Should I separate my Hermann tortoises in an outdoor enclosure?

[RiaRomano]

Hi all,

I have 3 testudo hermanni hermanni (originally italian) tortoises. The male is 14 years old, the two younger ones are 4 years old.

I have a well-sized garden with grass, weeds, dandelions, plants, mixed terrains. This spring I introduced my younger tortoises into the garden. My older male encircles them, bites them visciously, sniffs them (no head-bobbing, very occasional mounting). I have no idea whether the younger ones are females, one is bigger than the other but no differences in underneath shell-shape.

They get scared and the male will persist for about half an hour before giving up and walking off. This happens daily.

Should I separate them?
He seems to be getting used to them being around as time goes on, but I'm still scared that he's going to stress them out. They really enjoy wandering around the garden freely, I feel upset to create an enclosure as they hate being caged and spend hours attempting to get out. They go to sleep in little huts I built for them in the garden.

I havent ever given them calcium powder, they normally eat the garden weeds and I occasionally provide them with lettuce and water. They are healthy and are not pyramiding. Is this alright? I live in the UK so the climate is quite mild.

Would really appreciate any help?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm doing this with three Redfoot. Put them together when you can watch them and not when you wont be around. Hopefully before long, they will all get used to each other and it can be a permanent thing. The size of the pen should be very large and sounds like it is.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

You might want to try a mirror and see if the tort gets board fighting him self instead of the young ones . It's only a thought .

 

[johnsonnboswell]

I would separate them.

I'd also offer cuttlebone.

 

[RiaRomano]

Thanks guys!

 

[Tom]

This is a judgment call. In a large outdoor enclosure with lots of room to escape or hide, things like this can sometimes work out... but sometimes they don't work out. Are the two younger ones still eating? Basking normally most of the time? How long have they been together? Is normal for the males to be more feisty in spring time and he "might" settle down as summer approaches, but he might not too. I would make the call based on a variety of factors.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Are there lots of sight barriers in the garden? Maybe you can start off with a temporary fenced off portion of the garden for the two smaller ones until they've grown some size onto them and are better able to stick up for themselves.

 

[RiaRomano]

Thanks for the insights! The larger small tortoise was perfectly fine, however the smaller one hid inside a bush for 4 days without exiting so I got worried, and I've built an enclosure for them. They're both fine now, eating and sunbathing.

I will try again in a few weeks but with much closer monitoring and if either of them start to become reclusive I will put them back in their enclosure. There are a lot of sight barriers but the biggest tortoise is incredibly perceptive at finding them even when he's 15 metres away.

I'm also a little worried as the bigger out of my two small torts (who is more active, and sunbathes more) is pyramiding mildly. I don't understand why as they have the same diet and lifestyle.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Pyramiding is primarily down to humidity rather than diet.
Have you got water that they soak or bathe in?
is it perhaps big enough for the small one to get in, but not the bigger of the two?
Make sure they have soaks and a humid hide and that the whole area isn't too dry.
(Though in England that would seem unlikely, but humidity should certainly be addressed.