Do russian tortioises like company

[Mnash0915]

Hi everyone! I have a new Russian tortoise named Harry and we really enjoy him. I have been looking at all the cute pictures posted on this site and I notice that lots of people have more than one tortoise. My question is, do they like the company? Would Harry appreciate the companionship or does he like hanging out alone? The tortoise house that we bought has an end that just slides off so we can buy another house and double the size of his enclosure easily.
Thanks again for the help!
Michelle

 

[dmmj]

As a rule russians are territorial. I have multiples but I keep mine outside in a large enclosure. In an indoor setting I highly recommend one tortoise per enclosure, if you want another russian that is fine but keep them separate.

 

[Utah Lynn]

I have to keep mine separated; My female likes to ram and bite my much smaller male.

 

[Kristina]

I agree with the above. Russians do not "need" company. The only logical reason to keep them together is if you are intending on breeding them, and even during breeding season they can sometimes seriously injure each other. Females as a general rule get along better in groups than males, but even females can be very violent and territorial with each other and even with males.

If you decide to get a second tortoise, be prepared. First off, you need to quarantine the new tortoise from your existing tortoise for at least 3 months. This means you will need a separate enclosure off the bat. When you introduce them to each other, you need to be prepared to separate them at a moments notice. For the first few days/weeks I would not leave them alone together.

I have also noticed that tortoises that are captive raised in a groups setting tend to get along much better than tortoises that were raised solitarily or wild caught as adults/subadults. Since most Russians are wild caught subadults, this puts them in the category of those that you have to watch for fighting.

 

[cemmons12]

Yeah, Ophelia acts like she is being all friendly when you put your hand in her "area", but she really just wants your hand out of there I think, wish I knew for sure... Who speaks Russian (Tortoise)?

 

[ascott]

Most tortoise have one favorite person for company......their fav is the FOOD FAIRY.....LOL ditto with the others in all seriousness

 

[Neltharion]

Hi everyone! I have a new Russian tortoise named Harry and we really enjoy him. I have been looking at all the cute pictures posted on this site and I notice that lots of people have more than one tortoise. My question is, do they like the company? Would Harry appreciate the companionship or does he like hanging out alone? The tortoise house that we bought has an end that just slides off so we can buy another house and double the size of his enclosure easily.
Thanks again for the help!
Michelle

Russians are very solitary creatures, true of tortoises in general.

My experience has been that you should keep a single specimen or a group of three or more. I know this is subject of some controversy and has been discussed in another thread. Pairs rarely seem to work out (of course other people have experienced success, which seems to be the exception rather than the rule). I keep a group of nine successfully. Aggression is dispersed among the group, so that one isn't the sole target of another; also hiding places and the ability to move out of the line of view helps.

If you ever decide you want more than one, you may want to consider two to three females.

 

[Mnash0915]

Oh wow! Thank you all!! I felt bad for Harry but he gets a lot attention from us and didn't realize it would be so complicated for the tortoises so being a novice I will just stick to Harry for now.
But thank you all for your help. That was all incredible info!!
Thank you all!!
Michelle

 

[philthyturtle]

thanks for all this info, i was actually pondering this question myself