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Creteloc

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I'm so loving my RT! I think it might be time for another though and the tort table is big enough. Is there another breed of tortoise that RT's get along with? I'm afraid to get another RT because if it's male I heard they fight. I've read contrasting information and would love to hear from others.


Locally I have dealers with RTs and Red Footed Tortoises.
 

nicoleandrocky

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It's usually not good to mix breeds, i suggest getting another russian (if you and your current are ready) but be ready to have two separate enclosures (or splitting the one you have now with a divider) if they don't get along
 

Creteloc

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Great, thanks! I know tortoises don't technically play, but he just looks lonely in there by himself.
 

JoesMum

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RTs are naturally solitary in the wild and don't always share nicely... this applies to both males and females. This is especially true where one is established in his or her territory and there's a newcomer.

They don't get lonely in the way you are thinking... it's easy to project human emotion on to a tort, but they really don't think the way we do.

Any newcomer must be quarantined and kept separately to start with to ensure any dormant illness is not spread. You will have to resign yourself to the fact that your existing RT may well bitterly resent a newcomer and they will have to be kept separately forever.
 

Jessie

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Also remember that if you are going to try and have them in the same enclosure after the quarantine that you have two separate food dishes. I've noticed that with some people on here the RT's didn't get along until the second food dish was added and now many live happily and comfortably together. But like everybody else has said be prepared to build a new enclosure for the other one or to separate the current enclosure.
Also how long have you had your current RT? This can also make a huge difference in the acceptance in a new table mate. Another thing you need to keep in mind is that size DOES matter. If one is smaller the larger on will most likely bully the little one. Hope all our info helps. I know RT's are awesome but just keep their wants and needs in mind along with yours. :)
 

Creteloc

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So far so good, Lynn. He's still really skittish around me, but loves my youngest and runs to her when he sees her. Of course, she feeds him and I bathe him. He sleeps head down in the sand though, drives me nuts. I don't know how he breathes. He tries so hard to dig his way out of the table.

He still looks too thin to me. His little legs look small for his size, but we feed him twice a day and about as much as he can eat. We're sooo close to having dandelions and weeds he can munch on. I can't wait to put him outside for a few hours.
 

Jacqui

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Creteloc said:
He still looks too thin to me. His little legs look small for his size, but we feed him twice a day and about as much as he can eat. We're sooo close to having dandelions and weeds he can munch on. I can't wait to put him outside for a few hours.

Sunshine and fresh weeds, what more can a tortoise ask for?
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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Turtles don't come in breeds, which are products of artificial selection. All the varieties of turtles you see are naturally occurring species and subspecies. Maybe someday there will be differently-colored strains of turtles (the way there are for snakes), but at this point, there are not.

I wouldn't mix species, because this practice increases the odds of disease transmission. Also, two species may have different requirements. Not to mention the risk that they might hybridize.

Russian tortoises often make bad roommates in smaller enclosures. Two females might coexist amicably, but two males cannot. Also, if a male is housed with a female, he may to try mate with her so frequently (even if he's too young to sire offspring), that he may stress her out or injure her.

A 55-gallon tub is considered the minimum-sized enclosure for a single turtle the size of a Russian tortoise or box turtle. If your Russian is a female living in a space equivalent to 100-gallons, then you might get away with adding another female. However, if your resident is a male, he's going to need that space all to himself. The only way to house males with other Russian tortoises is to have very large enclosures were the residents can get away from each other.
 

Kerryann

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I put my Russian and my Marginated in enclosures that are next to each other and their basking spots can see each other. I often see them close to the edge of the enclosure basking and looking at their window-mate. I wouldn't put them in the same enclosure even though they get along outside, for the reasons mentioned above. I think of it as the old saying, better safe than sorry.
 
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