A partner for my tortoise?

[JSW]

I would love to have a 'partner' for Hermes. I am pretty sure a leopard tortoise. I don't know if Hermes is a male or female! How do I tell? And is it ok to get a baby when Hermes is about 3 years old?
Thank you!

 

[Yvonne G]

If you were to get Hermes a 'partner' it would have to be the same species, as it's just not a good idea to mix species. There are known instances of mixing species causing illness and even death.

Tortoises are territorial, and don't look for 'friends'. You may be able to get by with adding another tortoise if you had them set up in a LARGE outdoor yard, but definitely NOT in an indoor situation. You would have fighting and bullying.

 

[JSW]

If you were to get Hermes a 'partner' it would have to be the same species, as it's just not a good idea to mix species. There are known instances of mixing species causing illness and even death.

Tortoises are territorial, and don't look for 'friends'. You may be able to get by with adding another tortoise if you had them set up in a LARGE outdoor yard, but definitely NOT in an indoor situation. You would have fighting and bullying.

Thank you so much! I kept getting advice to get him one and now I'm so glad I've gotten here. I've realized how many things I'm doing WRONG! Ugh! And it's very hard to find really specific answers that are right. I've spent so much time researching and finally a place to get things right.

Do you think he's threatened or feels bullied by other pets? We have cats and a big dog but it seems like they get along really well and the cats like to sleep by him and they are almost cuddling. After your insight I wonder if I'm misinterpreting his behavior and rather than happy to be friends he is terrified or angry so he doesn't move...
Help?
Thank you so very much!
Jen

Oh! PS he's totally indoors because we live in Nebraska so winter is out of the question and summers are great but this will be the first summer that I thought he would be old enough to go outside at all due to a million reasons....

 

[Yvonne G]

Small tortoises are prey, so he's going to naturally be afraid of anything bigger than he is until he gets used to them. Don't ever trust your dog around the tortoise unless you're there to supervise. the cat just like the warmth provided by the light.

 

[wellington]

Along with advice given, which is great advice. I would worry about the cat too if he can get into the tortoises enclosure. The lights being knocked over and causing a fire or the cats hair catching/causing a fire. Tortoises also should not be allowed to roam the house. They need to stay in their proper indoor or outdoor enclosures.

 

[Big Charlie]

When cats come into our yard, Charlie gets really close to them. I used to think he was curious; now I realize he is trying to intimidate them into leaving, or protecting his territory. At Hermes' size, he might be afraid of your other pets. Dogs like to chew on tortoises, so don't ever leave them together unsupervised.

 

[JSW]

Small tortoises are prey, so he's going to naturally be afraid of anything bigger than he is until he gets used to them. Don't ever trust your dog around the tortoise unless you're there to supervise. the cat just like the warmth provided by the light.

Thanks again, I'm realizing that either he is still intimidated or he is used to them. In our situation I hope it's the latter because the animals in the house all get along: hedgehog, 3 cats, Rhodesian Ridge Back, snake and ducks. We are a big happy family!

PS It's very duplicitous that I trust the dog with our animals but goodness! I have her collar when a 'human' is introduced! AND it's very wonderful that she even patrols the animals. If the cats fight she 'mediates' or if they look 'sideways at the hedgehog she gets in front of him and pushes the cats with her nose until they are away from him and get the idea they aren't allowed to 'play'! You all in this forum are amazing and I love it!

 

[JSW]

Along with advice given, which is great advice. I would worry about the cat too if he can get into the tortoises enclosure. The lights being knocked over and causing a fire or the cats hair catching/causing a fire. Tortoises also should not be allowed to roam the house. They need to stay in their proper indoor or outdoor enclosures.

Thank you! Maybe you can give some advice on the roaming, I've taken protective measures with the fire hazards...
Everything I read is that tortoises need space. Because of our location etc. he has to be inside. I was planning on allowing him to roam just the kitchen and tv area, only about 600 sq ft. What do you think abut that?

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Everything I read is that tortoises need space. Because of our location etc. he has to be inside. I was planning on allowing him to roam just the kitchen and tv area, only about 600 sq ft. What do you think abut that?

As a leopard tortoise, it requires temperatures of, at the least, low 80°f 24/7. At this temperature at tortoise level, say 4"-5" above floor level, your home temperature would be staggering for a human. That's just the one health issue that comes to my mind. Too cold on the floor.
Then there are all the things that may be ingested laying on the floor that are potentially harmful to a tortoise. It's like me being shocked by my dog chewing on my tortoise and saying, "he's never paid any attention to my tortoise, I think it's from the song birds I feed I my porch."

 

[wellington]

If you can give him a room that is designated to just him, which means there are lights and heat hanging to bask under, substrate all over the room, etc, setting it up as if it were an enclosure, then he can roam a room. Otherwise he needs to be in an enclosure that is very large, the size of a room at least when he's bigger. 10x10 at the minimum, unless he has an outside area too.