Hermann's newbie question

[fuggyann]

Hi,

We've got two new Hermanns and I have just a couple of questions

- is there a set number of hours we should have the light on for at this time of year? Nowhere seems to have a specific length and some people seem to say 12 hours, some say less....

- the last couple of days in the mornings and evenings when they have been waking up and going to bed they seem to be grunting at each other, kind of a high pitched snort. Is that normal? Out of curiosity I had been searching around about what noises they make but no one every mentioned them doing this! They aren't fighting and seem to like snuggling in together so it doesn't seem to be aggressive, they are good and healthy so isn't illness, but still the internet seems to agree that they never make noise!

Thanks

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forums! 12 to 14 hours is around the length of time the lights should be one. your tortoises are mating. this species should not be housed in a pair the male will harass and stress out the female to death, they need to be separated. separate your two tortoises as soon as possible before one gets injured.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi fuggyann and welcome There are some great care sheets on here for different species in the 'species specific' section so you may find your answers there. I turn my mvb off when my tort takes itself off to bed and then have the che on a thermostat overnight. They need complete darkness to sleep. As for the grunting I can't help there as I'm a newish keeper myself, but I have read on here many times that torts should be kept separately as they can be aggressive to each other by pushing and barging, so maybe it is a territorial thing. I may be wrong, but there are some excellent people here with tons of experience and they will be able to tell you more about that. I'm sure someone will be along soon.

 

[fuggyann]

yeah, we've been turning the light on and off with our own routine in the morning when we get up and then early evening when we are home and in the house, going to sort out the timer tomorrow so was just checking the optimum length for that, we get up fairly early but they are usually still fairly active at night.

The tortoises aren't in anyway aggressive to each other and are less than 12 months old so is a bit early for sexual activity isn't it?!

They are not nasty or aggressive towards each other and seem to enjoy each other's company a lot - if I thought in any way either was being harrassed I would separate them, but it seems like they are just communicating.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

yeah, we've been turning the light on and off with our own routine in the morning when we get up and then early evening when we are home and in the house, going to sort out the timer tomorrow so was just checking the optimum length for that, we get up fairly early but they are usually still fairly active at night.

The tortoises aren't in anyway aggressive to each other and are less than 12 months old so is a bit early for sexual activity isn't it?!

They are not nasty or aggressive towards each other and seem to enjoy each other's company a lot - if I thought in any way either was being harrassed I would separate them, but it seems like they are just communicating.

these are not social creatures, they cant really enjoy stuff. those are human emotions. even if they are not going after each other the stress of having another tortoises near by can kill a tortoise. can you post some pics of them?

 

[Lyn W]

They don't really snuggle so keep an eye on that as it could be the start of aggression.

 

[crimson_lotus]

Yeah if you have 2 males especially this could be a big issue, tortoises are very territorial creatures and they do not like having a male other than them in their territory. I personally would not keep them together, but if you do watch for head bobbing, mounting, biting, etc. I think the sounds could be an issue as well - possibly a sign of dominance - but I don't really know about that. With a male and a female in a small enclosure, the female can never escape and they end up being harassed all the time, causing too much stress which could result in death. Please be careful for your tortoises sake.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

It's easy for us, the keepers, to mis-interpret what we're seeing the tortoises doing. Tortoises are territorial, solitary animals. They neither need nor want other tortoises in their territory. What you are seeing is bullying. I know it doesn't look like aggression, but it is. The more dominant tortoise is telling the less dominant tortoise to get out of the territory, but because they are contained within four walls, the submissive tortoise has no place to go. Eventually he will be smaller than the more dominant one because he'll eat less and stay hidden in a corner to be less conspicuous. It is in your tortoises' best interests to set them up in separate habitats and let each one be the king of his domain.

 

[Gillian M]

Please take care: tortoises like being alone and are not in need of company. I once took my tort for a "walk" in the sun. Someone nearby has a tortoise so he brought it along and we put the torts side by side, whereas war began! My tort attacked the other tort without prior notice and bullying began. I picked it up and took off.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Put your light on a timer. They're cheap & available at hardware stores. Regularity is better than randomness.

What we interpret as snuggling is simply the desire to occupy the same space at the same time.

Separate them. Don't wait for damage to be obvious.