Groups

[chosen2030]

Do Greeks become stressed when living in groups? Since there are so many subspecies that are hard to identify at times, are there issues with mixing them together (disease, aggression)? My enclosure dimensions are 25ft x 5ft or 7.5 meters x 1.5 meters, how many could I keep happy and healthy in this space?

 

[spikethebest]

i have one greek and that is more than enough for me. he is very aggressive to anything and everything. he will bite and flip anything that comes his way. so i have to keep him seperated. he is a lot of fun to play with at times, but way to aggressive for other tortoises.

 

[stells]

i have one greek and that is more than enough for me. he is very aggressive to anything and everything. he will bite and flip anything that comes his way. so i have to keep him seperated. he is a lot of fun to play with at times, but way to aggressive for other tortoises.

Does that mean you mix all your species then? If you only have one greek that was aggressive to others and had to be seperated thats how it reads,
Sorry lol

 

[spikethebest]

oh no, i dont mix at all. i just sometimes take them to parks to rome freely on huge pieces of grass land, and my greek with charge at the other ones so i have to keep him fenced in when i do that. but at home, all species are separate, and even the large ones and separated from ones of the same species.

 

[Crazy1]

I feel each subspecies should be kept separate. Especially if you have breeding in mind, or they do. (a mixed group m-f). I understand different subspecies will breed some successfully and some not successfully. There are so many subspecies already that to create more I feel would create more confusion. Danny’s description of your subspecies explains the difference from other Greeks. Occasionally you may get it wrong. But I have a breading pair and they do fine together. I don’t see the aggression that Cory was talking about but then I don’t have other torts around them. I am hoping to get a couple of females to set my two males up in breeding colonies in the near future. Is you pen preditor proof? Do you plan on breeding?

 

[stells]

oh no, i dont mix at all. i just sometimes take them to parks to rome freely on huge pieces of grass land, and my greek with charge at the other ones so i have to keep him fenced in when i do that. but at home, all species are separate, and even the large ones and separated from ones of the same species.

Doesn't that kind of defeat the object of keeping them seperate?
Why take them to parks to roam freely, its just causing added stress firstly by taking them to a new place and secondly by letting them run together.
Sorry its just something i wouldn't even think of doing.

chosen2030
If all your greeks are the same subspecies, around the same size and each new tortoise has a quarantine period first there is no problem with trying them in a group situation, it is very possible that it won't work and you also have to think about your male/female ratio.
If you post some pictures of them carapace, plastron and head shots someone may well be able to give you a better idea on what you have

 

[chosen2030]

I feel each subspecies should be kept separate. Especially if you have breeding in mind, or they do. (a mixed group m-f). I understand different subspecies will breed some successfully and some not successfully. There are so many subspecies already that to create more I feel would create more confusion. Danny’s description of your subspecies explains the difference from other Greeks. Occasionally you may get it wrong. But I have a breading pair and they do fine together. I don’t see the aggression that Cory was talking about but then I don’t have other torts around them. I am hoping to get a couple of females to set my two males up in breeding colonies in the near future. Is you pen preditor proof? Do you plan on breeding?

I do not plan on breeding right now, way too advanced for me. Maybe down the road. I am happy keeping her alone as long its how she is happiest.
As far as predator proofing, I'm not sure what I need to do. Are domestic cats a threat? They are about the only thing that can scale the walls to my enclosure, which happens to be the side of my house. So the enclosure is surrounded by 8 ft cinder block walls on 3 sides and a metal framed wooden self-latching gate on the entrance. She is about 10 years old. Are birds still a big threat for her?

 

[Crazy1]

Domestic Cats could be a problem as well as some hawks or owls (large birds) opossums, coons or skunks could also pose a problem. To predator proof you would have to place a top of chicken wire over the enclosure.
Torts are normally solitary reptiles so keeping her alone would be fine. in the 25ft x 5 ft enclosure you could have several but I would stick to females unless you want to breed. But again she will be fine alone.

 

[chosen2030]

Domestic Cats could be a problem as well as some hawks or owls (large birds) opossums, coons or skunks could also pose a problem. To predator proof you would have to place a top of chicken wire over the enclosure.
Torts are normally solitary reptiles so keeping her alone would be fine. in the 25ft x 5 ft enclosure you could have several but I would stick to females unless you want to breed. But again she will be fine alone.

Thanks Robyn, you've been very helpful. I just don't know how to do what you suggest. That would be a lot of chicken wire and I'm not sure how to attach it to a cinder block wall and the side of my house. I guess I'll have to go get that engineering degree I've always wanted. (j/k) Here in suburban Phoenix, we don't get many critters, mostly domesticated animals, lizards and bugs. I've seen hawks within miles of my house but they usually stick to open fields (they probably don't have a good field of vision between houses and don't have room to swoop or pull up). Birds in general seem to avoid the tight areas between the houses, limits their escape path maybe. However, with birds, my main concern would be crows. Are they large enough to be a problem?