Hi, i have a six year old horsfields called desmond. I have had him 3yrs and want to buy him a friend. From my understanding two males can get aggressive, and if you just have one female the male wont leave her alone. Is it a good idea to get two females.
Any advice appreciated.

I would get two females, but you still need to keep an eye on them as males can get rough during breeding seasons.

Alex. Yes as Jen said two or more females is best with one male. But do you want to breed them? Cause if you put them together you will. Do you have plans for the baby torts? You can always destroy the eggs when you find the nests if you don't want lots of little torts.
Oh and you can have one tort. They are just fine living alone. Often even breeding groups have to be separated so as not to stress them out. I suggest you or anyone who has one and doesn't really intend on breeding think long and hard before getting more. Do more research on breeding, raising hatchlings and yearlings and again think before you buy. Oh and don't forget the quarantine period when you first acquire new torts. 3-6 months before introducing them into your group. I am not trying to talk you out of it. I just want you to be informed and therefore able to make an informed decision rather than an impulsive buy you could regret later. I know I have come close to buying more torts then have to ask myself; who am I doing this for, ME or my tort. Usually the answer is ME. This is where I can stop myself from making that impulsive buy. And focus on the torts I already have.

Desmond really doesn't need a friend. Tortoises don't like to have to compete with other tortoises for food or for the best hiding place. They don't get lonely.

Russians are one of the more aggressive breeders in the tortoise world. The males will actually bite off the female's eyelids and bite off the spurs on the front legs of the female. If you have Desmond in an indoor habitat, my advice would be to keep him an only tortoise. If he's outside and there are plenty of sight barriers and lots of room for another tortoise to get away from him, then you might try introducing another tortoise, but in my opinion, he's fine on his own.

Yvonne

Thanks for all the advice. I think i will wait untill my outdoor habitat is made larger before i consider buying another tortoise.
Thanks

this is a good example of what makes this forum so good: clear, experienced and friendly information.
keep up the good work!

This post was last modified: 04-04-2008 02:21 AM by TestudoGeek.