Hatchling Sulcatas

[avi0317]

Hello, I am completely new to this forum. We are going to be taking in two sulcata hatchlings within the next week or so. A family friend bought them off of the internet without doing their research into what exactly they were getting into. We have the property to house them once they get huge so we offered to take them. Can I house them together as hatchlings and at what point will they have to be separated?

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Can I house them together as hatchlings and at what point will they have to be separated?

What is the size of your property? How many tortoise safe acres do you have? These are questions that will help you in the future when they get huge.
Regarding keeping the hatchlings together and when should you separate them, realistically they should be housed separately, each in it's own large, indoor humid chamber. By large, think of 4'x8' for each enclosure. This could last up to 2 years with mainly days spent outside and brought in at night and during inclement weather. Two hatchlings can, (if push comes to shove) be together in one 4'x8' enclosure for some time provided there are enough sight barriers. That said, it is NEVER truly okay to have two raised together. One always ends up the dominant one with the other simply being stunted, not thriving, and potentially becoming ill and dying. Sorry for all the downer on your first post, but it needs to be said and if not by me, others will be saying the same thing.
All of that said, a big welcome to the tortoise forum where you will learn real information from active, experienced keeps.
Be sure to go to the sulcata section of the forum and read the "stickies" that have been placed there written by Tom. Tom knows his stuff and has a long history of breeding and raising sulcata tortoises.

 

[avi0317]

No need to be sorry. I would rather you give it to me straight than sugar coat it. My parents own about 10 acres of land. There is a good amount space in a flat field behind the house that we plan on using for them when they get bigger. We have enough space to house them separately and were going to now that we know it will be a problem. I would rather it be more work on ourselves than take the easy way out and damage the health of one or both of the tortoises. Thank you for your help!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Good tips from Ken. Here is a bunch of threads in one place for you:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/