Adding another Tortoise

[Kerrybaker]

Hi all,

I'm new here so hello!
I'm planning on adding a second tortoise to our household. We currently have a 5ish year old male named Pebbles (pebbilicious when he's being a good boy!) He has a spacious indoor enclosure filled with many edible plants that I could take out for more space, and an outdoor enclosure, not as large as I would like but big enough for one tort. We plan to move house in the next year and will once again have a nice spacious outdoor enclosure enough to house 2 grown tortoises for the summer months. He is fed on weeds and flowers found on the tort trust website.
I have found a lovely man selling 1 year old torts of diff species, I would get another horsfield as I understand it's not good to mix species. I understand i would have to quarantine the new arrival for 4-6 months first incase of disease which is fine as Pebbs would be in his outdoor house at the moment, then go into hibernation towards the winter, so they wouldn't actually meet until next spring.
I understand sexing can be tricky as there is a chance another males will cause fighting and another female will cause mating but I am right in thinking this would only be a problem as they both get older? Also when we go on holiday pebbles goes to a local breeder who looks after him and he is quite happy in the company of other torts at the moment. Am I over looking anything on this subject?

Obviously I hope they would get along well but am prepared to separate them if not. I would also love the opportunity to breed if the match is right in the future so would be prepared to get a group of 3-4 females to keep together so no one female gets taken advantage of if Pebbs turns out to be a bit of a stud!

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Many Thanks x

 

[StarSapphire22]

You will find that many members here are going to discourage you from doing this. Please read this article. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

 

[Abdulla6169]

House them separately... Read the care sheets and ask questions when you want to

 

[Kerrybaker]

Hello,
Yes I have read this before, it's very helpful, it does say ' unless you are prepared to separate with two enclosures which I am' should it be needed. Is it possible for a pair to live happily together?

 

[StarSapphire22]

Hello,
Yes I have read this before, it's very helpful, it does say ' unless you are prepared to separate with two enclosures which I am' should it be needed. Is it possible for a pair to live happily together?

I guess it's POSSIBLE, but I've never heard or seen of it happening, not with Russians. They are a notoriously aggressive species. And, even if you are prepared to separate, why risk it? All it takes is one good bite to cause serious injury. And if the bullying is subtle and psychological, that can be even more harmful since they become stressed, malnourished, vulnerable to disease and you might not notice for a long time.

If you want a second one for you, that's fine, but don't house them together.

 

[Kerrybaker]

Ok Jessica,

Thankyou for your help, I will set about setting up a new enclosure for the new addition before I bring him/her home. For the future would females go together better, or would it make no difference?

 

[StarSapphire22]

Ok Jessica,

Thankyou for your help, I will set about setting up a new enclosure for the new addition before I bring him/her home. For the future would females go together better, or would it make no difference?

Not enough of a difference to matter I think. Females my not be trying to mount each other, but they can still be jerks.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Kerry, and welcome to the Forum!

Here's an example. I have 1.2 Horsefield's tortoises. They live outside in a yard about 40'x16' and they get along pretty good. A few months ago someone turned in a really nice female and instead of adopting her out I decided to keep her. She's huge. About 7" SCL and a real beauty. So after a quarantine period and a bunch of fecal exams, I put her in with my three. My male chased her around that pen and harassed her for days. I was hoping he'd leave her alone after a day or two, but no, he kept at it until I finally had to take her out of the yard.

So, even in a large outdoor yard, it sometimes doesn't work out to have more than one russian together.

 

[Saleama]

Hello,
Yes I have read this before, it's very helpful, it does say ' unless you are prepared to separate with two enclosures which I am' should it be needed. Is it possible for a pair to live happily together?

Anything is possible. What you have to ask yourself is, Is it possible one could hurt or maybe kill the other one? If that answer is yes than you have to consider your options first, not after anything that might happen happens. More than two is a better option. What type of tortoise do you have/want?

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Russians (?) don't get along. Males will bully each other for room (which can cause stress and sickness) and females will cause mating (and eggs) which can also result in bullying and stress.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Even with a desirable ratio of females to males, females may bully each other.

 

[dmmj]

It's always possible, but for the most part russians don't like company. To most tortoises, another tortoise is to mate or fight with, often both. Get another if you wish, just avoid the hassle, and keep them separate from the get go.