Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have three boxies right now... one hatchling, one the size of an orange, and one adult.. thus far i had never considered keeping them together because of the size difference.. but this summer i had plans to build a large outside enclosure for the two larger ones to live in.. agent orange is my adult.. i tried to keep a female with him once before but not 5 minutes after i put them together, he had her in her shell because he was trying to bite her head.. i wasnt sure if it was some wicked mating behavior or just aggression... and not wanting to be responsible for a cannibalized turtle, i separated them and gave the female to a friend of mine.. he did the same thing to my med. sized one when i had to put them together temporarily to fix a crack in the med. sized ones tank.. i wanted to know if this is mating behavior or a dominance thing... i was going to try to find a female for agent orange but i am worried he will try to bite her head off too.. will i need to keep them all separate permanently? i had been planning on putting akamai (the baby) in with Schmendrick (the med sized one) once he gets bigger... does anyone else keep box turtles together..
-----
my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

It could be mating behavior or aggression regardless of sex.

If you'd like to keep them together you're going to have to bite the bullet. As long as the size disparity is not too great they should be able to work it out as long as you have enough space and a good number of visual barriers.

I found that anytime I change an arrangement agression goes up but eventually tapers off. When I see a turtle getting agressive I send the 2 involved to their respective corners. This breaks up the agression. Where biting the bullet comes in is when you are not there to break it up. Again, as long as the size disparity is not too great and you have 2 healthy turtles they should be able to work it out. In any group there has to be a hierarchy and that is the way it is worked out.

If you want them to stay together you are going to have to give it a little time to play out. If there is enough space and the setup works it should work out but be careful that the submissive animal does not get stressed to the point of being effected healthwise. This will not be apparent for a couple of weeks if the turtle is not injured outright which is not common.

>>i have three boxies right now... one hatchling, one the size of an orange, and one adult.. thus far i had never considered keeping them together because of the size difference.. but this summer i had plans to build a large outside enclosure for the two larger ones to live in.. agent orange is my adult.. i tried to keep a female with him once before but not 5 minutes after i put them together, he had her in her shell because he was trying to bite her head.. i wasnt sure if it was some wicked mating behavior or just aggression... and not wanting to be responsible for a cannibalized turtle, i separated them and gave the female to a friend of mine.. he did the same thing to my med. sized one when i had to put them together temporarily to fix a crack in the med. sized ones tank.. i wanted to know if this is mating behavior or a dominance thing... i was going to try to find a female for agent orange but i am worried he will try to bite her head off too.. will i need to keep them all separate permanently? i had been planning on putting akamai (the baby) in with Schmendrick (the med sized one) once he gets bigger... does anyone else keep box turtles together..
>>-----
>>my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, red eye treefrogs, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.
-----
Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care