Why not to keep 2 tortoises together - a lesson learned the hard way

[Oscadot]

I have a 5 year old tortoise male called custard and he sits under his heat lamp and hardly moves but occasionally takes a stroll. He lives in my living room. Would it be OK to get another male tortoise who was younger.
Thanks

 

[JoesMum]

I have a 5 year old tortoise male called custard and he sits under his heat lamp and hardly moves but occasionally takes a stroll. He lives in my living room. Would it be OK to get another male tortoise who was younger.
Thanks

Only if you keep it entirely separately @Oscadot.

Your 5 year old is not inactive due to age. It's inactive because something isn't right in the enclosure - it's probably not warm enough. There is also a risk your tort is sick.

If you get a second tortoise it must be kept entirely separately. Even with a herd, you must keep them completely separately in quarantine for at least six months to make sure neither makes the other sick.

Two tortoises cannot be kept together. They are solitary. There will be bullying. There will be fighting. One will lose and could die. I cannot put it any more plainly than that.

 

[RosemaryDW]

I have a 5 year old tortoise male called custard and he sits under his heat lamp and hardly moves but occasionally takes a stroll. He lives in my living room. Would it be OK to get another male tortoise who was younger.
Thanks

No. They do not do well in pairs and one will bully the other until it is sick or even until it dies.

If you want two tortoises, you need to provide two separate enclosures and keep them entirely separated.

It sounds as if you might benefit from having people take a look at Custard's living conditions, to make sure they're set up to keep him warm and healthy. Here is the link to the sub forum for enclosures: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/tortoise-enclosures.7/

 

[pdelpizzo]

I actually lost a tortoise to bullying. I initially bought 2 yearling Russians. It was great for awhile but eventually one started to surpass the other and gradually the bullying started and intensified. I didn't know enough at the time to prevent it soon enough. Once I finally separated them the male was significantly larger than the other (most likely female). Unfortunately, she never really thrived after that and eventually died. My remaining tort is now 7 years old and living alone happily in a large outdoor enclosure. I've read they can exist in groups fairly well if there are multiple females to one male to share the sexual harassment burden, given there is plenty of space and distractions. But 2 together is a very bad idea.