Is 3 Russians a bad idea??

I have two males outside separate. Males fight and mate often times bloody sometimes deadly. They don't fight like other tortoises by flipping. They bite legs eyes what ever they can. You will hear people say I have 2 males and they never fight. Those are very rare exceptions. Most fight. Figure out why you want none, for you to have more, or because you think they are lonely? Being siblings means nothing to them, just more competition

What if the outdoor enclosure is really big with lots of hides? Still a bad idea? I could separate them when they are inside with pieces of wood??

Why keep them together? No benefit to the animal. Why so insistent?

A Pict is worth 1000 words

Still a bad idea any way you slice it. If you want to have three separate habitats, okay. If you want to have them live together in the same habitat, you are not listening. Still hoping for a different answer? No. Unless you want a pet cemetery in your backyard. That's what's at stake.

Your getting good advise please follow it !

Tort6 said:

What if the outdoor enclosure is really big with lots of hides? Still a bad idea? I could separate them when they are inside with pieces of wood??

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Even in a big outdoor enclosure they will still fight every time they see each other which will likely be every day even if you put them in a 100x100 foot enclosure. They are VERY territorial and they wander their entire enclosure daily.

When I say territorial, this means they view every thing they can see as THEIR territory and they don't want any other tortoises, especially a rival male, in THEIR territory. In the wild, which is much bigger than your back yard, there would be a fight any time two males come into contact. One would win the fight and the other would boogie out of the winners territory at top speed. In your enclosure, there will be nowhere to run and no way to escape the wrath of the more dominant one. The dominant one will persist with his harassment and attacks until the submissive one leaves his territory.

I don't know how else to spell it out for you. They do NOT want company. They will usually not tolerate another male in their territory. They will use extreme violence to drive unwanted "intruders" out of their territory.

Just divide your yard into three sections and enjoy these awesome tortoises.

Ok everyone taking all your advice, no extra torts for us

Unless...I can get hubby to build me 2 more enclosures then game on!

Tort6 said:

Unless...I can get hubby to build me 2 more enclosures then game on!

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Send him over to my place when he gets done, I could use another enclosure

I wish females weren't so hard to find in our area

Even without a physical fight, intimidation and bullying will make the less dominant male sickly and weak.