do they get lonely?

[heyprettyrave]

i ALWAYS worry about this, i give her as much interaction as possible. but when i look at her i just worry that she may be lonely....is this possible

does it matter if they have a companion or not?

 

[Az tortoise compound]

They do not get lonely. That is just us humans projecting it. A lone tortoise can be healthy happy it's whole life without seeing another tortoise.

That being said, We do not have any lone tortoises. All of ours have friends

 

[Madkins007]

Red-foots are 'semi-social'. They interact in groups in captivity and in the wild, and most keepers who have done it both ways report that they do best in small groups.

However- they also do perfectly well by themselves. They are not so social that they need a companion.

A big part of this is what you can handle. one well-kept Red-foot will be a lot happier than a small herd of crowded, not-as-well kept tortoises.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I used to house my redfoot and russians together. Once I finally seperated them by removing the russians, I can swear that she (Kiwi) was "sad". Overall less active and seemed to be waiting for the others to return. I'm willing to say that she at least benefited from the interaction.

However, after it was all said and done she did, relatively quickly,go back to her normal self more or less.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I was taught to believe that tortoises looked at other torts as competition for the food, or for mating. They don't need companions. But most of my experience is with desert types I know nothing about Redfoots.
I have 4 teeny torts right now and they do sleep together, but when it's time to eat it becomes very entertaining. They ram each other and bite at faces and these guys are the size of quarters. I just stand there and laugh. too cute!
My box turtles only fight at dinner. I love it when one worms gets stretched between 3 turtles...but they don't sleep together most try to find a lone hide and sleep alone.

 

[terryo]

I raised my Cherry Head from a hatchling with a Three Toed that I also got as a hatchling. They slept in the same hide together, even though there was two hides in the enclosure. When one came out to eat they other came too. The Cherry head always followed the boxie around everywhere. When they were outside it was the same. When I separated them because of everyone's advice, the RF stopped eating and circled his enclosure for days, and finally went into his hide and didn't come out at all until I took him out. After a while he was OK, but it took days for him to stop searching for the boxie. Do they need friends? I don't know, but I have a lot of Box Turtles, and most do pair off with the same companion. The two little rescues that I got this Summer can always be found together and when I got a little Eastern rescue in the Spring, she became "friends" with another little Eastern that was the same age, and they are always together. I don't have any experience with Tortoises, but I have seen box turtles pairing off many, many times.

 

[heyprettyrave]

Ive been thinking about getting a companion for Ophelia, another redfoot, preferably the same age. but i am not sure if a boy would be better or a girl?
if i got a girl would they fight?

 

[goReptiles]

I think they do better in small groups. They seem to thrive on a little competition, but I'm still very much a newbie to this. I've only had red foots for about a year.

 

[heyprettyrave]

unfortunatly i cant get another now, but just wondering is there a way her and i can bond? besides food ha ha ha

 

[Madkins007]

Best companion by gender- two females would be safest, but Red-foots are not much for fighting unlike some other species.

Bonding- they do recognize their main food source, and if you usually greet them with food, they may start to come to you.

I think (but have not proven) that you can teach them that you are a good thing in their life by starting with gentle touches to the shell as they approach the food. Work up to stroking their head and throat (some really like this, especially the bigger guys), and keep showing them you are harmless and bring them food.

I also suspect that the plan would work best when they hit about 6" or so- since babies are mostly food for predators they are more skittish and stressed. Bigger torts tend to be more assured that not much can hurt them.

 

[heyprettyrave]

she reacts really well to me, which i am very proud of. i try to show as much attention as possible to her
i am going to keep my eyes open on here for a redfoot about the same age ...

 

[llamas55]

From another angle, they might not exactly get lonely, but seem to enjoy the mental stimulation of something else in the tank.

 

[heyprettyrave]

she does have two hermit crabs in there with her