Can they be friends?

[ShreddersMom]

I have been offered both an adult sulcata (roughly six years) and an adult leopard. (I work at an exotics vet clinic.) I haven't been able to get a straight answer as to the likelihood of them getting along with my 5 year old sulcata. One vet says yes, one says unlikely. Talk to me....what do y'all think? I won't take in another tortoise if it's going to be likely to upset Shredder. And a new enclosure isn't an option because we already built a large one for Shredder.

 

[Tom]

Tortoises should not be kept in pairs. Especially not adult sulcatas. Sexes don't matter. History doesn't matter.

Species Should never be mixed. The disease potential is high. Sulcatas and leopards are also very incompatible from a behavioral standpoint.

If you want these other tortoise, by all means get them, but build a separate enclosure for each one.


http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[ShreddersMom]

So if that's the case, how do all these people have herds of tortoises? Adult sulcatas, at that? I'm only asking for curiosity sake. Because there's a rescue in California that literally has acres of sulcatas kept together. I know that's a lot more space than normal people have, but if you're saying it doesn't work at all, how do they make it work?

 

[Yvonne G]

You've answered your own question - "acres of sulcatas..."

If you have a very large acreage, the tortoises have room to get out of each others' way.

 

[ShreddersMom]

Oh, well we have large acreage. And will be moving to even larger acreage later this year. So if they have enough room to spread out, theoretically, they could be kept in the same enclosure?

 

[Yvonne G]

You have to take it on a case-by-case basis. Some tortoises are just natural born fighters. As long as you bear in mind that you may have to make additional pens to separate them, give it a try.

I have several desert tortoises in the same yard and they get along great, but with my one 110lb sulcata, if he even smells another tortoise he frantically walks up and down the fence line trying to get to it.

 

[ShreddersMom]

Good to know! And exactly the info I needed. Hopefully our guy will get along with others. But when we move we will definitely have the room to see how things go.

 

[Tom]

So if that's the case, how do all these people have herds of tortoises? Adult sulcatas, at that? I'm only asking for curiosity sake. Because there's a rescue in California that literally has acres of sulcatas kept together. I know that's a lot more space than normal people have, but if you're saying it doesn't work at all, how do they make it work?

I agree with Yvonne that you've answered your own question, but I think in a different way. Acreage is not the answer, although it sometimes helps, "herds" is the answer. I didn't say tortoises should not be kept in groups or herds, I said they should not be kept in pairs. I keep both of my sulcata groups in "herd" situations with one adult male per group. When they were juveniles, I kept them in mixed groups with multiple males. That can sometimes work up until maturity.

As for the place in CA. He is a friend of mine. Send him a message and ask him how many males have been killed there by other males and how many males he's had to separate out for fighting over the years. Also, he doesn't keep them optimally in my opinion. He lets this tropical species get far too cold. Most of them survive this, but they are not in optimum health. Also consider just how many are in one pen. Dozens of them in large mixed sex pens can sometimes work out a "pecking order". Two individuals will not. Pair dynamics are very different than group dynamics.

 

[ShreddersMom]

There's no need to get defensive, Tom. You've got a lot of great info, but I feel like you talk down to people sometimes. This forum is for asking questions. I don't know until I ask, but sometimes I dread asking because some of the responses I get come off as rude and condescending. I'm still learning. This is my first tortoise.

 

[Tom]

Oh, well we have large acreage. And will be moving to even larger acreage later this year. So if they have enough room to spread out, theoretically, they could be kept in the same enclosure?

No. The dominant will march up and down searching his territory for the intruder so that he can drive him away or murder him. Similarly a male will constantly hunt for a lone female and harass her to the point of sickness or death.

The solution is separate enclosures. Or just keep your one. Or start a big herd like the one in CA and be prepared to deal with some death, some separations anyway, and hundreds or thousands of babies annually.

 

[Tom]

There's no need to get defensive, Tom. You've got a lot of great info, but I feel like you talk down to people sometimes. This forum is for asking questions. I don't know until I ask, but sometimes I dread asking because some of the responses I get come off as rude and condescending. I'm still learning. This is my first tortoise.

Defensive? I don't feel any sort of attack here…

I'm just answering your questions in plain English with no emotion attached. You want to know, and I'm telling you. That's all. No rudeness, no condescension and no defensiveness. Just tortoise conversation about what happens with pairs and mixing species. Just trying to give you the best answers to your questions I can. Please don't add any unintended emotion or intent. My only intention is helping tortoises and helping you.