Hi guys I am thinking about getting a male russian tortoise to live with my female. I am wondering, do russians prefer being together or apart from each other and should I buy another one? all advice is appreciated 
should I buy another rt?
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You shouldn't really keep any two Russians together. If you want to breed them you can keep them separate and only introduce them every once in a while for breeding.
Ditto with above post. However if you have a very large outdoor area and want to add two or more females, you will have a better chance of it working. Just be sure it's large, there are several hides, lots of site barriers, several feeding and water stations and be prepared to house separately if it doesn't work out.
thanks for the advise I don't have two tanks so I probably won't get another tort
I live in a very temperate climate so I am not able to keep them outside all year.
wellington said:
I live in a very temperate climate so I am not able to keep them outside all year.
How big is your "tank"?
Then stick with just one, or start up a second enclosure.
Tom said:
Agreed. I have two Russians, a male and a female, but they each live in a separate enclosure. Otherwise, the male would harass the female and injure her.
I have two Russians Torts, one male and one female and both of them shared the same enclosure. I've never had any problems occur between them and they actually "seem" to enjoy each others company. They do everything together, its very cute however I think I have a rare couple because all the other stories I've heard the male will be aggressive to the female. You'll never know until you try but to be on the safe side in case they don't get along to have separate enclosures. Good luck and I hope things work out if you decide to get another tort 
however I think I have a rare couple because all the other stories I've heard the male will be aggressive to the female. You'll never know until you try but to be on the safe side in case they don't get along to have separate enclosures. Good luck and I hope things work out if you decide to get another tort 
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Even if you plan on getting two of them in the same enclosure, make sure to have a backup in case things do get violent and they need to be separated. You don't want additional vet bills.
I have 2 RT, one male one female, that lived together for 11 years with no troubles at all, then one day my male "matured" and started picking on my female to the point that he drew blood on a few different occasions, needless to say they no longer live together.
I agree with most of the above posts. In my experience, Russians prefer to live alone. Adding a second (or third or forth) can be tricky and is always a gamble. Even with lots of space, there's no gaurantee that Russians will get along. They're solitary animals by nature and it would be really sad if you bought a new and then had to give it away because the pair couldn't get along.
Have you seen this?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-68766.html
Have you seen this?
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-68766.html
My male is kept in a 4x4 enclosure at the moment & my gals all get along, no bullies except Tweak my stud. But man he's aggressive at mating time... Silly boy...
jjsull33 said:
My guys lived together for about 2 weeks before the male became aggressive toward the female. It actually started at mealtimes; the male tried to hoard the food and bit the female whenever she came near it. So, I separated them and now they each live alone.
When the male does see the female, he tries to court her, performing head-bobs and biting at her forelimbs. For now I intervene, although it won't be much longer until they're mature, and then I'll allow them to go through with mating. Such harassment is fine and even normal every once in a long while, but it would be too stressful for the female on a regular basis.
Speaking of which, here's another forum member's experience with this very phenomenon. She had to separate her male and female Russian tortoises due to bullying:
"Please don't make the same mistake I did ....."
Well said! And you are right, Geo, in the wild Russians interact occasionally to mate and spend most of the time alone.
Spn785 said:
My tank is about 3 and 1/2 feet by 2 and 1/2 feet by 9 in, but I am planing on upgrading to a larger tank.
It sounds like you already have gotten good advice.
Don't take this personally, but your 'tank' is definitely on the small side, even for just one RT. Instead of buying another 'tank' I'd suggest building your own tortoise table. It is not difficult, and I think you will find that material costs for a wooden tortoise table are actually a lot cheaper than buying a glass enclosure. There are a lot of different examples on this forum, and I also have some on my blog.
Good luck, and keep on asking good questions!
Don't take this personally, but your 'tank' is definitely on the small side, even for just one RT. Instead of buying another 'tank' I'd suggest building your own tortoise table. It is not difficult, and I think you will find that material costs for a wooden tortoise table are actually a lot cheaper than buying a glass enclosure. There are a lot of different examples on this forum, and I also have some on my blog.
Good luck, and keep on asking good questions!
tortoise_man said:
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