Getting another Greek tortoise advice???

[Puckles🐢]

Okay so I want to buy another tortoise to go with my Greek which I didn't even know was Greek thanks to this forum. He is a male so I geuss the only option is to purchase a female but my boyfriend is afraid he will attack her because he said he had to be seperated in the shop from the other tortoises but I told him that the pet shop tried to tell us he's a russian tortoise and may of been aggressive towards a different species or something. He's pretty harmless unless you like try to put your finger under his chin or if your skin is see able but that rarely happens anymore.

 

[JoesMum]

Your boyfriend is right.

Greeks roam large territories in the wild, meet up to mate and move on. They don't get lonely and they don't want company. Worst of all they don't share nicely. Bullying can be physical or mental and leads the the bullied tort becoming withdrawn, ill and possibly dying.

If you get another tort, they must be kept entirely separately in quarantine for at least 6 months. Your existing tort may well not take kindly to another tort intruding in its territory, so this may have to be permanent. If you want to breed, introduce them to mate then separate immediately.

I own a mature male Greek and believe me, he is not good company for torts of either gender

Groups of 3 or more can work in a large outdoor enclosure with plenty of sight barriers, but quaranti e periods of separation still apply and thee are no guarantees that they willlget on even kept like this

 

[Puckles🐢]

Your boyfriend is right.

Greeks roam large territories in the wild, meet up to mate and move on. They don't get lonely and they don't want company. Worst of all they don't share nicely. Bullying can be physical or mental and leads the the bullied tort becoming withdrawn, ill and possibly dying.

If you get another tort, they must be kept entirely separately in quarantine for at least 6 months. Your existing tort may well not take kindly to another tort intruding in its territory, so this may have to be permanent. If you want to breed, introduce them to mate then separate immediately.

I own a mature male Greek and believe me, he is not good company for torts of either gender

Groups of 3 or more can work in a large outdoor enclosure with plenty of sight barriers, but quaranti e periods of separation still apply and thee are no guarantees that they willlget on even kept like this

This is very disappointing to me now since the fact that I am getting a huge enclosure for him and I thought I had room for 2 but I really want them to be in the same enclosure because two enclosure equals more money for me to spend when I could just pair them, does that make sense? I'm glad I heard this but I want them too get along so badly

 

[JoesMum]

I have a very large garden in the UK that is Joe's alone. It's enough for him, but it would not offer enough breaks and shelter, despite the mature shrubs, for a lady friend to avoid constant attention.

Two is not a good number. The quarantine is not optional either... it is essential to make sure that neither tort makes the other ill.

You cannot transpose human feelings onto a tortoise... they really don't get lonely or need or want company apart from to breed. Males don't pair for life. They mate with everything and anything going as the rocks, plant pots, slug pub, etc in my garden would tell you if they could.

 

[sueb4653]

I have 3 greeks a male and 2 females- so far so good

 

[JoesMum]

Re: RE: Getting another Greek tortoise advice???

I have 3 greeks a male and 2 females- so far so good

A group... more opportunities to divert attention... and a bit of luck too.

 

[Puckles🐢]

You think there's a way I can add her without taking away all his attention to her? Maybe since I haven't got the new enclosure yet I could plan on changing it up a bit so that they BOTH will have new territories to look after, and if you would like to look at the bookshelf I want to transform to a table you can look at my posts and find the one about bookshelves and there should be a link.

 

[JoesMum]

Re: RE: Getting another Greek tortoise advice???

You think there's a way I can add her without taking away all his attention to her? Maybe since I haven't got the new enclosure yet I could plan on changing it up a bit so that they BOTH will have new territories to look after, and if you would like to look at the bookshelf I want to transform to a table you can look at my posts and find the one about bookshelves and there should be a link.

No I don't, sorry. He will want to spend 100% of his time mating with her. We are not talking tables here. Greeks live along time and they need to be outside and out of tables to get space. We have had Joe for over 40 years and he is likely to live at least another 50. He is in his prime.

Two Geeks are a huge risk. The only thing worse is 2 Russians. They MUST be kept separately in quarantine for at least 6 months. It is is not good to keep two together at all. Three plus may work if you have a large yard, AFTER quarantine.

 

[Puckles🐢]

You think there's a way I can add her without taking away all his attention to her? Maybe since I haven't got the new enclosure yet I could plan on changing it up a bit so that they BOTH will have new territories to look after, and if you would like to look at the bookshelf I want to transform to a table you can look at my posts and find the one about bookshelves and there should be a link.

No I don't, sorry. He will want to spend 100% of his time mating with her. We are not talking tables here. Greeks live along time and they need to be outside and out of tables to get space. We have had Joe for over 40 years and he is likely to live at least another 50. He is in his prime.

Two Geeks are a huge risk. The only thing worse is 2 Russians. They MUST be kept separately in quarantine for at least 6 months. It is is not good to keep two together at all. Three plus may work if you have a large yard, AFTER quarantine.

Okay thanks !!! I'm very upset trust me but reading how long yours lived made me cheer up a bit. How big do Greeks get? I just found out he was a Greek like last week when I thought he was a russian for like 6 months!

 

[JoesMum]

Well my male is 10.5 inches and 7lb which is pretty big. I think 9 inches is more usual

 

[Tom]

Joe's Mum is spot on. It is physically possible for a pair of greeks to live together, it just is not normally going to work out. The norm is for the male to constantly harass, bite, and mount the female. This is okay for a few hours in the wild to get the "job" done and perpetuate the species, but in the wild she'd leave the area ASAP. Forcing her to live this way all day every day is just cruel. Strong word I know, but it is reality for tortoises.

If you really want more than one you'll need a really large enclosure, preferably outdoors with all sorts of hiding areas, plants, bushes, etc. and at least two or three females. You still need to observe a substantial quarantine period and do some fecal exams with the reptile vet, before you put them together. Even when this is all done "right" it still doesn't always work out.

The safe bet is to have a separate enclosure for each tortoise, do your quarantine and vet checks, and then put them together temporarily for breeding if thats what you want to do.

 

[Puckles🐢]

Awesome!!! Mine Is like six or seven right now anyways thanks a ton! Thanks Tom

 

[Jlant85]

Since this is already a topic here, I was wondering, is it ok to place two females in the same pen??? being it big enough....

 

[JoesMum]

Re: RE: Getting another Greek tortoise advice???

Since this is already a topic here, I was wondering, is it ok to place two females in the same pen??? being it big enough....

No. Bullying is not dependent on gender. Two females are just as likely to have issues as two males, or a male and a female.