Brimstonefox
Member
Hi, My 3 month old Hermanns have been displaying some behaviour that seems to be sexual (see video). Is this sexual or bullying and should I separate them to protect the object of the advances?
Sexual behaviour in juvenile Hermans
- Thread starter Brimstonefox
- Start date
That's simply dominance behavior. I don't think you have to seperate them, but I would warmly recommend to change the enclosure. In the wild young Hermanns always stay hidden between plants, you would never find one basking in the open.
They need lots of space with lots of hides and sight barriers, weeds and grass are perfect for that. In a suitable enclosure you could hardly see them and they would rarely meet each other.
They need lots of space with lots of hides and sight barriers, weeds and grass are perfect for that. In a suitable enclosure you could hardly see them and they would rarely meet each other.
Gattu N'Coco
Member
Yes it is purely sexual and also the girl is running means she's not yet ready to accept him keep them apart for a while everything will be okay
No it isn’t. Especially at this age. Please don’t offer advice that is incorrect.
This is territorial behaviour. This species does not socialise. In the wild they avoid others except for mating. They see other tortoises only as rivals for food and space. They don’t get lonely.
Kept as a pair there is always a dominant tortoise that spends its time physically or mentally telling the other to leave. The subordinate one becomes stressed and stressed tortoises get sick.
These two must be separated now and it will be permanent.
It's a group of 6 hatchlings, so which of the two would you recommend to keep separate?
The behavior is dominance, which isn't unusual in young Hermanns, I've noticed. They start showing direct aggression at a very young age. Obviously the aggressive one should be isolated in a habitat of it's own. You can try reintroduction after a redesign of habitat with sight barriers, more space, etc, but this doesn't always work. I've kept so many different tortoises over the years that, if there's one thing that seems to be true across species, it's that having spare enclosures for the purpose of isolating trouble makers is a must.
T.G.
T.G.
Brimstonefox
Member
Thank-you all for your replies. I guess its time to start finding them new homes. 
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2009
- Messages
- 3,617
- Location (City and/or State)
- The Catskill Mountains of New York State
What you are seeing is not sexual behavior. Your tortoises are much too young to display any type of sexual behavior. What you most likely have is a very young male that is acting older. His actions are very unusual at this age but not unheard of. The unwilling recipient is likely a female. If it were another male there would be more than chasing with the attempt to mount. Males chasing males will typically ram their opponent and continually bite at the rear & front legs and head. Males fighting will more than not be facing each other during altercations. A female will more often be chased from behind, legs nipped at and mounted as soon as she stops. If there is no biting at all, only ramming and mounting there is a slight chance it could even be two females. It is not at all unusual that in a group of females that is without a male that a dominant female will take over and as act as a male. Regardless of the situation, it is unusual for any of that to take place at this young of an age and they're really only "going through the motions". It's unlikely that this action will be continual but it may happen periodically. At this small of an age they're too little and not strong enough to cause any physical harm. But it can be a stressful situation, not only for the tortoise being pursued but also for the aggressor. Separating them at this age is probably not necessary but may be beneficial to all.
