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

annster

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I don't know that's rough- another habitat would be expensive. Maybe consider selling one- I'd be interested.
 

kaz311

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Females especially mine for some reason sleep together and go together and eat. It all depends on tortoise personality but if male and female together bet your sorry butt seperation is a must or the female get hurt.
I hear and seen females show dominance for food or territory or to show whos boss but rarely mine. If keeping more than one you must have great knowledge and experience and have multiple set ups for the tortoises incase seperation is necessary. Breeding attempts should not be tried unless very experienced and carefully thought out and care taken for the tortoises not to be harm in process.

Anys hi everyone !:) im back
 

russianmom

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My two females do this most of the time is my little one picking on the big one!! And when my big one does it to the little one it is always after dinner time and I don't blame her the little one crawls right across the food and then try's to climb on the big one and u don't mess with dinner time!! This morning I woke up to both of them snuggled together sleeping!! They have never hurt each other they have been together for 2 yrs now and I got them from two different stores!!
 

kaz311

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I find females more calm and relax and tolerant when good is plentiful for their tummies and space is adequate for them to travel without feeling cramped. Right now i am having trouble weaning my females to eat off their plates rather from my fingers both of then rush to eat the same piece of lettuce off my fingers and they push and shove and reminds me of a couple of fat princesses getting at the buffet
 

kaz311

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Perhaps its a male and female couple you have or perhaps males plz send photos of their tales to see which sex they are
 

biochemnerd808

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Perhaps its a male and female couple you have or perhaps males plz send photos of their tales to see which sex they are

Actually, females can bully each other, too. Several of my females will ram and mount other females if housed together, so they get to live 'solo' during winter indoor season.
 

kaz311

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Actually, females can bully each other, too. Several of my females will ram and mount other females if housed together, so they get to live 'solo' during winter indoor season.
Yes it is true but we dont know unless he can confirm they are both females or both males or perhaps male and female.
Which is why i asked for pictures to better give us a better look into the situation
 

smarch

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I always love reading this, its like a reminder that I don't need more torts, especially since I don't have the space!

I do have a story to tell. Both me and my cousin have Russian torts, both male. For holidays the past year (over a year now) we've also had "tortoise holidays" and since holidays are usually at one of our places one brings theirs to the others house for a "get together" Now we know tortoises don't like pairs, especially since both are male and we knew come them aging and developing it would no longer be possible. But for the time being we loved having their company and watching them pig out.
They paid no attention to each other...until this Christmas. I guess Nank is now a "real man" because when eating he decided to trample his food and stare open mouthed at my cousin's tort Rafael. So right after that Nank went back to his real enclosure since I didn't want anyone hurt, or stressed, and Rafael continues his feast. At first I thought he got something stuck in his throat and was freaking out, but when Rafael moved his head followed.
needless to say "tort holidays" are now over.
 

Tyanna

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I've also learned letting tortoises have time together, even when not housed together, will still lead to bullying. I recently introduced my male and female, and right away my female was head bobbing, opening her mouth widely at my male, and sticking her nose right up against his. I'm not sure if I will let them "meet again" before they live together outside full time, because I'm not sure if they'll ever stop fighting.

Great post Katie. Without visuals and knowledge of tortoise behavior, I would've thought it was cute that they were "nose kissing".
 

johnsonnboswell

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Me and my partner brought 2 female Russian tortoises just over 2 years ago. In the pet shop they were in a vivarium together, and we have them in one together too. Up to a couple of months ago they have started to bash into each other's shells, and trying to bite each other it's not all the time, just out the blue, one has just bit the others scale of her leg again :( I just don't know what to do for the best.
You absolutely need to separate them. Either rehome one or set up a second habitat. Don't wait for blood or death.
 

PS95

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I have had two female Russians housed indoors in the same enclosure for 8 years and definitely have noticed mounting, biting, and other signs of dominance between them. Luckily, it never seems to get out of hand and there have never been any injuries. I am careful to spread out their food so both can feed separately. I have two separate hides, but they frequently use the same one and coexist nicely. They seem to tolerate each other, probably better than humans would under the same circumstances.
 

Jenpriseralford

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I have 2 males the bask together they sleep on different sides of habitat. They are about 6mos apart. I wanted a girl before I read this now I am wondering if I should put in a divider. Their habitat is 5' 2.5 in a V shape. I see them pick at each other. I noticed Lueys neck was peeling.....I hope my boy is ok. Leo seems content. I will start keeping an eye on them. 1/30 I will have Luey 1yr and Leo 1.5yr. I love my boys
 

axeman25

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Well, the 3 Russians I got a couple weeks ago came as a package deal. The guy who had them before either couldn't take care of them or didn't want to anymore. I think the latter. All three have lived together since they were very young (under 8 mos) and are now somewhere between 5 and 7 years old. Again this is what I was told. They're all around 5" or just under. There is a male and two females. I've had them for just over two weeks and up until two days ago they were all in the same enclosure. One of the females was always over to the side and not nearly as active as the others. She doesn't eat much and tends to sleep with her head almost up against the wall of the enclosure or whatever log she's sleeping by. I have three different hides for them and she had been the only one to use them consistently.
I decided to separate her to see if she would be more active like the other two. She has her own setup right now and really seems to be doing the same. She eats very little, is not very active, and wants to sleep most of the day. The're were no obvious signs of aggression from the other two at all but of course I can't be in front of them 24/7. How long should I give her to come around before I get too concerned.
 

johnsonnboswell

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I have 2 males the bask together they sleep on different sides of habitat. They are about 6mos apart. I wanted a girl before I read this now I am wondering if I should put in a divider. Their habitat is 5' 2.5 in a V shape. I see them pick at each other. I noticed Lueys neck was peeling.....I hope my boy is ok. Leo seems content. I will start keeping an eye on them. 1/30 I will have Luey 1yr and Leo 1.5yr. I love my boys
Do not add a female to the mix! Not only will the males badger her horribly, they'll compete aggressively with each other
 

axeman25

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I think I have a little good news!

The female that I separate from the other two because she seemed a bit lethargic and not really eating well just tore into some greens like they slapped her mother. She has been separated from the other two for about three days or so and hadn't touched her food nor had she been active at all. There have been no droppings in her enclosure and her food dish had been untouched. She basically just huddled up against a wall (I provided her with a place to hide) and slept. I can't be next to her all the time but I made several lines in the substrate around her and would come back hours later with none of them disturbed. Well tonight I was hydrating her bedding and while giving her my daily "you can do it" speach, she came to life for about 8 minutes and gobbled down an entire leaf of collared greens. I know it's not a huge thing, but I've been worried that she's gonna slip away on me. I'm hoping that someone can give me some feedback and maybe confirm my positive feelings. Only positive feedback tonight though. Any negative comments need to wait until tomorrow. It's been a helluva day. Lol.
 

Heather H

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I think I have a little good news!

The female that I separate from the other two because she seemed a bit lethargic and not really eating well just tore into some greens like they slapped her mother. She has been separated from the other two for about three days or so and hadn't touched her food nor had she been active at all. There have been no droppings in her enclosure and her food dish had been untouched. She basically just huddled up against a wall (I provided her with a place to hide) and slept. I can't be next to her all the time but I made several lines in the substrate around her and would come back hours later with none of them disturbed. Well tonight I was hydrating her bedding and while giving her my daily "you can do it" speach, she came to life for about 8 minutes and gobbled down an entire leaf of collared greens. I know it's not a huge thing, but I've been worried that she's gonna slip away on me. I'm hoping that someone can give me some feedback and maybe confirm my positive feelings. Only positive feedback tonight though. Any negative comments need to wait until tomorrow. It's been a helluva day. Lol.
i think its a good start :) are you going to separate the other two also? just asking not being negative :)
 

axeman25

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I have been keeping a close eye on them all and right now I'm going to keep those two together. They are both very active and seem to share their space well. From what I was told, all three had been sharing a very small space for their entire lives without an incedent. But I was told this by the guy selling them to me so who really knows. I will have to wait and see.

The outdoor enclosure that I am going to build will be very large. Is the bullying still as much of an issue with a big space for them to roam in? I was going to put dividers in it but I'm just wondering if I should try them out in it with the ability to section it off if needed or just section it off from the start?
 

biochemnerd808

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I think I have a little good news!

The female that I separate from the other two because she seemed a bit lethargic and not really eating well just tore into some greens like they slapped her mother. She has been separated from the other two for about three days or so and hadn't touched her food nor had she been active at all. There have been no droppings in her enclosure and her food dish had been untouched. She basically just huddled up against a wall (I provided her with a place to hide) and slept. I can't be next to her all the time but I made several lines in the substrate around her and would come back hours later with none of them disturbed. Well tonight I was hydrating her bedding and while giving her my daily "you can do it" speach, she came to life for about 8 minutes and gobbled down an entire leaf of collared greens. I know it's not a huge thing, but I've been worried that she's gonna slip away on me. I'm hoping that someone can give me some feedback and maybe confirm my positive feelings. Only positive feedback tonight though. Any negative comments need to wait until tomorrow. It's been a helluva day. Lol.

It sounds like you did the right thing in separating this one.
As far as your question about how long it will likely take until you see a real difference: remember that in tortoises, everything happens slowly. It could take weeks or months for her to return to normal. Also, please keep in mind that it is the winter season, so her activity level will be reduced anyway. Be sure to soak her every few days to make sure she is well hydrated. Dehydration is a common cause for lethargy.


The outdoor enclosure that I am going to build will be very large. Is the bullying still as much of an issue with a big space for them to roam in? I was going to put dividers in it but I'm just wondering if I should try them out in it with the ability to section it off if needed or just section it off from the start?

I have fewer issues with the tortoises bullying each other in our large outdoor enclosure. I provide 40 square feet per tortoise (or more) outside. In the Spring, I do frequently have to separate the males outside too, as they are super aggressive towards each other, and also towards the females. Once the Spring fever wears off, they can spent the Summer outside without too much issue. I still do keep a keep eye on them though, and separate one or several out if they consistently bully.
 

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