two boettgeri living together, good idea?

[Oogway]

Hello, there's a reptile fair coming up this saturday close to where i live, and i've been planning on getting another tortoise, so instead of having one T. H. Boettgeri, I'll have two living together.
Is that a good idea?
The one I've got is a 4 year old female, and my plan was buying a male, but im not even sure if i can get a hold of a tortoise the same age.

 

[JoesMum]

No, no and no!

Most tortoises are solitary in the wild and Testudo like yours are no exception. they only seek out company for breeding.

They have a habit of not sharing territory and food nicely regardless of gender. The males can be very aggressive in their search of love/lust. Fighting, butting and biting can lead to blood being drawn. The subordinate tortoise goes into decline and can become ill and die.

Any newcomer MUST be kept entirely separately in quarantine for a good 6 months before introduction.

If you are planning to breed, you are better off keeping them separately and introducing them purely to mate before separating them again.

In captivity, they should only be kept together in groups of 3 or more where you have plenty of space for them to avoid the aggressive attention of others.

Only get another if you have the space available to keep them separately and are prepared to accept that this may well have to be on a permanent basis.

 

[Oogway]

thanks a lot thought it might be a problem. Good job i asked
I'll use the money I've saved up for upgrading my enclosure then

 

[JoesMum]

thanks a lot thought it might be a problem. Good job i asked
I'll use the money I've saved up for upgrading my enclosure then

Or keep saving until you have a house big enough for lots!

 

[Tom]

I agree with Joe's Mum here.

Is it possible to just set up an additional enclosure and have two torts that way? I love having lots of tortoises around, its just that keeping them in pairs is often problematic.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Agree that a ratio of 1M/2 (or more) F is important, but two or more female Hermann's, in a large enough enclosure, will generally get along fine, as long as there's no major size differences. As you can see, I've a 1M/3F ratio, and plan to add 2-3 more females in the near future.

And, quarantine is extremely important...a minimum of 90 days is usually advised.