Adding a new RT to our family

[Cadance]

My hubby said that I might be able to get another RT which makes me happy During the summer they will be outside on our deck in a Tort box that I will be making this year. But here is my question Everyone seems to think that we have 2 males I want to get a hatchling this time around and I want to try to get a female.( I know you can't really tell but based off the temps while they where in the eggs can sometimes give more females then males.) Anyways my question is would she be able to be in the same tort box as my males or will I have to make a different one for her?? As of right now our males get along great and have no problem with each other!! But I don't want to cause a problem with them by adding a female to the mix... Also would she be able to stay in the same cage as them during the winter?? Also would they really care about her while she is young or just when she get old enough to mate?? Thanks in Advance!!

 

[Utah Lynn]

Hi Cadance. RT's are a very solitary tort. They don't usually do well together. All I can say for sure is, I have to keep mine in separate enclosures. Be sure to watch for bullying and such.
I'm sure you will find a breeder here somewhere. Good Luck.

 

[Cadance]

Hi Cadance. RT's are a very solitary tort. They don't usually do well together. All I can say for sure is, I have to keep mine in separate enclosures. Be sure to watch for bullying and such.
I'm sure you will find a breeder here somewhere. Good Luck.

Thanks! Right now we have what we think are 2 males together and they seem to be good for now we keep a close eye on them though. And if we where to put a hatchling we would make sure to keep a really close eye on them because I don't want any of them to get hurt!

 

[Jacqui]

If your thinking of adding a hatchling to the mix, my first concern is not the gender of the hatchling, it's the size difference. Putting a hatchling anything in with two adult any species is asking for the little one to be bullied, stomped on, and just generally stressed. ANY time you add another tortoise to the mix, not even looking at gender, you also run a chance of not only causing problems where the new one must be placed in a new environment, but also the original group dynamics may shift causing others to also have to be separated.

My advise is leave well enough alone with the two you have now. If you want a hatchling, keep the hoped for girl by herself. When she becomes an adult, rethink if you want to try having her paired with one of the males, if you want the pairing to be temporary of permanent, or who knows by then you may have six more females to add to the mix.

 

[Cadance]

If your thinking of adding a hatchling to the mix, my first concern is not the gender of the hatchling, it's the size difference. Putting a hatchling anything in with two adult any species is asking for the little one to be bullied, stomped on, and just generally stressed. ANY time you add another tortoise to the mix, not even looking at gender, you also run a chance of not only causing problems where the new one must be placed in a new environment, but also the original group dynamics may shift causing others to also have to be separated.

My advise is leave well enough alone with the two you have now. If you want a hatchling, keep the hoped for girl by herself. When she becomes an adult, rethink if you want to try having her paired with one of the males, if you want the pairing to be temporary of permanent, or who knows by then you may have six more females to add to the mix.

Do you think getting a juvenile female would be better or not?

 

[Jacqui]

No, it would just mean less time til it's big enough to decide how your going to house it (as in with one male part time, one male full time [if it doesn't stress her too much], ect..,) Usually one male and one female ends up being hard on the female in the case of Russians. Also remember no matter what you get (if you get any), you will need a separate quarantine location. I really think you just need to build two enclosures right from the start and keep the new animal in one all by her/himself... or plan to get several more females.

 

[Cadance]

No, it would just mean less time til it's big enough to decide how your going to house it (as in with one male part time, one male full time [if it doesn't stress her too much], ect..,) Usually one male and one female ends up being hard on the female in the case of Russians. Also remember no matter what you get (if you get any), you will need a separate quarantine location. I really think you just need to build two enclosures right from the start and keep the new animal in one all by her/himself... or plan to get several more females.

Ok thanks for the information! I think I will build one big one that I can put a slat in to make it into two that way I have two or just one big one Ok I will figure out what we are going to do before we get another one to make sure we know where or like you said with who he/she will be housed with..