multiple tortoise space

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sadietortoise

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I have a full size female Russian. She lives in a 2x3.5ish enclosure. I would like to get her a new baby male russian. How do you think she would respond.

I don't want to get him if she will be nipping at him or hurt him in any way.

It's winter and she is pretty slow so I thought this might be a good time for them to get aquainted and used to sharing space before summer comes again and she starts powering around in there.

Is this safe to have them together or is she too big and aggressive for a new baby?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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The difference in sizes is too much in my opinion. She could accidentally hurt a baby, and if she is aggressive at all she could hurt him no doubt. So if I got a new baby I would put him in a habitat alone until he was old and big enough to defend himself, which would be about 2 years I think. That's just my personal opinion...
 

tortoisenerd

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I agree. I would have each tort have their own enclosure. If you decide to introduce them to each other after a quarantine, do it in a neutral third enclosure. I also think your female needs a larger enclosure even by herself. Regardless of sex some torts just won't get along. Having them introduced in a neutral space can help. I wouldn't get the hatchling with plans to have them live together, but if it can work out that would be great.
 

GBtortoises

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It's not a good idea to keep two tortoises of vastly different sizes together at all. Especially when you're talking about a full grown adult and a juvenille. The adult will have no regard for the smaller tortoise, climbing over it, pushing it out of the way and the adult is always going to win in the food competition! The smaller tortoise runs the risk of being injured, bullied, stressed out and may spend much of it's time in hiding. Not good conditions for a healthy growth environment. It's best to maintain them seperately, even after the quarantine period. At least until the young tortoise grows close in enough in size to be able to hold it's own against an adult.
 

Yvonne G

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Hi "Sadietortoise:"

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to the forum!!

All we can do is offer you our opinions, and here's mine:

In my opinion, your 2 x 3.5ish habitat is not large enough for one adult Russian tortoise and way too small for two. If you add a baby (after a quarantine period, of course) to that small habitat, your existing tortoise is going to be very upset and try to force the newcomer out of her territory. It could get very ugly.

If you want to get a "friend" for your tortoise, she doesn't need or want a friend. The only time tortoises come together in the wild is by chance and then to breed or fight. They are loners and prefer to be alone. They don't want to have to share the best hiding place or share their food. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and some tortoises get along in a herd situation quite well. But as a general rule, your Russian is just fine alone.
 
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