Found our Tortoise

TashyRoo

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Apr 19, 2016
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Embarrassingly I managed to lose our ten month old marginated tortoise 19 days ago. We have had a cold snap and some awful rain (oxfordshire UK) that had waterlogged the garden, When s/he disappeared we searched everywhere and no sign ( s/he disappeared in five minutes while we were out with her but took eyes off obviously. Garden was secure. we ripped the shed up assuming she had got under but no sign. I wanted to ease the pain of the loss (assuming a bird must have grabbed it up) and replaced the tortoise.
Today our tortoise has reappeared back in the garden. No signs of any damage. and weight has actually gained a couple of grammes. What do i need to be looking for to know s/he is alright.breathing seems normal eyes are bright, seems to be a miracle. Can i keep both tortoises together?
 

Yvonne G

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Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Is the new tortoise also a marginated? Well, it really doesn't matter, because my answer would be no anyway. Pairs seldom work out. More than two sometimes works, and one works best. Tortoises are solitary creatures and neither want nor need another tortoise in their territory. They will fight, sometimes to the death, to get the intruder out of the territory. And then there's the quarantine issue.

I think what would have happened would be the cold weather caused a respiratory infection. If you don't see signs of that, swollen eyes, runny nose, then I'd guess you're home free. Thank goodness the tortoise turned up. Time to build a safe outdoor area for it so you don't have to watch so closely.
 

TashyRoo

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safe enclosure now built, and still won't leave alone, yes both are marginated, they are both hatchlings guess it is another table time then, The table we have is very big and both were incubated to be female so had hoped for that at least, Don't think I will feel home free have hated knowing s/he is out there or not!
thanks for your reply, may book a vet visit to be on safe side.
 

JoesMum

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In those 19 days we have had some pretty awful weather in the UK (snow last week!) and today has been the hottest day of the year.

My guess is that your tort found somewhere to hole up and has come out to welcome the sun.

Keep an eye on your tort for a respiratory infection, soak daily for a few days and all should be well.

Please heed Yvonne's advice on separating your torts. You always have a dominant tort and with pairs that turns into bully and victim.
 

Yvonne G

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It's sometimes ok to keep hatchlings together. I do, prior to selling them. But as they grow you have to be very observant to watch for bullying, either overt or covert.
 

TashyRoo

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i had split table in half and provided a hide for the end with no bedroom to keep separate, I will keep that in place until I know all is well, then I will see how they get on in the outside enclosure, always knowing two could be problematic.
 

Alexio

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It is likely he was burrowed, I have three and every night all three of them burrow entirely under the substrate to the point where I have panicked at least 10 different times they must have gotten out. But they are in 40 gal tanks so that would be next to impossible , even knowing that I still panic they burrow down so far.
 

orv

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YVONNE : Our two California Desert Tortoises have been together for 32 years now in the same enclosure. They are mother and son. They both will climb over the other in order to reach a favorite food. Other than this, I've seen no other signs of aggression. Mom is 13 lbs while Son is 16 lbs. I suppose that this may be the result of Mom having come in from the wild in 1970 and Son being in captivity all his life. Anyway, my point is that at least this pair can successfully share the same burrow and 25' by 55' yard. I seldom post on the forum, but I read it almost daily and learn and enjoy always.
 
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