Hermanns hatchling pairs?

[seiff]

Tried searching... I know TSFIMF... But I was unable to pin down specific advice since most threads are either general or not applicable to my situation.

I have 2 young hermanns from the same clutch, and I went from buying one to a pair based on the breeders recommendation. Note: I bought 6 and shared the spoils with my local shop, so the pair advice came after purchase, and was a matter of how many I keep for myself and not how many were bought. Shouldn't matter since the breeder is uber-nice and informative, but it was worth the mention.

Should I keep the pair or heed the multitude of advice to house separately? They seem to get along just fine, and are quite entertaining with their different likes and personalities. Damn... Hermanns are awesome!

 

[WithLisa]

I would recommend to let them grow up together, Babys are quite sociable. But there may be problems in the future, especially because you don't know their sex yet, so you should be prepared to separate them if necessary.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, I agree with Lisa. When you have more than one baby in the same habitat it sometimes encourages them to eat better (competition for the food). But you always have to be on the look-out for one getting along better than the other one. Bullying is not always overt. Sometimes the more dominant tortoise mentally tells the more submissive tortoise to leave the territory. Since they're housed in a permanent fixture and he can't escape, he may just hide in a corner and stop eating. You might be able to keep them together until they get near the age of sexual maturity, then you may have to set up two enclosures or find a new home for one of them.

 

[Tom]

Tortoise should never be housed in pairs. Its not good for either of them. Pair dynamics are much too stressful. Groups usually do fine, but pairs are usually a problem.

If you want to keep them together, add a third. Or more. Otherwise, I would separate them.

More explanation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
Sadly this thread was edited down by someone. The few people who argued in the beginning about some rare exceptions and technicalities, later admitted they agreed in general, but those posts somehow got removed. Still worth a read though.

 

[Tom]

Here is some more on the subject:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/

 

[Tyanna]

More explanation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
Sadly this thread was edited down by someone. The few people who argued in the beginning about some rare exceptions and technicalities, later admitted they agreed in general, but those posts somehow got removed. Still worth a read though.

I found it really interesting when some suggested that they keep two tortoises but in a really big enclosures with a lot of sight barriers, but you said they later said that they generally agree. So with what was stated above, (large enclosure, sight barriers with a pair of tortoises), would that ever be suggested, just not the number 1 suggestion?

 

[Tom]

I found it really interesting when some suggested that they keep two tortoises but in a really big enclosures with a lot of sight barriers, but you said they later said that they generally agree. So with what was stated above, (large enclosure, sight barriers with a pair of tortoises), would that ever be suggested, just not the number 1 suggestion?

In theory a large outdoor enclosure with lots of plants and sight barriers could reduce the potential for problems, but it is still not a practice that I would recommend. Years ago I had a pair of sulcatas in a 6000 square foot enclosure. The enclosure wrapped around all four sides of a building and had all sort of nooks and crannies and places to hide. The male would march up and down all legs of the enclosures on a seek and destroy mission all day long. The female just hid and never came out to eat, bask or anything. The problem was "solved" with the addition of three more adult females. The five of them got along swimmingly with no further issues. The male went from mounting that lone female 10-15 times a day, whenever he could find her, to mounting only 3-4 times a day total for all the females combined.

 

[seiff]

Thanks Tom! However... that just complicated things... I need to discuss with my wife what she wants to do, and my guess it's going to be to go down to a single. Either way I have to discuss it with my local shop to see if they would either take one more or let me have another at cost. Should be interesting to say the least.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Tom! However... that just complicated things... I need to discuss with my wife what she wants to do, and my guess it's going to be to go down to a single. Either way I have to discuss it with my local shop to see if they would either take one more or let me have another at cost. Should be interesting to say the least.

What would be even more complicated and problematic is if you didn't ask this question and then ended up having some major trouble down the road.

My intention is always to help.

 

[seiff]

Jury's in... going down to one. Definitely simplifies things I guess. Although I'm thinking about a separate enclosure in my office now that my wife has the one tank in the living room.

 

[WithLisa]

If you want to keep both and can set up a second enclosure, I would still let them together for now.
It's true that it's not a good idea to have two adult tortoises together, but I have the impression that hatchlings feel more secure with others around. Regardless of wether they were kept in pairs or groups, all hermanns hatchlings I've seen were always together and shared the same hide, despite a big enclosure (maybe because in a group they have a better chance of survival if a predator finds them?).
Why separate them now when they probably can be kept together without problems, perhaps for years, before they reach sexual maturity?​