Considering a companion for my red-footed tort

[Stryx]

I am looking into possibly getting a red footed tortoise or a cherry head tortoise as a companion for my current red footed tortoise. Dave is approx 5-6 inches long and is at least 2 years old. He has always been a on the smaller side (most likely due to very poor care before I received him.) He has started to grow at a slightly faster rate in the last few months. I'm not certain he is a male due to his stunted size. I'm not certain that looking at his plastron will be accurate. I have had him for over a year and am pretty confident in his housing as I've been reading forum posts from people who have successfully kept them long term and the care sheets of recommended breeders since I rescued him. He eats mixed approved greens, mazuri, and occasional approved fruits with a piece of slate as his dish. He has a water dish that he like to soak in daily. He has a ceramic heat emitter on on side 24 hours and a UVB bulb on during the day. His enclosure is an approx 3' x 4' thick plastic container (like a stock tank) for the few colder months and this summer will be allowed to roam out of doors for the first time. If the outdoor enclosure doesn't work out because we have larger hawks here then he will get an indoor upgrade this summer and he can use the outdoor enclosure under supervision. The outdoor cinderblock enclosure will be well covered with galvanized metal animal fencing placed into a wooden frame before he ever goes in. I am NOT looking to breed him so I will be posting some pictures on the turtle forum later this week to see if someone with more experience than I have can try to verify Dave’s sex before I actually get a companion for him (if getting him a companion is the choice made.) I love my Dave. He is sweet, likes his neck rubbed, comes to see me when I talk to him. I do work full time, go to college part time, and have kids so I don’t get to spend a ton of time with him and he’s very sweet to me anyways. He is my little piece of calm in my very hectic life. I adore him and just want him to be as happy as possible. Thank you for your time and consideration. I truly appreciate all information given.

 

[dmmj]

no he does not need or want a companion he's happiest by himself

 

[BILBO-03]

no he does not need or want a companion he's happiest by himself

yep what he said

 

[Stryx]

Also, for the outdoor enclosure. Is there such a thing as too much space/ what would be the ideal size for a 6" red-footed tortoise? As previously mentioned, I'm building the walls out of cinderblocks. Should I make the enclosure big enough for when he is full grown or since it is easily expandable should I go with something a bit smaller considering his size? Again, thank you for your time. It is greatly appreciated.

 

[Stryx]

I also misspoke earlier. Dave is at least three. And I have had him for 2 years. He has been growing at a faster rate over the last 6 months. (Please excuse me as I am just returning to a day shift schedule after being on nights for 6 years (this is usually midnight for me!)

 

[Yvonne G]

RF tortoises seem to be the exception to the rule, in that they seem to get along ok in groups. That's not to say there won't be any fighting, but they seem to do ok in groups. Please note the "groups" portion of my comment. Two tortoises seldom get along. Tortoises are territorial and they fight to make intruders get out of their territory.

I made my Aldabran yard as big as it was ever going to be, then I temporarily fenced off a small portion closest to their shed. As they grew, I moved the temporary fence out until they now have the whole area.

 

[Stryx]

That's a great idea! I will definitely make the enclosure big the first time and just keep expanding where he can go! Thank you so much!! I definitely wouldn't mind 4 or five (or more!) of these guys running around but it would be hard to happily house that many adults inside during the few cold months here! I will most likely keep Dave by himself if he is surely happy that way. Any ideas on the ideal size of an outdoor enclosure for a single adult red footed tortoise? (Thank you all so much!)

 

[Lyn W]

This may help you decide
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...esson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/#post-875796

 

[kelii]

My two red foots get along great together. I've never noticed any bullying, and both are very healthy.

 

[Tom]

My two red foots get along great together. I've never noticed any bullying, and both are very healthy.

Tortoises should not live in pairs. Even if you don't see overt attacks, it is still not a good situation for either of them. We tell this to people all the time, but for some reason, many people don't listen. In one such case, the lady came back after about six weeks and asked what she should do because one of her two red foots ate the tail and back leg of the other one. She thought everything was fine too.

 

[Tom]

I am looking into possibly getting a red footed tortoise or a cherry head tortoise as a companion for my current red footed tortoise. Dave is approx 5-6 inches long and is at least 2 years old. He has always been a on the smaller side (most likely due to very poor care before I received him.) He has started to grow at a slightly faster rate in the last few months. I'm not certain he is a male due to his stunted size. I'm not certain that looking at his plastron will be accurate. I have had him for over a year and am pretty confident in his housing as I've been reading forum posts from people who have successfully kept them long term and the care sheets of recommended breeders since I rescued him. He eats mixed approved greens, mazuri, and occasional approved fruits with a piece of slate as his dish. He has a water dish that he like to soak in daily. He has a ceramic heat emitter on on side 24 hours and a UVB bulb on during the day. His enclosure is an approx 3' x 4' thick plastic container (like a stock tank) for the few colder months and this summer will be allowed to roam out of doors for the first time. If the outdoor enclosure doesn't work out because we have larger hawks here then he will get an indoor upgrade this summer and he can use the outdoor enclosure under supervision. The outdoor cinderblock enclosure will be well covered with galvanized metal animal fencing placed into a wooden frame before he ever goes in. I am NOT looking to breed him so I will be posting some pictures on the turtle forum later this week to see if someone with more experience than I have can try to verify Dave’s sex before I actually get a companion for him (if getting him a companion is the choice made.) I love my Dave. He is sweet, likes his neck rubbed, comes to see me when I talk to him. I do work full time, go to college part time, and have kids so I don’t get to spend a ton of time with him and he’s very sweet to me anyways. He is my little piece of calm in my very hectic life. I adore him and just want him to be as happy as possible. Thank you for your time and consideration. I truly appreciate all information given.

As Yvonne said, groups are usually okay, but pairs are usually not.

About enclosure size: I like to go big. Really BIG. As long as you aren't losing the tortoise, more space is better. How much space would a wild one have? In studies on russian tortoises, some of them walk for miles.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Groups....Yes.
If and when you have a large enough enclosure. At least 3 with no more than one male usually work out.
Most Redfoot are docile, but I can tell you from decades of keeping them that there are exceptions. So three or more also doesn't always work. Just like sometimes two females together seem o.k.
It is best to be safe. Determine sex. Make a suitable pen and then add two or more.
I keep 7 with 2 males. The enclosure is roughly 450 s.f.
AND I am currently making it larger. ( I recently added 3)
I have a YouTube video called "Redfoot habitat Florida style".
It shows a very effective enclosure made on the cheap.
It's not every answer to every situation, but some tips from it could be a help.

 

[KrissyLeigh]

I am glad for you that you asked this!

I was told by the breeder, pet store, and many internet sites that redfoots do better in groups, so I got two of them as a first time tort owner... until this forum, no one clarified that though they CAN be kept in groups they should NOT be kept as a pair. So now I'm just glad nothing has happened yet, and I am scrambling to come up with money \ time \ space to house them separate! I feel very dumb, you are smart for asking the right questions!!!

 

[Tom]

I feel very dumb...

You followed the advice of people that you had good reason to think they knew what they were talking about. This doesn't make you dumb. I think we've all been there. I certainly am guilty of following "expert" advice that turned out to be all wrong.

 

[Adrian Tufton]

I'll come hang out with your Redfoot. Does he enjoy eating nachos and
surfing the web until 4AM every night?

 

[Adrian Tufton]

I am glad for you that you asked this!

I was told by the breeder, pet store, and many internet sites that redfoots do better in groups, so I got two of them as a first time tort owner... until this forum, no one clarified that though they CAN be kept in groups they should NOT be kept as a pair. So now I'm just glad nothing has happened yet, and I am scrambling to come up with money \ time \ space to house them separate! I feel very dumb, you are smart for asking the right questions!!!

At some point in their life, every person on this forum didn't know this either. ZeroPilot pointed it out to me within the last 24 hours, and I consider myself to be freaking brilliant! Just inform your male that it's not cool to harass women. He'll understand if you just talk to him.

 

[MPRC]

Just inform your male that it's not cool to harass women. He'll understand if you just talk to him.

Hahaha. Hormones man, there's no stopping a horn-dog tortoise. My big male will hump anything. Males, females, water bottles, pumpkins, towels, shoes, cats, rocks, warm water (yeah, he just whips it out and starts humping the nothingness) - even with a 1:2 Male:Female ratio I have to keep him separate because he doesn't believe in consent. Poor girls just look bored most of the time when he finally corners them long enough to make contact.

 

[Adrian Tufton]

Hahaha. Hormones man, there's no stopping a horn-dog tortoise. My big male will hump anything. Males, females, water bottles, pumpkins, towels, shoes, cats, rocks, warm water (yeah, he just whips it out and starts humping the nothingness) - even with a 1:2 Male:Female ratio I have to keep him separate because he doesn't believe in consent. Poor girls just look bored most of the time when he finally corners them long enough to make contact.

The problem isn't with the male Redfoots, it's with a lack of information. I've never seen one freaking article on the internet, on how to talk to your male Redfoot about foreplay. We're the problem.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Keep in mind that some male Redfoot are much more sexual active than others.
They do not all behave the exact same way.

 

[Adrian Tufton]

Keep in mind that some male Redfoot are much more sexual active than others.
They do not all behave the exact same way.

That's a good point. What's your opinion of separating a male and female Redfoot,
if the enclosed space is large enough. We have a very large enclosed backyard. If
I allocated half of the yard for each sex, would that work, and how often would you
let them 'hang out'? Thanks.