When Turtles Fight

In the wild, male tortoises usually live alone and travel around to find females. In private ownership, however, several males are often kept together – sometimes with females as well. This close socialization leads to significant problems.

Males aggressively defend their territory and fight over females. This results in dangerous fights that can cause serious injuries:

Another problem is the uncontrolled offspring. Due to the increasingly warm summers, more and more turtles hatch in our latitudes – mostly males, since the sex depends on the incubation temperature and in our area the temperatures are not high enough to produce females. But what to do with the young animals? Turtles can live to be over 80 years old and need a long-term, species-appropriate home.

Castration offers an effective way to avoid these problems. The procedure significantly reduces the hormonally controlled aggressive behavior of males, making peaceful coexistence possible.

Less aggression and fighting and thus no more bite injuries. Females are no longer harassed, thus reducing mating injuries. Uncontrolled natural breeding is avoided.

This not only benefits the animals, but also their owners, as stress within the group is significantly reduced and keeping the animals becomes easier.

Before the operation, the animal is examined to ensure that it is healthy and suitable for the procedure. During this examination, the owner is given a full explanation of the neutering process.

The neutering is performed using a minimally invasive (endoscopic) procedure. This means that only small incisions are needed to remove the turtle's testicles, with minimal tissue damage. The procedure is performed under general anesthesia, and the animals are ventilated and monitored during the procedure. This method has proven safe for turtles, and the complication rates are very low. The recovery time is usually short, and most turtles eat normally again just a few hours after the procedure.

Chemical castration, on the other hand, has not proven effective for turtles.

When keeping turtles, their natural behavior should be taken into account and stress and injuries should be prevented. Neutering offers a safe and sustainable solution for improving the coexistence of turtles.

If you have any questions about neutering or would like to make an appointment, you can contact Dr. med. vet. Cornelia Christen at the VetTrust practice in the center of Winterthur.