Female Sulcata wanted

[ClareandCo]

It can't possibly be fun for the female, and as has been pointed out some horrific damage can be caused.

[Hanako]

If it was so dangerous the tortoises would die out by now. It is happening in the nature, so why not let it happen in captivity?

We think it is not fun because according to our measurements it looks rough. But in tortoises measurements it is normal, not rough. It is just the way nature arranged it.

[ClareandCo]

In the wild they would have acres of space, not be penned in together. A male can cause a female horrendous damage and never leave her in peace.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by ClareandCo

In the wild they would have acres of space, not be penned in together. A male can cause a female horrendous damage and never leave her in peace.

I totally agree, they probably wouldn't come across each other that often, so would be natural. In captivity it's not natural as some keep telling me

[Hanako]

They would have acres of space in the wild, but the sex would still happen otherwise tortoises would have died out by now. It can't be that bad if the female doesn't escape even in the wild (judging from the fact that tortoises are being born in the nature, so sex must happen occasionally).

About the horrendous injuries, yes things can go wrong, but they can go wrong with any animals. Is it somehow more dangerous with tortoises? They survived through thousands of years without getting extinct unlike other animals...

[alley cat]

Originally Posted by Hanako

They would have acres of space in the wild, but the sex would still happen otherwise tortoises would have died out by now. It can't be that bad if the female doesn't escape even in the wild (judging from the fact that tortoises are being born in the nature, so sex must happen occasionally).

I think you are missing the point here, in the wild the tortoise can chose to escape the males advances or mate, in captivity she would have little chance of escaping for long in a confined space so every day her life would be about trying to avoid the male, in my opinion this would be cruel

[Hanako]

Originally Posted by alley cat

I think you are missing the point here, in the wild the tortoise can chose to escape the males advances or mate, in captivity she would have little chance of escaping for long in a confined space so every day her life would be about trying to avoid the male, in my opinion this would be cruel

I don't think I am missing the point. In the wild the tortoise can chose to escape the males advances but in reality the tortoises chooses not to escape otherwise there would be no tortoises born. So that makes me wonder whether it is really so unpleasant for them.

I have kept a male and female together for nine years before I found this forum and I did not have any impression that the female had been hassled constantly.They did have sex occasionally but not all the time as I am reading on this forum.She definitely was no stressed out by that. So I struggle to understand what the big fuss is about.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Hanako

I don't think I am missing the point. In the wild the tortoise can chose to escape the males advances but in reality the tortoises chooses not to escape otherwise there would be no tortoises born. So that makes me wonder whether it is really so unpleasant for them.

I have kept a male and female together for nine years before I found this forum and I did not have any impression that the female had been hassled constantly.They did have sex occasionally but not all the time as I am reading on this forum.She definitely was no stressed out by that. So I struggle to understand what the big fuss is about.

You obviously have not been around very long on forums then, or seen the damage done by the constant attentions of a male.

[Hanako]

I think it may depend on their temperament of the animals in question because my own experience showed me otherwise. It is true that my experience has been with one couple not hundreds and what was working for this couple may not work for other tortoises.

[Wanda]

I have seen how aggressive male horsfields can be, and some do seem to be worse than others however, I would like to offer a slightly different view. If there is 1/3 of an acre I would have thought there was more than enough room to make a separate enclosure if the male does hassle a female too much to give her a break.