ChelonianChris
New Member
Hi all,
I have two young eastern hermann's tortoises, they'll be two years old in June and are about 4.5 inches long. They are siblings. I haven't yet been able to sex them, but the larger of the two has grown a large tail in the last few months, suggesting to me that it may be a male.
What's got me mystified is that both tortoises will occasionally mount each other and display very obvious mating behavior (mouth open, squeaking). I thought I shouldn't expect this for at least another few years. Is this some kind of social heirarchy behavior or are they actually mating? Will females engage in this sort of behavior too? Does this mean I have 2 males? I'd appreciate any insight, thank you!
I have two young eastern hermann's tortoises, they'll be two years old in June and are about 4.5 inches long. They are siblings. I haven't yet been able to sex them, but the larger of the two has grown a large tail in the last few months, suggesting to me that it may be a male.
What's got me mystified is that both tortoises will occasionally mount each other and display very obvious mating behavior (mouth open, squeaking). I thought I shouldn't expect this for at least another few years. Is this some kind of social heirarchy behavior or are they actually mating? Will females engage in this sort of behavior too? Does this mean I have 2 males? I'd appreciate any insight, thank you!