should i get a buddy for my russian

gray

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so i recently got a russian tortoise. he's around two years old (im not sure he came from a rough start). whenever i have him in his indoor enclosure he mostly either sleeps or basks (i do have him run around my backyard and i have an outdoor enclosure for him for when im busy). im not sure if i should get him a buddy or not since i heard that they could be territorial around other males. he seems lonely and he was raised along a bunch of other russians (both male and female and in between) i think he might be comfortable with other tortoises around though im not entirely sure. i don't want to have him breed either so im not sure what to do.
 

Maggie3fan

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Tortoises are solitary animals. Russians especially are aggressive and territorial, will fight another male to the death and will bite and harass a female to her detriment. If you get another Russian, you have to make a whole separate habitat.
welcome to TFO... ?
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings.

There are many threads here on TFO regarding this very same question. In short - no. Torts are solitary reptiles and don’t need any social interaction, lovey dovey stuff, with other torts. Russians in particular are or can be very territorial. If you introduce another one, it will create issues. One will be dominant & the other subordinate. The bully will wear away on the weaker one over time. Perhaps even hurt/damage could be inflicted.

Soo, best to not introduce a “buddy”.
 

gray

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ahhh thanks so much ill have to try to find other ways to get him entertained. in my neighborhood there's a stray cat that gets along with him really well but the cat hasn't been around in while-
 

Maggie3fan

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ahhh thanks so much ill have to try to find other ways to get him entertained. in my neighborhood there's a stray cat that gets along with him really well but the cat hasn't been around in while-
He's a tortoise! He does not need entertaining. Actually, I believe I spend enough time and money on mine, they damned well better entertain ME
 

gray

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everyone on here is so nice that its terrifying. i will definitely try out both the boot and the flower pot
 
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gurgleblaster

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everyone on here is so nice that its terrifying. i will definitely try out both the boot and the flower pot
The only reason to "socialize" torts is for breeding. So there is some merit to having an area where they can on occasion bump into each other(with supervision) But they really do thrive on their own. There are some breeders that have the space for multiple torts in the same enclosure but these are highly unique use cases and should not be replicated.
 

Tom

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so i recently got a russian tortoise. he's around two years old (im not sure he came from a rough start). whenever i have him in his indoor enclosure he mostly either sleeps or basks (i do have him run around my backyard and i have an outdoor enclosure for him for when im busy). im not sure if i should get him a buddy or not since i heard that they could be territorial around other males. he seems lonely and he was raised along a bunch of other russians (both male and female and in between) i think he might be comfortable with other tortoises around though im not entirely sure. i don't want to have him breed either so im not sure what to do.
I think you get the idea already, but other torts are not seen as a "buddy". It would be seen as an intruder to run away from or fight. They don't want owned other tortoise around.
 

Maggie3fan

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No buddy. I have noticed, though, that my tortoise likes to check out colorful or shiny things. I have heard that torts will occasionally play with balls
I had a Sulcata named Bob who was over 100 lbs when he died. But years before that I taught him what I called tortoise soccer. I would sorta kick a 5 gallon galvanized bucket at him, he would chase it and try to push it back to me. We would do that every few days, and it 'seemed' as he liked it. lol When he got tired of the game he would usually try to mate with the bucket. (don't look). On occasion, I saw him pushing the bucket around the pen. But Bob was smarter than the average Sulcata
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