Living together

[bigsteaks]

Just wanted to post a great pic of my three kids basking. i know my situation is very rare but we have three torts living in wonderful harmony!!! 2 Males and a female all from petsmart at different times.
We have them in a nice 5 foot long by 3ft wide table and outside when weather permits in a huge 8 foot wide by 25 foot long enclosure that they just love.

 

[hunterk997]

I would consider getting two more basking areas so there is no competition for warmth.


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[jjsull33]

That is cool, nice shot of them lined up like that. Just a word of warning, I also had best friend torts and it lasted 9 years before he snapped and started attacking, hopefully you continue with the harmony but I would have a back up plan in mind just in case.

 

[Tom]

It doesn't ALWAYS go bad. Sometimes it works out fine, and a trio gives you a much better chance than a pair would too. Like jjsull33 said, even though it all seems fine now, it could fall apart at any time, so have a back up plan. I would anticipate problems to be more likely to pop up in the springtime. Just don't hesitate to separate them if you start to notice problems. Many people wait until they are bloody and missing leg scales or eyes to do anything about it.

Hopefully, they will continue to get along for you. They are a nice looking bunch.

By the way, those clamps always fail eventually, and disaster often follows. Please find a way to mount or hang your lamps more securely.

 

[nate.mann]

i second Tom.


0.1.0 Russian
0.0.1 Leopard
1.0.0 Blue Pit/American Bulldog
Chive On!

 

[luvpetz27]

Great picture!!
You have some cuties!!!

 

[biochemnerd808]

I hope the harmony continues. Having 3 is definitely better than having 2, although it will be interesting to see what happens when the males reach sexual maturity and compete for the female.

Without wanting to be contrarian, the reason they bask together is probably not out of a feeling of companionship, but rather out of competition. It's the same with feeding time: they don't sit together to eat because they like each other, but because they want to make sure not to miss out. They sit on the food to keep the others from eating the food they are sitting on.

I like the L-shaped 'shelf bracket' for $1.98 that they have at Home Depot (here's the link: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-12-in-x-14-in-White-Shelf-Bracket-15255/202034281#.UjzLccasiSo) for hanging my lights securely. I just screw them into the wall, or onto a vertical piece of wood that I screw into the side of the table. They come in black, white, or brown. Much cheaper than the 'fancy' reptile light stands, and much safer than using the clamps. I use wire to securely attach the fixture to the L bracket (using the screw hole at the end to feed the wire through).

http://tortaddiction.blogspot.com/2013/09/why-not-to-keep-2-tortoises-together.html