Can I keep a baby and an adult Hermanns tortoise together?

Jili

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I currently have a baby Hermanns tortoise and I am interested in getting another one. I wanted a larger Hermann so I wanted to buy an adult. A lot of the websites I read advise not to keep two tortoises together, but many people have more than one tortoise in the same enclosure and they do just fine. I was just curious if I could keep a baby and an adult of the same species together?
 

Nicole M

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Two tortoises should never be kept together--what you're talking about are groups of at least 3-4 torts kept in large enclosures with plenty of sight barriers. Two will simply take all their aggression out of one another, while with more, any aggression would at least be more distributed rather than focused on a single tortoise. That said, keeping tortoises separate is by far the safest option.

Moreover, tortoises should only be kept with others of roughly the same size. Keeping an adult and baby together is a bad idea (and a surefire way to ensure your baby doesn't thrive).
 

cmacusa3

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You would need separate enclosures to start with anyway. You need to Quarantine any new tort for at least 6 months to a year before introducing them to any other torts. Then you don't want to keep them as a pair either.
 

Nicole M

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You would need separate enclosures to start with anyway. You need to Quarantine any new tort for at least 6 months to a year before introducing them to any other torts. Then you don't want to keep them as a pair either.
Very true! I forgot to mention that. Thank you, cmac3!
 

Jili

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Alright, thanks for the replies Nicole M. and cmac3! They are very helpful. I figured I probably shouldn't keep two after what I've been reading.
 

GBtortoises

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It's not that two tortoises can never be kept together. Two of the same species certainly can be as babies and young, until they begin to become sexually mature. At that point if one or more of them are males you will begin to see territorial aggression. This rarely ever happens with females housed together. But things that shouldn't be done is keeping two that are greatly different in size. Such as a baby and an adult. The adult will have no regard whatsoever for the baby and trample all over it. Or a newly acquired tortoise that should not be mixed with one that is already established or from different sources. Once the quarantine period is over and the keeper is confident that both are healthy they can be introduced to each other provided that they are similar is size and females. Males of Testudo species can almost never be housed together without being kept in a very large area, larger than usually practical in captivity. A male and female should not be kept together except for short periods for breeding purposes. Two or more females of similar size can almost always be kept together without any aggression problems whatsoever.
 

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