2 Baby RF in same enclosure?

[rumantra]

Hi everyone,

Junior tortoise keeper here looking for advice 😅

I have one 7 cm (2.7”) RF (Red-Footed Tortoise), and it’s been a month since I adopted him/her. Just today, someone gave me a 5 cm (1.9”) RF.

I’ve been watching and learning a lot about baby RF care from YouTube, and I always see them put babies in the same enclosure. However, when I put the smaller baby into the enclosure, it seemed like the bigger one was showing signs of aggression, such as chasing and even trying to bite 😱😱😱

I read posts in this forum saying you can’t put two adult tortoises in the same enclosure, but does this rule also apply to babies?

Was my bigger RF really trying to bite the smaller one, or was it just curiosity that will fade away eventually?

It’s a bit confusing because many articles say RFs are social or semi-social creatures 🥲😅, and I’ve seen so many videos showing RFs eating and sleeping together.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Simply put, pairs don't work well, but groups do. It is best you keep them separate.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi everyone,

Junior tortoise keeper here looking for advice 😅

I have one 7 cm (2.7”) RF (Red-Footed Tortoise), and it’s been a month since I adopted him/her. Just today, someone gave me a 5 cm (1.9”) RF.

I’ve been watching and learning a lot about baby RF care from YouTube, and I always see them put babies in the same enclosure. However, when I put the smaller baby into the enclosure, it seemed like the bigger one was showing signs of aggression, such as chasing and even trying to bite 😱😱😱

I read posts in this forum saying you can’t put two adult tortoises in the same enclosure, but does this rule also apply to babies?

Was my bigger RF really trying to bite the smaller one, or was it just curiosity that will fade away eventually?

It’s a bit confusing because many articles say RFs are social or semi-social creatures 🥲😅, and I’ve seen so many videos showing RFs eating and sleeping together.

What you have seen was a true aggression. As far as I read about redfoots, they gather in groups mostly to mate or to feast on ripe fruit under the tree or animal carrion. Then they spread away and live solitary life like all other tortoises.

Speaking of tortoises "social" usually means "tolerance to presence of others". It's not about "sense of shoulder" or friendship.

Baby tortoises can't be kept in pairs as well. They compete for hides, food, territory and such. Resources are scarse in the wild and one who gets all the goodies grows and survives, the other one dies. "Sharing a meal" means that both grow slower and likely both will die.

 

[rumantra]

Thank you so much for your answers, I guess its time to build second enclosure then, better safe than sorry 😅

One more question, is this apply to all tortoise species?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

As far as I know, groups with the correct female to male ratio or housing tortoises alone is the best for all tortoise species, regardless of their level of tolerance for others. Of course there are more aggressive species like Russians and more tolerant like Aldabras, but a pair is never a good idea.

 

[wellington]

Thank you so much for your answers, I guess its time to build second enclosure then, better safe than sorry 😅

One more question, is this apply to all tortoise species?

Yes, all species. Never pairs. Even groups should have only one male to two or more females, but not two or more males together. If one has acres of land as the tortoise enclosure then more than one male might work.
As for getting info from YouTube, or FB, or most other places, they usually have no clue about the right way to raise tortoises. This forum has the most up to date, tested and proved care info.

 

[mojo_1]

100% agree with above.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Yeah everything above is absolutely correct😊
Would love to see photos of your babies!!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The new tortoise should have also had a quarantine period of a few months. Especially if they're from different areas. But you'll probably be fine.
Keep an eye on them both for signs of illness. The condition of the poop is a good early indicator of problems.
You're actually lucky that you saw such blatant bullying. Most of it is subtle to the human eyes, but extremely stressful on both tortoises.
BTW eating and sleeping together are acts of aggression in tortoises.
See what I mean?
Us humans don't think like that.

How large is your enclosure? What's the weather like in Bali? Can you set up a large outdoor area?
If so, you can try a larger group of Redfoot later on.