Are Star Tortoises really not territorial? Is it ok to keep them in pairs?

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jptv

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There are many contradicting posts in the internet. Let's vote Yes or No and find out. :)
 

JoesMum

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Let's not start world war 3

We don't need a vote over this. It will prove nothing and merely reopen the many other debates that have been had on this.

Some people say they keep them successfully as pairs. We have had a regular stream through here that haven't.

As with other species, if there's sufficient space then you may get away with it and then again you may not.

NB This is OP's first post. Read into that what you will
 

jptv

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As of this time. I got 3 Yes votes and 2 No votes from my friends. And an abstain vote from you. Don't worry bro, I'm just collecting data to help me on deciding to get a partner for my female indian star. Thanks.
 

JoesMum

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You'd do better as a first post to get people onside by introducing yourself and getting to know people than by starting out with a flame wars topic.
 

wellington

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Another no here. How much do your friends know? There are many threads here of why tortoises don't do good in pairs. If you want another, get another female you will have a better chance of them getting along. However, you need to have an appropriate size enclosure. Not the typical 20 or 40 gallon aquarium that so many newbies think is an appropriate home for an animal that covers lots of ground in the wild. If you want to breed, then get another female and one male, with an even bigger enclosure and the room to separate them when or if needed.
 

G-stars

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Personally I don't keep my stars in pairs. From my observations even star hatchlings that are kept in pairs, there is always one who is the more dominate one and that will affect the other one. Slower growth and hiding more is common.

However if kept in 3 or more I don't usually notice it as much. This also will vary if you have 2 mature males vs a pair. In general star species aren't as aggressive as most of the other species. However there are exceptions. I know of a few males that can only be kept with the female for breeding purposes then they must be removed because they are aggressive breeders.
 

jptv

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Thanks Wellington. Now it's a tie. 3 all. :D My friends are breeders for more than a decade already. If my question is about russian tortoises, most probably they will all say No. And I will say no also. I'm just curious with stars. :)
 

jptv

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Noted G-stars! :) Thanks bro. 3 yes. 4 no. 1 abstain. Hoping that at the end of this thread I can get a better statistics like majority or more than 70% said NO! :)
 

wellington

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Thanks Wellington. Now it's a tie. 3 all. :D My friends are breeders for more than a decade already. If my question is about russian tortoises, most probably they will all say No. And I will say no also. I'm just curious with stars. :)
I think another thing that has to be taken into consideration first and foremost is how they are doing it Male to Female ratio and also size of enclosure and sight barriers, number of hides and feeding stations. Just to say yes it can be done, does not tell the whole story of how can it be done.
 

Anyfoot

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I don't know what sort of temperament stars have, but redfoots have a pretty good one, I have a male and female redfoot in quarantine and the male is hounding the female constantly(I'll have to split the quarantine bay in two).
So for that reason im going to say NO.
 

jptv

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In my opinion it is a yes! And that will count 4 all. Let's see how will it work. I will add some hiding place and a separate food dishes. :) Currently I have an extra large rabbit cage like 3x4 feet with soil, bermuda grasses, cactus plants, forest floor substrate, exo terra tortoise cave and a power sun.
 

JoesMum

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In my opinion it is a yes! And that will count 4 all. Let's see how will it work. I will add some hiding place and a separate food dishes. :) Currently I have an extra large rabbit cage like 3x4 feet with soil, bermuda grasses, cactus plants, forest floor substrate, exo terra tortoise cave and a power sun.
How big is your tortoise?

The quarantine point is a good one. You should always keep a new tortoise entirely separately in quarantine for at least 6 months before introduction. This is to ensure that neither makes the other sick
 

Kapidolo Farms

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Like any voting process you don't have to be informed to vote. Voting will reveal nothing no matter the statistical analysis you may be capable of.

Any paring of animals, or even cells for that matter, in an enclosed space creates a subordinate/dominate dynamic "a competition". This will result in a life long stress that can not be relieved by the subordinate animals interest to move on. Even the dominate animal experiences stress in that it is not able to reconcile why the subordinate animal is still there. This is not an in-the-mind dynamic but one that plays out in hormone feedback, that's evident in that cells do the same thing, I don't believe cells have minds.

Even pair bonding animals in the wild are not restricted by enclosure space and spend time apart and interacting with others.

Here's something for you to consider, drive your car at 80 mph into a overpass support column. There is a slight chance it will be okay. Tell us about how that works out for you. I vote you do it to see if it will work.
 

jptv

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4 Yes 5 No 2 Abstain. :) I need more data on this. Thanks for sharing your experiences and opinions. :)
 

jptv

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How big is your tortoise?

The quarantine point is a good one. You should always keep a new tortoise entirely separately in quarantine for at least 6 months before introduction. This is to ensure that neither makes the other sick

5 inches.
 

wellington

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In my opinion it is a yes! And that will count 4 all. Let's see how will it work. I will add some hiding place and a separate food dishes. :) Currently I have an extra large rabbit cage like 3x4 feet with soil, bermuda grasses, cactus plants, forest floor substrate, exo terra tortoise cave and a power sun.
3x4 is not extra large in tortoise husbandry. That size cage along says NO. A 4x8 is minimum for one smaller species, Russians, Hermans, etc as and adult and hopefully that's with also an outdoor enclosure. Your 3x4 is fine for one hatchling and no where near big enough for one adult let alone two.
 

Tom

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Star tortoises are not as aggressive and overtly hostile as some other species, but they still should not be housed in pairs. Groups can often work out fine, but not pairs.

If you want to get a second one, just house it separately and once quarantine is done and you are satisfied that both are healthy, put them together periodically for breeding, then let them both go back to their peaceful lives in separate enclosures. This will greatly reduce the stress on your female.
 

Neal

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You can consider me a "No".

I usually don't comment on the keeping tortoises in pairs debate for a lot of reasons but I will in this case because, apparently, your plan is to keep two tortoises in a 3*4 enclosure. This will likely end badly for your tortoises.

I'm not trying to toss you under the bus or anything, but without knowing anything about you I have to focus my concerns on the well being of the tortoises. I can only hope you conduct more research on the matter than a TFO poll before making a decision.
 
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