Rehoming Sulcata/New environment

[Twelve]

Need Advice/Info:

(I'll try to make this a short story) ... My mother used to live with me, she moved about a year ago to her own home (has a backyard). I have two 6yr old male Sulcatas. My mom always mentions that she misses them. I was thinking about buying her a baby Sulcata for Xmas this year. I then thought that it would cost me about $300 for the whole set up ($150 for the Sulcata, $150 for a tank/lamp/bedding/food/cave/etc,etc) and she would have to keep it indoors. I also thought that was she *really* misses is them 'big', following you when it's feeding time, hand feeding them (again, they are 6yrs old a 'social' ... SOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

My question is: The 2 males live/sleep in opposite ends of my backyard. One is way bigger than the other and he always tries to mount the other one in heat (which is why I think the other one stays away from him). I was thinking about giving my mom one of mine instead of buying her a new one but i'm concerned about how the tortoise would feel about being displaced into a new environment after having lived and knowing every inch of my backyard for it's whole life. Do you think this will be a huge issue for his pysche?

I know it sounds like a dumb question because i'm concerned about a tortoise's emotional state of having to move into a new home, but this is very important to me, so be kind.

 

[Twelve]

Need Advice/Info:

(I'll try to make this a short story) ... My mother used to live with me, she moved about a year ago to her own home (has a backyard). I have two 6yr old male Sulcatas. My mom always mentions that she misses them. I was thinking about buying her a baby Sulcata for Xmas this year. I then thought that it would cost me about $300 for the whole set up ($150 for the Sulcata, $150 for a tank/lamp/bedding/food/cave/etc,etc) and she would have to keep it indoors. I also thought that was she *really* misses is them 'big', following you when it's feeding time, hand feeding them (again, they are 6yrs old a 'social' ... SOOOOOOOOOOOOO...

My question is: The 2 males live/sleep in opposite ends of my backyard. One is way bigger than the other and he always tries to mount the other one in heat (which is why I think the other one stays away from him). I was thinking about giving my mom one of mine instead of buying her a new one but i'm concerned about how the tortoise would feel about being displaced into a new environment after having lived and knowing every inch of my backyard for it's whole life. Do you think this will be a huge issue for his pysche?

I know it sounds like a dumb question because i'm concerned about a tortoise's emotional state of having to move into a new home, but this is very important to me, so be kind.

... 'oh yea' ... an unexpected bonus would be that I would save $300 because I wouldn't have to purchase tanks, etc, etc because he would just live and graze in her backyard (of course we would landscape/manufacture a cool habitat & living quarters for him), but the $$ isn't an object at all if it would cause emotional harm.

 

[TheLastGreen]

My question is: The 2 males live/sleep in opposite ends of my backyard. One is way bigger than the other and he always tries to mount the other one in heat (which is why I think the other one stays away from him).

This is clear-cut bullying by the larger one. Sulcatas are fiercly terretorial, and two males are even more on that spectrum. I would recommend you give the smaller one to your mom. The reason why he is smaller is because bullying is mounting and psychological bullying, so he'll eat less and stay smaller.
It would be better for both of them if they are separated
@Tom

 

[Twelve]

This is clear-cut bullying by the larger one. Sulcatas are fiercly terretorial, and two males are even more on that spectrum. I would recommend you give the smaller one to your mom. The reason why he is smaller is because bullying is mounting and psychological bullying, so he'll eat less and stay smaller.
It would be better for both of them if they are separated
@Tom

Thanks. I bought them at the same time, same size, and always wondered why one is a lot bigger than the other. The smaller one (which i'm 100% is a male) is also a 'digger' for some strange reason. Being from Florida, I know this is consistent with Gopher Tortoises, but not necessarily Sulcatas (the larger one doesn't have the urge to dig at all).

What you said makes a lot of sense though because the bigger one is more social, the moment he hears my sliding glass door open, he's rushing out of his home to greet me while the smaller one will follow me when he's out grazing and sees me, but most of the time is very private on the other side of the house doing his own thing. Thanks again!

 

[Maggie3fan]

Absolute bullying. Frankly if you give your mother the smaller tort that would be the perfect way to make a better future for the 2 tortoises...

 

[Tom]

Tortoises should never kept in pairs. Definitely give the one to your mother. Be sure to ID and make sure all the plants in her yard are not toxic, and be sure the plants and grass hasn't been sprayed with toxic yard chemicals.

Both tortoises also need heated shelters for night. Both for protection from the elements and predators, and also for heat on cooler nights. They should not be dropping below 80 degrees at night. Like this:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

This species is supposed to dig. In the wild they spend 95% of their lives underground, and ground temps over there over between 80-85 all year long. It is unusual for them to not dig. The little one is probably trying to dig to hide from the bigger one.