Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The 20 year old female I just got who has lived alone all her life was introduced to my 2.2 group. For the better part of the day all was well. In the afternoon one of the males mounted her for several minutes, and then it all hit the fan!

She chased him all over the place biting him on his face and feet, not just nipping mind you, biting and not leting go! I had to put them under water to get her to let go of his foot once, and when I took her out, she climbed right back up into the tupperware bowl to get at him again! Her mouth had blood on it, but I don't see him bleeding anywhere so I asume it is her tougue or something.

Anyway, is it the breeding, the living with others, or what? Will time take away the fight, or will this probably be a lifelong battle? I've always read that Boxers do better in groups and she's not the only female so I don't get it.
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John D.
Glendale, AZ

3.0.1 Blackthroat Monitors: Clawed, Claudio, Dekembe, Mbasa
5.8 Leopard Geckos (normals, albinos, hypos, tangs, blizard, giant)
1.3.1 Fattails: Valrhona, Godiva, Peaches, Rattle, Copper
1.2 Veilds: Mahmud, Umayma, Aliya
1.2 Oustallet's: Gascar, Maddie, Lettie
1.3 Ambanja Panther: Maximillian, Celeste, Gloria, Candice
All of these (and a few more) are in my 4th grade classroom!

first off I dont know where you read box turtles do better in groups, they are solitary by nature and would prefer to be alone..
your female will probly not stop attacking, she's probly just got a mean streak, are you sure it's female?
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My Site
1.2.1 Terrapene Carolina Triunguis
0.0.1 Nymphicus hollandicus
1.0 Melopsittacus undulatus
1.1 American Cocker Spaniels
1.0 American Short Hair? Cat
1.1 Rouen Ducks

wow. so anyway, first off, where did you read that these five box turtles were being kept right on top of one another? i do not know any box turtle owners who build large seperate enclosures for EACH box turtle. if an outdoor box turtle pen is big enough, there is no reason to not put several boxies in there at once, so long as each has enough of its own roaming space and places to hide. just because these turtles are being kept together does not mean that the owner is forcing them to share a bed. they can live perfectly solitary existances. and be quite happy. oh, and as for the breeding. yeah. males & females tend to do that. it's called procreation. that's how we get MORE box turtles in the world. there's nothing wrong with a male turtle wanting to get it on with a female. if box turtles were so solitary by nature, we wouldn't have any left, now, would we? box turtles can be kept in the same enclosure and still live a completely "solitary" life. all they have to do is stay away from eachother.

and, to answer the original question....
from what i have seen, that is not typical box turtle behavior to want to bite another turtle and not let go. she is 20 years old and has never mated before, so it was obviously quite a shock. her behavior will most likely not change, and if she is not used to seeing other turtles- even from across the enclosure- i would try to keep her seperate, as she might hurt your more "house broken" boxies when you are not home.