My two leopard tortoises I got together when they were babies.. well now, almost three years old, one is deciding to sleep in the opposite corner of where they both usually sleep. The reason I'm curious about this is because the night heat light is kept on the one side. I'm afraid he'll get too cold if he doesn't stay under the heat. Why is he staying separate? Will he let himself get too cold?
Leopard friends
- Thread starter Brylee
- Start date
Hi Brylee:
We've talked about this an awful lot here on the Forum. I don't know how you've missed it.
Tortoises are solitary creatures. They neither want nor need other tortoises for companionship. When kept in pairs, eventually the more aggressive member of the duo will tell the more submissive one to get out of his territory. Being cooped up in an enclosure, the more submissive tortoise can't leave the territory, so he tries to stay out of the other tortoise's way. This sometimes leads to a sick or even dead tortoise.
We've talked about this an awful lot here on the Forum. I don't know how you've missed it.
Tortoises are solitary creatures. They neither want nor need other tortoises for companionship. When kept in pairs, eventually the more aggressive member of the duo will tell the more submissive one to get out of his territory. Being cooped up in an enclosure, the more submissive tortoise can't leave the territory, so he tries to stay out of the other tortoise's way. This sometimes leads to a sick or even dead tortoise.
It sucks that they won't just get along doesn't it? The submissive one will suffer if you don't get him his own territory quickly. I am very surprised they made it to 3 years. Hopefully you have room to set up a separate enclosure. Move the dominant tortoise to the new enclosure.
Well it's just lately that it's happened and it's not even all the time. It's just weird. And the enclosure is definitely big enough 4×8'.. and if the other wanted to, he could go under the CHE. I'm just a little confused as to why it's all of a sudden and not even all the time.
Its not wierd at all. It is totally normal tortoise behavior. This has been going on since day one and its always been a problem. Your tortoises just suffered through it because they had no choice, and you either didn't notice it or couldn't recognize it. As they age and gain maturity, these problems tend to escalate. That is what you are seeing now.
Tortoises should not be kept in pairs. Time for a second enclosure.
Tortoises should not be kept in pairs. Time for a second enclosure.
You've been given great advice and the answer to your question. There is no other reason for the way they are acting and the only solution is to separate them. And 4x8 is definitely NOT big enough.... Maybe for now but one leopard will quickly outgrow that. You can just put a board down the middle of their enclosure and observe them until you can build another. I guarantee you will notice both of them becoming more active and showing their individual personalities.
Sorry if i came off strong, i didn't mean to. You're welcome and thank you for heeding our advice.
