tortoise following another

[monsteramp]

so i have 2 indian star. same age roughly 10years old. male (smaller size) and female. the male usually walks faster than the female. i've seen the male following the female. she walks, he follows her speed behind. she stops he stops. no ramming or any form of attack. is it bullying or anything of concern?

 

[Lyn W]

Could be - I would keep an eye on them in case male is starting to harass female From what I've read on different threads it could be stressing her out and you wouldn't necessarily notice, but it could make her ill eventually.

Maybe he's just discovered girls!

 

[monsteramp]

i've seen them doing that many times but i never gave much thought until i saw some threads here which got my thinking and i was worried so i had to ask. they were not mating or anything, just casual strolling, exploring. she walked casually(slowly, not like escaping) for few meters, stopping to look around, then walking again, with the male following behind. they grew up together for many years.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

I don't know much about Indian star's but generally, it is not a good idea to keep a single male tortoise with a single female.
He will start to pay her too much attention as he becomes mature and she will be unable to escape, as she would in nature.
It can sometimes cause intense stress and even death, so it may be necessary to separate them.
Some torts are ok with a single male and a few females so the attention is divided. Or they prefer solitude.
Tortoises don't need friends.
But like I say, your species may be different, I'm not sure.

 

[jededia]

we have a Russian and a red footed, today we took them out of there cages for the first time together, the red-footed is not as shy but the Russian just tagged along same as yours when one stopped they both stopped. it was so freaken cute. i think mine are both males, i think the Russian is younger than the red footed

 

[Lyn W]

we have a Russian and a red footed, today we took them out of there cages for the first time together, the red-footed is not as shy but the Russian just tagged along same as yours when one stopped they both stopped. it was so freaken cute. i think mine are both males, i think the Russian is younger than the red footed

You may not put then together often, but just a friendly warning to be aware that apart from the possibility of a bullying/harassmemt issue ( following, staring as well as physical contact), different species of torts carry different diseases that they may be OK with themselves, but could make another species quite ill.
Even torts of the same species are quarantined for at least 6 months (or even a year by some orgs in in the UK) before they are allowed to mix with other torts.
Apparently Russians are quite scrappy torts.

 

[dmmj]

one tortoise following another is the one tortoises way of telling to get away from the territory without hurting it. I imagine it will escalate to biting, flipping and ramming.

 

[jededia]

we have a Russian and a red footed, today we took them out of there cages for the first time together, the red-footed is not as shy but the Russian just tagged along same as yours when one stopped they both stopped. it was so freaken cute. i think mine are both males, i think the Russian is younger than the red footed

here's a video clip of them

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153119991632312

 

[Tom]

Indian Stars are usually pretty peaceful, but I would not suggest keeping them as a pair, and especially not an adult male with an adult lone female. Based on your description, I'd say your female is living with some chronic stress. I would separate them.