NancKj
Member
I do not know the answer to that! How would I ask Yvonne and Tom what they think about that? They have so much CDT knowledge.
I thought I read on here that adjoining pens were ok as long as no contact and ni visual
One last try for help from you guys..
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I thought I read on here that adjoining pens were ok as long as no contact and ni visual
@Tom @Yvonne G I have tagged them in this thread (put @ and then start typing their handle name, so you would be @NancKj and you will get a little "alert" that I tagged you).
I do not know the answer to that question either, its just a thought I had. Do you notice the "new" tortoise spending a lot of time at the adjoining wall? i am sure if there was anything overt (ramming, etc) you would have noticed. But maybe just its presence is upsetting yours?
how did your tortoise and the prior (deceased?) tortoise relate to each other? Where they same or opposite sex? How long did they live together. I could wonder if this one is mourning the loss of the other (tho I suspect Tom would deride that idea, but I'm just thinking of possibilities...)
I do not know the answer to that question either, its just a thought I had. Do you notice the "new" tortoise spending a lot of time at the adjoining wall? i am sure if there was anything overt (ramming, etc) you would have noticed. But maybe just its presence is upsetting yours?
how did your tortoise and the prior (deceased?) tortoise relate to each other? Where they same or opposite sex? How long did they live together. I could wonder if this one is mourning the loss of the other (tho I suspect Tom would deride that idea, but I'm just thinking of possibilities...)
NancKj
Member
I put him in my spare room, carpet covered with cardboard. For his house in there I used his wooden brumation box garage. Then I put a space heater to warm the whole room, and a basking incandescent flood lamp. Hung overhead from ceiling fan and lowered until basking temp underneath was about 95 degrees with temp gun. Even in my house, I still had to pull him out of this sleeping box every day.
I posted about him early this spring, that he came out of brumation with diarrhea. That resolved long ago, but, could he have had just an altogether bad brumation STILL affecting him??
NancKj
Member
Exactly! It is kind of an unusual situation for sure, so I am entertaining all possibilities! My prior was also a male CDT, and I had the both for about 24 years. Never housed together, but in adjacent pens here for 10 of those years. No overt hostile behavior. They are sometimes on opposite sides of wall at the same time, but not often. It is certainly something to considef. Maybe not mourning per se, but totally stressed at a new tortoise so close??
I am hesitant about using card board for the actual walking surface for a tortoise. If the tortoise is a lightweight it's really hard for them to walk on. It's slippery. If they weigh a lot maybe not so much but their claws might punch through the cardboard. And that would make it difficult to walk on. Boot trays filled with substrate make a nice walking surface.on top of the cardboard. It would take several placed together for that.
NancKj
Member
Hi Cathie
Cardboard just to cover carpet during brief stays indoor. If I needed to keep him in for a longer period, I will take your advice!
Yes I wonder if that is it. As someone told me, time moves slowly for tortoises. Maybe he senses the new one and doesn't like the change and it is making him scared or stressed
NancKj
Member
It makes me sad to think that could be the case! But, if these torts are that easily stressed by a new tort just adjacent to them, not in their space, wouldn't that wreak havoc with tort rescues, that have a high turnover rate?
Just being in a rescue wreaks havoc on them. It's a different ball game when you take them away from their home territory.
NancKj
Member
So Yvonne, do you think it is possible that he is way stressed by new guy in adjacent pen?? Even tho he was used to a different male CDT there for years? New guy, who should be the stressed one, could care less. He is as happy as a clam. Should I put a little more space between them? Or just wait it out?
I have first hand experience with how well tortoises can sense other tortoises in the vicinity.
I operated a Rescue for many years. I had my own collection, which included one very large male sulcata. There were several empty pens on the property for temporarily housing rescued tortoises. Dudley, the sulcata, always became agitated when I added a rescue to any of the pens adjacent to his yard. No matter how near or far they were to him.
So, yes, that would be one thing to consider. You might consider which way the wind usually blows and put the new guy upwind of the old guy.
I operated a Rescue for many years. I had my own collection, which included one very large male sulcata. There were several empty pens on the property for temporarily housing rescued tortoises. Dudley, the sulcata, always became agitated when I added a rescue to any of the pens adjacent to his yard. No matter how near or far they were to him.
So, yes, that would be one thing to consider. You might consider which way the wind usually blows and put the new guy upwind of the old guy.
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NancKj
Member
Wow. Thanks very much. I will put a little more space between them for now, probably with a 2nd dividing wall. Inadequate for sure, but will at least be something. And old guy, is in the more downwind position. For next year, I will build another enclosure at opposite end of yard. I am very seriously considering a move anyway, possibly this winter, to Tehachapi area. Where I can have some space around me. And so can the torts!
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Being a native Californian, and traveling a lot...I love the Tehachapi area and the town of Mojave. I'm all for a move there...lol
NancKj
Member
It is so very peaceful, especially Tehachapi
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