Redfoots Better In "Herds"?

[Lunartwist]

So I work at a vet office (just a dog/cat one, mind you) and one of our technicians used to work with reptiles at another clinic. We were talking about tortoises, when I mentioned Viola, my solitary Redfoot. This made her raise a brow, and say "she's all alone? I always heard that Redfoots liked company, and do better in small groups. They're more 'social' than most tortoises." Well this made me a bit confused, as I hadn't heard such a thing, but then again, looking at most people here, it does seem like people tend to keep their Redfoots in small groups together.

Is this true? I always figured Redfoots were like Dwarf hamsters. Able to be housed together, but perfectly fine on their own. Viola doesn't seem very lonely or listless, but I suppose I thought I'd just get everyone's opinion.

Not that I wouldn't mind having another tortoise!!

 

[kathyth]

Hi

I have 4 yearling Redfoots. From everything I know, they generally get along without problems.
There are people in this forum who keep many adults together.
I have also heard that they are fine, alone.
That fact that they generally get along quite well is good news!

I don't know that they get lonely.

Mine are always together.

 

[Yvonne G]

Tortoises like to be alone. They do not come together in herds. The exception to this rule is the redfooted tortoise. They seem to do quite well in groups.

So one or several, it doesn't matter. They don't get lonely and are fine alone, but they also do well in groups.

 

[immayo]

I have had mine a year and he seems perfectly fine by himself. (will be adding a friend soon) It is always good to know that if you want another, having a redfoot will allow you to do so easily in the future.

 

[tortadise]

Tortoises like to be alone. They do not come together in herds. The exception to this rule is the redfooted tortoise. They seem to do quite well in groups.

So one or several, it doesn't matter. They don't get lonely and are fine alone, but they also do well in groups.

Agreed. From time to time mature males can get a little nippy when females are ovulating. But I have never had to seperate any of my groups. Some are in 4 per group and some are in a 25 herd group. They dont react any differently.

 

[Madkins007]

Red-footeds have been well-documented being social in the wild. Other tortoises do some social-oriented things, but red-footeds take it just a bit further.

They share hiding spaces even when other spaces are available, they often cluster around food when other food is around- even apparently leading others to things like fruit falls, they scent trail each other through heavy undergrowth, etc.

Having kept them both ways, I honestly think they are better off in a group assuming you have the space and resources.

 

[N2TORTS]

Redfoots and CherryHeads do just fine in groups…..if the size , sex ratio remains constant . This will alleviate any bullying for food and or mating rights. I would like to mention and one subject very rarely talked about …. When starting to keep several (2 or more) tortoises’ in a “herd” type living arrangement, One must pay extra close attention to the health of ALL the torts within the herd. A sick animal within a few days and the close living arrangements can infect the entire herd and a very stressful situation. This includes the food/water areas, waste and substrate areas … even air born viruses. One very typical example is RI which can spread very rapidly within “ herd type” collections. So my rule of thumb is for every animal that is introduced into the family… the responsibility doubles every time ~
The man hours really start to add up!

JD~

 

[WinterRose]

I have 2 lil Redfoots (one is about 14wks the other is about 16wks) and they have been raised together. They do everything together. If one wakes up and moves somewhere else in the enclosure the 2nd one has to get up and move to sleep beside the first one. I don't know if they would be lonely alone... but I can't imagine them without each other!

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

All red foots are different. If you were interested in starting a herd, then i would start with 2 and introduce the new guy/gal. Here is the variation. They could get along great! no problems at all! Or, the two would dislike each other and need to be housed seperately. See the variation! Its different between all redfoots.

 

[InvertaHerp]

Interesting, I would love another tort.

 

[Ellie_A]

What size of enclosure would be required for 2 or 3 red foots?

 

[Lunartwist]

Thanks for the info! This summer's project will be building Viola a larger enclosure (I can hardly believe she's 7 inches long already!!), so I suppose depending on how much space she ends up having, we'll see if another tort is feasible.

 

[Madkins007]

What size of enclosure would be required for 2 or 3 red foots?

https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/Indoor-Housing/2--enclosures