newbie! Greek trying to mate?

[starjess81]

I'm new to greeks, I've always had box turtles and never had a mating pair. I've had my greeks for about 2 weeks, the male seems like he is trying to mount the female and gets really rough with her. He bumbs into her and trys to get ontop...he isn't successful that i know of...and if she ignores him he bumps into her for hours. She seems to have bruising on her shell where he has been bumping her. And she has no interest in food. Should I seperate them? They were cage mates at the pet store. Please help, I'm still learning!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Jessica:

As you're finding out, the Mediterranean-type tortoises can be very rough when its just one male and one female. It would be a good idea to separate them. Once the weather warms up and you can put them outside into their outdoor habitat, it won't be so bad for the female because it will be a bigger area with more hiding places. Pairs seldom work out well in the house.

 

[JoesMum]

Male Greeks are very persistent and they're not very fussy about what they decide is a female tortoise! Joe attempts to mate with many things that lack 4 legs and a plastron.

They are best kept alone. If kept with females, you need plenty of space and plenty of females to dilute the attention.

Your female will not thrive with his undivided attention, so the sooner you can separate them the better.

 

[starjess81]

Ok i have them seperated now...I feel bad and I though since they were cage mates at the store they would have been ok...i guess i'm still learning. I want them to thrive and will do what I need to do! Thanks for all the input!

 

[JoesMum]

Don't feel bad. Greeks are solitary in the wild, so you've done the best thing

Just to give you a smile... Joe's mated with the basketball net base, assorted rocks, the slug-pub, seed trays... and when he did meet girls, he wasn't too choosy about which end he attempted to mate with! In summer I can hear him butting our big wheely bin from the other end of our street on bad days!