Please Help!! One or Two?

[hannahjean]

I have a male Russian tortoise in 29" L X 47" W X 10.75" H Pen Plax Reptology Tortoise Palace and I have been thinking of getting another tort but I have a few questions.

1. Would my enclosure be large enough to have a second tort?
2. Could i put a different type of tort with my Russian?
3. Can i have two males together?
4. Is there a way i can tell what age my tort is?

I would greatly appreciate any help answering these questions!
Thank!

Hannah
1 Russian tort, 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 guinea pigs.​

 

[yillt]

Well my answer is a plain simple NO. Spoil your first tortoise first. I have been in your situation before. Obviously I can't stop you from getting one but I am just saying it is better to have one.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

1,2,3: No, no, no.

It's good you're asking instead of finding out the hard way.

 

[KevinGG]

Well first off your enclosure is what I consider the bare minimum for a single Russian tortoise. Males tend to be aggressive toward one another. A male and female wouldn't work either. The male will constantly try to mate with the female and stress her out most likely making her lethargic. The ideal ratio is 1 male to at least 3 females with an enclosure of at least 48 square feet that has plenty of sight barriers and hiding places.

 

[KevinGG]

And the best anyone can do is make an educated guess on the age of your tort. No sure way. But we would need pictures first

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Hannah:

In my opinion, the Tortoise House you keep your tortoise in isn't even big enough for him, so definitely not big enough for another tortoise.

You should never, ever mix species of tortoises. Each specie has evolved to live symbiotically with the pathogens it has inside of it, and those pathogens will make other tortoises from other countries/continents sick or dead.

Two male Russian tortoises will fight to the death of one of them. They are very territorial and they don't want other tortoises in their territory.

If you post a picture of your Russian tortoise, we can give you a good guess, but once a tortoise has started growing, it's impossible to know its age.

 

[naturalman91]

^^ i agree with yvonne

 

[Tom]

No. No. No. No.

If you want another tortoise get a second enclosure. And a much bigger one for your current tortoise too.

 

[hannahjean]

This is Gatsby my Russian Tort

 

[bouaboua]

Looks like you have your answer. You have a very nice Russian. Good time to thinking getting a larger enclosure. Have fun...