Females that Mount?

[JakeaLake]

Hello - I've recently acquired two new Sulcata's. I already had, what
I thought, was a female, but since the addition of the other two, my
orginal 'female' seems to mount the larger of the two new ones. Is
this some kind of posturing for superiority? I don't know if this is
what females do to other females (i suspect the one being mounted is a
female as well) vs. what I've seen males tend to do to each other
(flip each other over etc.)

Is it possible my 80plus pound 'female' is really a male despite the
lack of curvature in the carapace? Help!

Oh, also, the smaller of my two new ones seems to have parts of his /
her shell flaking off. What would cause that? I'm not sure what kind
of care they both had with the previous owner.

Thanks!

Steve

[Bryan]

Post by JakeaLake
Hello - I've recently acquired two new Sulcata's. I already had, what
I thought, was a female, but since the addition of the other two, my
orginal 'female' seems to mount the larger of the two new ones. Is
this some kind of posturing for superiority? I don't know if this is
what females do to other females (i suspect the one being mounted is a
female as well) vs. what I've seen males tend to do to each other
(flip each other over etc.)
Is it possible my 80plus pound 'female' is really a male despite the
lack of curvature in the carapace? Help!
Oh, also, the smaller of my two new ones seems to have parts of his /
her shell flaking off. What would cause that? I'm not sure what kind
of care they both had with the previous owner.
Thanks!
Steve

I have definite female Greeks that do the same thing every winter.
Never happens in the summer, indoors or out.
The ramming, mounting and even the vocalization acting just like a male.
Hormones must go nuts this time of year.
Last year i also had a female that wouldn't stop digging nests, stopped
eating and seemed depressed.
Vet x rayed her no eggs, separated in case of illness, when alone eating
resumed, she has been with the others again and so far is fine this winter.
I had read the digging behavior can follow introduction of a new cage
mate(male or female).
Mine are together year round and this year no digging but very
aggressive ramming between the largest 2 females(same one initiates all
the time, the other never does).
After feeding it stops, seems to be content right after a meal until
next morning then same thing until feeding.
I used to feed every other day but i have to feed daily to stop the
aggression.
New table will be ready soon, It's only one she regularly bothers, a
couple others rarely get rammed, no mounting.

[Jeannie]

My next-door neighbor has a large Sulcata named Conga he thought was
female. Neighbor is now "tortoise-sitting" two other Sulcatas, a male
almost the same size as his ("Everest") and a much smaller female
("Denali").

He has two large pens and turns the tortoises loose when he is at home
(his yard is about 1/2 acre). He says he has to make sure the two
large ones are on opposite sides of the yard or else Conga will shove
Everest, and has succeeded in overturning him at least twice.

He says if these tortoises stay overturned for more than an hour or
so, they will die. Is that true? He couldn't locate Denali one night
and I helped him look for her; we finally found her where she had
happily stuffed herself into a remote corner of the yard (they really
like corners).

Jeannie

[JakeaLake]

I wonder if Conga really is a female. From what I've heard it can be
tricky trying to figure out what sex these things are and a lot of it
depends on the age of the animal. I wonder how old Conga is.?!?

Post by Jeannie
My next-door neighbor has a large Sulcata named Conga he thought was
female. Neighbor is now "tortoise-sitting" two other Sulcatas, a male
almost the same size as his ("Everest") and a much smaller female
("Denali").
He has two large pens and turns the tortoises loose when he is at home
(his yard is about 1/2 acre). He says he has to make sure the two
large ones are on opposite sides of the yard or else Conga will shove
Everest, and has succeeded in overturning him at least twice.
He says if these tortoises stay overturned for more than an hour or
so, they will die. Is that true? He couldn't locate Denali one night
and I helped him look for her; we finally found her where she had
happily stuffed herself into a remote corner of the yard (they really
like corners).
Jeannie

[Jeannie]

I wonder if Conga really is a female.  From what I've heard it can be
tricky trying to figure out what sex these things are and a lot of it
depends on the age of the animal.  I wonder how old Conga is.?!?

Sorry for the delay in answering...Conga is young, only around 5-6
years old. The neighbors have just about decided that Conga must be a
male, not a female, due to the aggressive behavior toward Everest.

Jeannie

[N Jill Marsh]

Post by Jeannie
Sorry for the delay in answering...Conga is young, only around 5-6
years old. The neighbors have just about decided that Conga must be a
male, not a female, due to the aggressive behavior toward Everest.

These are great turtle names.

nj"dancing up the mountain"m