My tortoise has started biting, please help!
 

My 4 year old marginated tortoise has started biting. It's been over the last year or so but at first it was like a little nibble, now every time my feet or hands are in his eyesight he runs towards me (or anyone for that matter) and bites very aggressively. It's very painful and quite upsetting because I want to be able to be around him without getting attacked. Has anyone had this problem before and had any success with discouraging it? Any advise would be really appreciated, I'll try anything!

Hi, maybe you could tell us more about your setup, it would be helpful to get an idea how the tortoise is housed and fed?

Wear shoes and keep your hands away from his mouth :D There isn't anything you can do about a male tortoise (especially a Marginated) from being aggressive when trying to breed.

Danny

Are male marginateds very aggressive then? Do male horsfields do this? X

Where did it say male?

Male Marginateds tend to be very aggressive when breeding, Horsfields aren't usually as bad Bev :D

It didn't Alley :D Just that's exactly what male Marginateds do :razz:

Danny

He's in a terrarium with a spot lamp and all the special bulbs, but he has free range of the house and garden when the weathers nice enough. I try to vary his diet as much as I can, different dry foods, rocket and watercress salad mixes, and I even grow stuff for him from the Mediterranean tortoise seed packs.

If its just while he's trying to mate does this mean he'll go through stages of aggressiveness then?

Thank you for all the replies! He's my first tortoise and I've done a bit of reading and stuff but sometimes you just want to ask a real person!

Did say his eyesight when he runs towards.... ;)

I have the same problem with my male tortoise (spur thigh), however I get round it by always wearing plastic shoes when I go in his run and these he gets used to as being mine. Next I give him a shoe from time to time that smells like leather so he can practise butting and biting as if it were another tortoise - he enjoys this and I tend to do this when he is in the outdoor run and a bitbored. I don t have a problem when I enter with my plastic shoes to feed him as he identifies me even by my footwear. Hopethis helps ...

Male Marginated are particularly aggressive when wanting to breed, my male margie switches in like the terminator when fully charged up, he is a monster. There's nothing you can do about it, he might calm down later in the spring, until then cover your fingers and toes :D