Hello, my name is Chris, (female). I have 2 Herman tortoises called Molly and Eric,

Chris.clive

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We brought them in September they were a year old when we got them, they have been living in the same tortoise table quite happily until today, we have noticed that Molly is bullying Eric, she rams into him, almost tipping him over, so we have decided to buy another table. Does anyone know why Molly is being a bully,
 

harrythetortoise

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Tortoises are solitary creatures, and it is not recommended to house two tortoises together. They get stressed out and will fight each other for space, basking, food, hide, etc. One ends up bullying the other.
 

Chris.clive

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Tortoises are solitary creatures, and it is not recommended to house two tortoises together. They get stressed out and will fight each other for space, basking, food, hide, etc. One ends up bullying the other.
Thankyou. As I said I have ordered another table, so they will be apart very soon. They are so lovely, they let me stroke their heads. They both have their own little personalities.
 

Lyn W

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Hi and welcome,
Glad to hear you are separating them.
Don't forget you'll need another set of uvb and basking and night lamps etc

Tortoises do not like company and are very territorial, but breeders and shops who sell torts won't always tell you that because they are only interested in profit.

They should never, ever be kept in pairs or in small groups unless you have a huge space so that they can spread out and avoid each other.
Even a male and female together will not work because the male will constantly harass the female to mate and make her life a misery.

Bullying is very subtle and starts with staring and what some people think is cute behaviour - i.e. following , 'cuddling' etc but that is actually one trying to get the others out of his space. It eventually becomes more aggressive with barging trying to tip the other over and biting.

It is very stressful for all torts and can result in illness, serious injury and even death.

So please read the link below and search for other sad stories but they will be much happier in their own space and it will save you having some pretty expensive vet bills.

 
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Lyn W

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You will find this link very useful for diet, temps, substrate and humidity etc


Ask as many questions as you like and if you want to post pics of their enclosure and lamps etc you'll get great advice on anything that may need changing to keep your torts happy and healthy .
 

Chris.clive

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Hi and welcome,
Glad to hear you are separating them.
Don't forget you'll need another set of uvb and basking and night lamps etc

Tortoises do not like company and are very territorial, but breeders and shops who sell torts won't always tell you that because they are only interested in profit.

They should never, ever be kept in pairs or in small groups unless you have a huge space so that they can spread out and avoid each other.
Even a male and female together will not work because the male will constantly harass the female to mate and make her life a misery.

Bullying is very subtle and starts with staring and what some people think is cute behaviour - i.e. following , 'cuddling' etc but that is actually one trying to get the others out of his space. It eventually becomes more aggressive with barging trying to tip the other over and biting.

It is very stressful for all torts and can result in illness, serious injury and even death.

So please read the link below and search for other sad stories but they will be much happier in their own space and it will save you having some pretty expensive vet bills.

Hi Lynn. Thankyou. I have got the whole starter kit coming, light, heat mat hemp etc.
 

zolasmum

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Hello Chris and welcome. I am in the UK too (Devon), and we have a Hermanns tortoise -Zola - he will be 21 in July, and we have had him since he was a baby. Ww think he is wonderful, and other people who have Hermanns too all seem to agree that they have very lovable personalities - you have clearly made a good choice !
Angie
 

Chris.clive

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Hello Chris and welcome. I am in the UK too (Devon), and we have a Hermanns tortoise -Zola - he will be 21 in July, and we have had him since he was a baby. Ww think he is wonderful, and other people who have Hermanns too all seem to agree that they have very lovable personalities - you have clearly made a good choice !
Angie
Thankyou.
 

Lyn W

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Hi Lynn. Thankyou. I have got the whole starter kit coming, light, heat mat hemp etc.
Great
Where do you place the heat mat?
Forgot to say that it may be a while before you know if you have a male and female, or 2 of same gender so you could have 2 Erics or 2 Mollys
 
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Chris.clive

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Theres a special place in the hide out it goes behind the glass on the back wall. Regardless of being male or female, I won't be changing their names, they are our babies know as Molly and Eric.
 

saracheri

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Obviously Eric has been being a complete annoying jerk. :rolleyes::tort: (I have a young female- I think? Hermann,named Tootsie). She is wonderful. :<3:
 
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Lyn W

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Theres a special place in the hide out it goes behind the glass on the back wall. Regardless of being male or female, I won't be changing their names, they are our babies know as Molly and Eric.
A vet told me that my tort was female so I called her Lola.
Lola eventually showed me that she was in fact a he, just like the Kinks song.
He's still called Lola!!
 

Chris.clive

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Obviously Eric has been being a complete annoying jerk. :rolleyes::tort: (I have a young female- I think? Hermann,named Tootsie). She is wonderful. :<3:
Eric has not done anything wrong, and I thankyou to keep your opinions like that to yourself.
 

Tom

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Hi Lynn. Thankyou. I have got the whole starter kit coming, light, heat mat hemp etc.
Heat mats shouldn't be used with tortoises. Pet shops are infamous for giving poor care info and selling all the wrong products. Some of these wrong products are dangerous, like the heat mats, cfl UV bulbs, ramped water bowls, and sandy substrates.

The behavior you are seeing is normal, and its the reason we tell people they shouldn't be kept in pairs.

Read the link Lyn left for you in post number 7 for the current and correct care info.
 

Yossarian

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Heat mats shouldn't be used with tortoises. Pet shops are infamous for giving poor care info and selling all the wrong products. Some of these wrong products are dangerous, like the heat mats, cfl UV bulbs, ramped water bowls, and sandy substrates.

The behavior you are seeing is normal, and its the reason we tell people they shouldn't be kept in pairs.

Read the link Lyn left for you in post number 7 for the current and correct care info.

OP has the heat matt on the wall, I think pet stores in the UK might be telling people to do this. The people I rescued my greek from had this setup in the vivarium, it was stuck to the end wall. I didnt use it that way from the beginning because it just wasnt required to maintain the correct heat levels.
 

zolasmum

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Theres a special place in the hide out it goes behind the glass on the back wall. Regardless of being male or female, I won't be changing their names, they are our babies know as Molly and Eric.
[/QUOTE
I understand entirely that their names are always their names - people used to think Zola must be a girl, after Zola Budd the runner, but we mentioned that Gianfranco Zola was a very wellknown footballer, and Emile Zola a French writer, and made it clear that Zola's name was his own property ! You could always have Erica (plant) and Moliere(the French playwright) as names in reserve, if anyone queried them. They are lovely little chaps, and it will be great to see how they progress
Angie
 

Sarah2020

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Sorry their fighting. Glad your sorting this out and separating them. Try to provide a line of vision break in the enclosure so they have a chance to not see each other like a rock or length of guttering or a hide.
 

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