keeping tortoises in pairs

[coledoug1]

After reading this I am feeling a little unsure what I should do. I just bought 2 hatchlings in December. One is 41 grams the other 38 grams. My kids wanted them to be together and now I'm reading that this isn't a good idea! Do u think since they are so young they will grow to be peaceful together? They have not had any conflicts as of yet. I am willing to build large enclosures but don't want to build 2! We have three Russian torts now that are in a different pen. Summertime they will be outside in a very safe enclosure. Please help me w some understanding advice.

 

[Tom]

After reading this I am feeling a little unsure what I should do. I just bought 2 hatchlings in December. One is 41 grams the other 38 grams. My kids wanted them to be together and now I'm reading that this isn't a good idea! Do u think since they are so young they will grow to be peaceful together? They have not had any conflicts as of yet. I am willing to build large enclosures but don't want to build 2! We have three Russian torts now that are in a different pen. Summertime they will be outside in a very safe enclosure. Please help me w some understanding advice.

This should be in its own thread, but I don't want you to miss this answer.

After one month with you, plus however old they were from the breeder, they should be bigger than that. It would appear that something is off somewhere. Have you seen these?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

No they won't be peaceful because they've grown up together. They will still try to kill each other if both are male, or if male and female the male will harass the female to death.

They HAVE had conflicts and are continuing to have them, you just don't recognize it. Two of them living together is a conflict. If given the choice one would leave the territory of the other one. Be forced to live together in a small space is stressful on both of them. Read this one:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/

 

[coledoug1]

Wow thank you for all your advice and time. I am even more concerned with their lack of growth. They have not increased in size since I bought them on December 20, 2014. I first weighed them two weeks ago and weighed them yesterday and they are still the same size. They don't move a whole lot as well. I soak them every day and I set up my enclosure exactly as recommended on this forum.

 

[Yvonne G]

I think you'll start to see a big difference once you've separated them.

 

[ascott]

After reading this I am feeling a little unsure what I should do. I just bought 2 hatchlings in December. One is 41 grams the other 38 grams. My kids wanted them to be together and now I'm reading that this isn't a good idea! Do u think since they are so young they will grow to be peaceful together? They have not had any conflicts as of yet. I am willing to build large enclosures but don't want to build 2! We have three Russian torts now that are in a different pen. Summertime they will be outside in a very safe enclosure. Please help me w some understanding advice.

Also, you have not had them very long...it can take some time for a tort to become settled in a new location....

 

[Tom]

If you'll accept the help, I would like to try and figure out why they are not growing. A few questions:
How well are they eating?
Are you using a coil bulb for UV?
What are you using for heating and lighting?
What are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking area and over night low?
Open top or closed chamber enclosure? Humid Hide?
How often do you soak them?
Where did you get them and how were they started as hatchlings?

Just for reference mine hatch at 35-40 grams and within a month they are usually between 50 and 60 grams on a diet of weeds, leaves and grass. This is why I think something might be a little off somewhere. I hope its a quick easy fix.

 

[coledoug1]

After reading this I am feeling a little unsure what I should do. I just bought 2 hatchlings in December. One is 41 grams the other 38 grams. My kids wanted them to be together and now I'm reading that this isn't a good idea! Do u think since they are so young they will grow to be peaceful together? They have not had any conflicts as of yet. I am willing to build large enclosures but don't want to build 2! We have three Russian torts now that are in a different pen. Summertime they will be outside in a very safe enclosure. Please help me w some understanding advice.

 

[coledoug1]

Thank you Tom. I bought them on line from a place called reptile city I am not sure how they were started as hatchlings. I have a 4 foot reptile fluorescent light. I soak them every day at least once. I have growing grass, weeds, Romain lettuce at all times. My temps are 75-82 all the time. Humidity 60-80%. They have a bed spot in closure that they rarely use. It's very moist and dark. Hard to see how much they eat because I have the grass growing as a floor bottom. Does not seem like they eat much though. I do have the two in there and they never seem to even bother with each other. I have not been using a hotspot as of yet. I am starting that now. There in closure does have a roof. Clear plexiglass. Lighting is overtop. I take top off for 1 hour a day so they can get a little air and a little bit more direct lighting.

 

[Tom]

Ahh. Well that is unconventional. I have never kept them that way, so I can't say whether its great or terrible. I do see one issue though, and that is the temperature. To make sure I understand, you are saying that the whole enclosure is covered and the whole thing is 75-82 with no hot spot?

That would explain your issue. It is near 100 degrees where these guys come from every day. Even the night temps are warm. Down in the damp bushes during the rainy season, I would speculate temps in the 90s on a 100+ degree humid rainy day. I would never let them drop below 80, and during the day, it should get quite a lot warmer than 82. Even temperate species need it warmer than that to function and digest their food.

The unknown history scares me, but there is nothing to do about it at this point. There was either damage done, or there wasn't. No sense worrying about it now.

Are these guys getting outside for any UV. UV won't penetrate your plexi, so they aren't getting any indoors. This could be a factor too.

 

[coledoug1]

What do you mean unconventional? I corrected the heat problem already. I am hoping that is the main problem. The turtles looked very healthy when I got them. I really appreciate ur time in doing this. My two boys bought me these two turtles for Christmas and I really want to make this work.

 

[Tom]

What do you mean unconventional? I corrected the heat problem already. I am hoping that is the main problem. The turtles looked very healthy when I got them. I really appreciate ur time in doing this. My two boys bought me these two turtles for Christmas and I really want to make this work.

Most people set up and an enclosure with a basking bulb at one end and an open top. And few people have grass as a substrate indoors. So your style is different than the norm. For all I know your style might be better. I have no experience with it. I just think your temps are too low, but you say you are already fixing that.

How are you fixing that?

And what are you doing for UV?

 

[coledoug1]

I have a 4 foot uv light going across the top. Prior to speaking to u I had the plexi glass over the entire top. I now moved the plexiglass to half the enclosure. (The front) My fluorescent light goes across the back. I also installed a basking light where there is concentrated heat in one spot. The one spot is about 100 degrees. The rest of the enclosure is staying at about 87 degrees. My floor is topsoil where I can grow plants etc.

 

[coledoug1]

I just went down to check on them and one of them is right under the hot light and eating the grass that is growing off the floor! This is the first time I have ever seen this. The other one is in the same spot from last night.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Just curious, do they only have grass to nibble? Russians aren't big grass eaters... broad leaf weeds is usually the recommendation

 

[WithLisa]

Just curious, do they only have grass to nibble? Russians aren't big grass eaters... broad leaf weeds is usually the recommendation

I have no idea what species they are talking about, but obviously it is not about Russians.

 

[wellington]

I have no idea what species they are talking about, but obviously it is not about Russians.

Why do you think it's not about russians? Just curious. I figured they were russians too, as that is also what the avatar is, just doesn't look like a hatchling.

 

[coledoug1]

We are talking about Sulcata hatchlings. You are correct though the small picture are Russians!

 

[WithLisa]

Why do you think it's not about russians? Just curious. I figured they were russians too, as that is also what the avatar is, just doesn't look like a hatchling.

Because @Tom wrote:
"Just for reference mine hatch at 35-40 grams and within a month they are usually between 50 and 60 grams on a diet of weeds, leaves and grass."
Quite big for a russian hatchling, isn't it?

Okay, so it's about Sulcatas - that makes more sense to me.

 

[wellington]

Because @Tom wrote:
"Just for reference mine hatch at 35-40 grams and within a month they are usually between 50 and 60 grams on a diet of weeds, leaves and grass."
Quite big for a russian hatchling, isn't it?

Okay, so it's about Sulcatas - that makes more sense to me.

Ah, see, I didn't even pay attention to that. Sharp eye

 

[Tom]

Guys, this thread was moved out of someone else's thread and made into its own thread. The original tread was about sulcatas, but I can see that it was never mentioned here initially. Sorry for the confusion.

A 40 gram russian hatchling? Man that would be cool.