Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all . . .I have a problem. I have a male Eastern Box turtle that attacks everyone he is housed with. I’d like to put him in an outdoor enclosure (15’/ 21” x 10’) He would with 3 other Easterns . . . 2 males and 1 female. There are also 2 three-toeds in there but I barely ever see them. They only seem to come out after it rains. They’re not very friendly.

Anyway, the problem is that this guy attacks everyone (see photos) I don’t think it’s a mating thing because he attacks males and females. Maybe I’m wrong? None of my other box turtles act this way! They all seem to get together pretty well and have for years! He climbs on his victim and tries to bight their heads. Sometimes they clamp up with his foot stuck in the shell & I’m always afraid he’ll break his dumb leg twisting around to get free.

He has been kept apart from all the other turtles for the entire winter. Now that the weather is nice I’d like to keep him outside. Am I going to have to build a separate enclosure for him or is there a way to deal with this hyper-territorial, antisocial, aggression?

well it's actually quite simple.. you have too many males, he's trying to be alpha male, some males only get along with one turtle, some only get along with females and others dont like other turtles at all, even if you only had 2 males they'd probly end up fighting over your single female, and so much mating and aggression is bound to kill one of them, also housing 2 different subspecies isn't recomended, especially with your agressive male.
I dont have any suggestions for you, I'm sure someone else here will have more ifo for you. good luck!
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It should be noted that the turtle he is attacking in those shots is a female. He has been kept in various groups. Sometimes a with a few females sometimes a few males and he attacks everyone.

I have several male turtles that are like that and I have to put each in their own outdoor pen. I know some people let their turtles duke it out and let the "fur" fly, but in an enclosed area like a pen, the "beta" male cannot run away and so it's unfair in my mind to subject turtles to such an contrived fight. Better to let them each feel like king of their domain. It takes up a lot of space but in the end I have happy and healthy turtles and that's what it's all about.

BTW, the picture is not showing up but I have a feeling you are seeing two diferent kinds of behaviors between the male/male and male/female "fights". It sounds like he is an immature bully with the females, but he's probably courting them and fighting with the males.
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Tess
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TESS- Thanks for the info. I agree with what you have said. About the photos . . . it's weird. Sometimes when I go to this board the photos I posted come up no problem. Other times they don't. I’ll try another image host and re-post them. Please check again later! Thanks.

Hi there:

While it may at first sound silly, those pictures appear to be a courting embrace. I have observed box turtles and Sulcata tortoises, on several ocassions attempt to copulate with chelonions of the same sex. According to another herpetologists journal, one was seen attempting to mate with a tree trunk. But maybe it was just that one "fight" that I observed. They will also charge other males, ramming the fronts of their plastrons together. I hope this helps.

DAVE

Maybe this will load better?