Males FIghting

[TortoiseDude8]

I have two pet Russian Tortoises and they are both males. I was wondering if they were going to have a battle of the brothers[fighting]. If so can you tell me when so i am prepared and only if they do. If you can help me thanks a million. If not that is alright


From TortoiseDude8

 

[wellington]

No one can tell you when. However, it will most likely happen. It could be bad, so I wouldn't wait for it if it were me. I would separate them now. Some do not have problems. However, if you don't have a very large enclosure with lots of sight barriers, I would bet there is going to be a nasty fight.

 

[TortoiseDude8]

So there could be a 5% chance they won't fight and thank you.


From TortoiseDude8

 

[Levi the Leopard]

How long have you had them?

How are they housed?

The answers to these questions can help you determine/ guess an answer.
If they are new pets that haven't settled in vs. 10 years having lived together, big difference.
If they are housed in an 4 x 2 indoor tortoise table or a 10 x 10 outside pen, big difference.

Your % is off a bit, too. I say it's a 50/ 50 chance. They either will fight or they won't.
Watch for ramming the shells, biting the legs, flipping, one not eating and/or one always hiding.

Sent from my TFOapp

 

[ascott]

If you have confirmed that they are both males....then your percentage is off....it is 100% certain that they will fight. I also would just set up two individual enclosures now---you see, even at a young age they already have confirmed that one must be dominant and one must submit....and in the wild when this would happen the dominant male would eventually chase away the other male and or kill it....so when in a captive environment chasing away/running away is not an option...that leaves well, the constant biting, ramming, climbing on and mental bullying that you will likely not catch in passing...let me assure you, the one tort that will be forced to submit will begin to withdraw, not bask, not exercise, not eat, not drink water---will essentially begin to decline until the "kill" option is complete.

Now, understand that folks do force two torts to live in a captive enclosure and do so by their own choice and for their own needs...not the choice of the tortoise---if the enclosure is big enough then the submissive one has a better chance of hiding...but that is still not healthy....others will keep multiple confirmed females captive with one confirmed male--this way the male can pass around the torment and usually not one female is taking all his harassment and has time to comfort herself before he comes around again....this too can be questionable by some.

So, if you believe that your tort will appreciate company then do your tort a favor and only have one to comfortably inhabit its own enclosure....

This is information that I share as my own opinion based on my personal experience with an assertive species of male....

 

[TortoiseDude8]

well i got them living in the same terrarium at the pet store so does that change your minds.


From TortoiseDude8

 

[Tom]

No. The best thing to do for these two tortoises is to separate them BEFORE they have a nasty fight. While it is physically possible for two males to live together as a pair and not fight, it is certainly not the norm, and no one should expect them to get along for very long. No one can give you an accurate percentage, but we can tell you what usually happens when two males are put together. They fight. Usually. In all probability, yours will not be an exception to this generality. So please, separate them.