen.

Also, here's a pretty great picture of Leon I just took.

View attachment 18338

 

[dmmj]

Well I might separate both males from the females (my thoughts don't have to listen) Aggressive breeding can be stressful. But if you want to leave one in with the female I would leave the less aggressive mater. Remember in the wild turtles don't encounter females like that everyday so your box turtles probably think they are in turtle heaven ( the male ones anyways).

 

[jojodesca]

how many females do you have?...i think you should separate them into groups.....1 male in a different section and then split the girls...its a territory thing...and its an aggression for alpha male

 

[Mgridgaway]

I've considered splitting them up... but I want to see how a few days in time out work first.

 

[turtlemann2]

well ive got two boys... and they cannot be together one can be mean to the girls at times even but ALWAYS will my two males fight... i have to keep them seperated so you may need to also

just imagine although they are not drawing blood "yet" what happens when one bites the others eye? thats some major damage... have you ever been bitin even on acident? they bite hard!

 

[terryo]

This usually occurs in the Spring when they come up from hibernation. I'm anticipating the same thing happening here as I have two males. I only have one big turtle garden, so if they don't get along, eventually I'll re-home one of them if it continues. I would separate them for a few weeks and see what happens. In the Spring the mating instinct is very strong, but sometimes it tapers off toward the Summer when it's hot out.

 

[Tccarolina]

I've never experienced this, even with 6 males in the same pen at one point. The closest I've seen is the most dominant male (Rueban) inspecting and sniffing other males while they cowered in fear. But they've never fought. I've always kind of wanted it to happen, at least once, so I could observe and document it.

You might try pulling George out, leaving Leon to "establish" his territory. Later, you could re-introduce George, and he might be the less dominant male then. My gut feeling is that this probably wouldn't work, though.

 

[dmmj]

Sometimes turtles are just jerks.

 

[terryo]

Sometimes turtles are just jerks.

Just the males....LOL

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

In the wild, the loser of a fight can simply run away. In captivity, he cannot because he is trapped in the same space as his opponent. Fighting does promote breeding, partly because it raises testosterone levels in males, and partly because it allows females to choose. However, if the loser can't escape, he could eventually die, either from the injuries, or from stress-related illness.

If you do choose to let them duke it out, watch them very carefully, so that at the first sign of the loser trying to get away, you can pluck him out and put him in his own safe enclosure somewhere else. Don't let fights get too serious, because they can lead to permanent injury or lethal infection if they get out of hand.

 

[turtlemann2]

Sometimes turtles are just jerks.

well said!, in fact couldnt have said it any better sometimes (even the girls) can just be jerks!

 

[terryo]

quote='turtlemann2' pid='422962' dateline='1332370591']

Sometimes turtles are just jerks.

well said!, in fact couldnt have said it any better sometimes (even the girls) can just be jerks!
[/quote]

 

[SuzieArizona]

Howdi all,

It's been quite warm lately, so I thought it would be a good time to unbox the boxies and get them out in the sunshine.

Now, my two males have never been on good terms. They usually will get into biting fights when they see one another mating or trying to mate, but other than that they're usually fine.

But today, they really have it out for each other. The slightly smaller male (Leon) is trying to bed his favorite girl, but the larger male (George) won't have any of it. He's attacked him at least 3 times in the last hour, and they get into these head biting matches that don't draw any blood but leave nice turtle beak dents in each others heads. I've broken them up more times than I can count, but even if I put them on opposite sides of their pens, George will chase Leon down.

For now, I've put Leon back in his hibernation box, but obviously this can't be a permanent home. Any thoughts? Should I let them duke it out? Should I keep them seperate for a few days? Should I seperate them permanently?

I have three males and two females in my pen. The pen is large enough to give the turtles plenty of space but this time of year the boys gather around the females. I believe the aggressiveness will pass. Just keep an eye on Leon and make sure he's not being injured. This kind of thing is natural and maybe the answer is to bring in another female.