Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Over 2 years ago I purchased 2 Russian tortoises from a pet store, I know, not the smartest thing, but...
They have lived happily together, indoors in the cold months, and outdoors in the warm months, until a couple of days ago. One of my tortoises kept following the other one around and tucking her head into her shell and ramming into the back of the other tortoise. I separated them immedialtely because I was afraid one of them would end up hurt. I'm not sure of their sex, I thought one was a male and the other a female, but since it is the one that I thought was a female that is being aggresive, I guess I was wrong. Is this aggression just because they're maturing? Is there anything I can do to stop it our make it less severe? I really do not want to keep them separated. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated

Here's a link to photos of Russian torts. It might help you determine the gender. Remember, the female has a short, stubby tail that she usually holds straight out. The male has a relatively long, thick tail that he often holds tucked to one side. Female is usually (in my experience) larger than the male.

www.tortoise.org/gallery/picruss.html

Now it could be that the female is acting aggressively toward the male. I've seen gravid females act very much like males when they are about to lay eggs.

To help the situation, you could add more obstacles to the pen. Say, a log or large rock. This would provide a break in the pen behind which one tort could hide from the other.

If things get too bad, you could always install a divider down the middle to separate them until the "season" passes.

good luck!

Thanks very much for you help. I guess I do indeed have 2 males =( I kinda started to think that as they got older, but, I ddin't really want a male tortoise named Ophelia...

They live in a 5' x 4' inclosure inside right now and they have several rocks and logs to climb on and hide behind, and a hollowed log to hide in, but Ophelia is still so persistant with following the other tortoise around...It's kind of strange to me to, b/c she (well he) is quite a bit smaller than the tortoise he's bothering.

I guess for now they'll have to stay separated, andI'll keep trying to put them back together for short periods. Is there any hope that 2 males can live happily together?
Thanks for your help.
~Nicole

I've only tried to keep two males together once.

The little male was very mellow and never even bothered the females. If he got in the way, they just pushed him aside.

When I introduced a male who was very aggressive with the females, he decided to beat up on the little male. I'd find the little guy with bite marks on his face.

I don't know if the aggression will be a seasonal thing or not. You could try putting them together every once in awhile, and hope for the best.