Male having hard time adjusting to larger female

Meesh

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Hi, just wondering if anyone else has had trouble putting a larger female with a smaller male? My male hermann has adjusted to many females but they've always been smaller than him. He's being abnormally aggressive towards her, only difference is her size. Normally I can just put a female in the enclosure he will sniff around her for a few minutes & be done with her.
He keeps scratching her shell with his beak & bobbing his head at her which is aggression/dominance. climbing on her, trying to sit on her head while she sleeps. I had to remove her last night bc I can't keep them unattended or he will just torture her. bitting at her arms an face. I've seen the "mating" dance and this is different. Mating dance he bites gently at the back legs. This is quicker / snapping.
It's looking like she won't be able to be with the other females in the enclosure bc I'm afraid he'll stress her to the point he kills her.. ive tried introducing them on neutral ground (nobodies territory) ..Any suggestions?
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings. Is your goal to have them mate to produce more, or are you just wanting to house them together? It does sound like very dominant/aggressive behavior.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Like I've said before. "Not all tortoises will agree to get along in a group".
I've experienced this at least 3 times that I can recall. In fact, I have an individual right now that I'm re homing for that exact reason.
This lone wolf tortoises don't stop the bullying until they are kept alone.
Sorry.
 

Meesh

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Like I've said before. "Not all tortoises will agree to get along in a group".
I've experienced this at least 3 times that I can recall. In fact, I have an individual right now that I'm re homing for that exact reason.
This lone wolf tortoises don't stop the bullying until they are kept alone.
Sorry.
He's not alone tho. Hes never been alone. Hes with other females all smaller than him. I just got a female who is bigger than him an hes having a hard time accepting her. I'm thinking its her size. But could be he just doesn't like her.. Who knows. Figured id see if anyone else has experience this an if they have an advice
 

Cathie G

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Well... it looks to me from reading your thread that you'll have to remove her permanently from the enclosure. Why rock the boat so to speak? Especially if you have a group living together peacefully. If you keep them together at this point she will get hurt.
 

Tom

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He's not alone tho. Hes never been alone. Hes with other females all smaller than him. I just got a female who is bigger than him an hes having a hard time accepting her. I'm thinking its her size. But could be he just doesn't like her.. Who knows. Figured id see if anyone else has experience this an if they have an advice
This is a big mature female. He's trying to make her submit for breeding, and she ain't having it yet. The smaller ones either didn't interest him because they are not yet mature, or they quickly and easily submitted and don't want to challenge him the way this one does. She'll either get tired of it and put him on his back, or she'll give in. Its the wrong time of year for breeding though. She knows this, but he apparently he doesn't. She may not be responding because the hormones are shut down for winter, but because he is not brumating, his hormones aren't shut down. You might have better luck in the spring time, and you might need to separate them now to prevent injury.

How many tortoises live in this enclosure now? Are you quarantining?
 

Cathie G

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This is a big mature female. He's trying to make her submit for breeding, and she ain't having it yet. The smaller ones either didn't interest him because they are not yet mature, or they quickly and easily submitted and don't want to challenge him the way this one does. She'll either get tired of it and put him on his back, or she'll give in. Its the wrong time of year for breeding though. She knows this, but he apparently he doesn't. She may not be responding because the hormones are shut down for winter, but because he is not brumating, his hormones aren't shut down. You might have better luck in the spring time, and you might need to separate them now to prevent injury.

How many tortoises live in this enclosure now? Are you quarantining?
I was thinking about quarantine and about what it does. Possibly it not only protects your existing animals from disease but allows the new animal to take a breather from stress. But also I think tortoises have a really good sense of smell. Especially since they can't hear and their other senses must be heightened. If you put them in quarantine they can also take on the oders of their new home and be accepted easier possibly. This is only a theory.
 

Tom

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I was thinking about quarantine and about what it does. Possibly it not only protects your existing animals from disease but allows the new animal to take a breather from stress. But also I think tortoises have a really good sense of smell. Especially since they can't hear and their other senses must be heightened. If you put them in quarantine they can also take on the oders of their new home and be accepted easier possibly. This is only a theory.
All of that sounds plausible and likely.
 

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