My new babies
- Thread starter Bee62
- Start date
Congrats on the new babies! Very cute.
Are there only two? They really shouldn't be kept in pairs. That usually ends badly for the tortoises.
Are there only two? They really shouldn't be kept in pairs. That usually ends badly for the tortoises.
Pretty cute, Sabine.
Oh Tom, you force me to buy more tortoises ....
Actually they are only two. I have read that greeks should be kept in groups, but how can I know what I`ve got ( male or female ) while they are so young ?
If I would buy one or two more, mayby I have too much males ....
It seems to me that it is the best to wait until they show what they are, male or female. In Germany you can get adult or semi adult female greeks easier as in America.
Here are many breeders and many Testudo tortoises on craiglists.
That is always the dilemma, isn't it?Oh Tom, you force me to buy more tortoises ....
Actually they are only two. I have read that greeks should be kept in groups, but how can I know what I`ve got ( male or female ) while they are so young ?
If I would buy one or two more, mayby I have too much males ....
It seems to me that it is the best to wait until they show what they are, male or female. In Germany you can get adult or semi adult female greeks easier as in America.
Here are many breeders and many Testudo tortoises on craiglists.
Groups of juveniles are usually fine together, but not pairs. Once they reach maturity, you can have major problems if you have multiple males. This is why there must always be a back up plan to separate them all.
In your case, rather than buy more, I would just house these two separately.
They should never be housed in pairs. Not even as tiny hatchlings. It is very stressful for them. The submissive one wants to leave the territory of the dominant one, but it can't. The dominant ones keeps telling the submissive to leave, but it can't leave. This long term chronic stress is bad for both of them. Even if there is not overt hostility with biting and ramming, just the sight of the other one causes a problem.
We see this same thing with chameleons, but chameleons show their displeasure with body posture and color changes, while our rigid shelled tortoise with their lack of chromataphores are not able to show us how upset they are with the situation.
Groups dynamics are different than pair dynamics. Sharing the enclosure with a group is different than sharing your enclosure with one other individual. We don't see the same issues with groups that we see with pairs in most cases.
Also, in a pair...one is picked on exclusively by the other. In a group the bullier will spread his bullying ways amongst all the others not just the one.
3 will do it. 4 or 5 is even better. I find that they get along better with other tortoises as adults when raised in groups. There are exceptions…
The problem with this group of juveniles strategy is that they all grow up and reach maturity. What if you have 5 males? If that happens, you'll need 5 enclosures. You can imagine the combinations of problems you could run into with the sexes. What about 2 males and 3 females? Then you'd need to house at least one male separately, maybe both depending on how aggressive a breeder your male is… Endless possibilities, and most will require multiple enclosures.
Cute! 
But are they really Greeks? What subspecies are they? The color/pattern looks unusual to me - but I'm definitely not an expert.
I also had two (Hermanns) hatchlings at first and they never tried to get out of each others way. In the first year they didn't even explore half of the enclosure, so I guess they were content with staying together in their familiar hide.
But are they really Greeks? What subspecies are they? The color/pattern looks unusual to me - but I'm definitely not an expert.
I also had two (Hermanns) hatchlings at first and they never tried to get out of each others way. In the first year they didn't even explore half of the enclosure, so I guess they were content with staying together in their familiar hide.
Cute!
But are they really Greeks? What subspecies are they? The color/pattern looks unusual to me - but I'm definitely not an expert.
I also had two (Hermanns) hatchlings at first and they never tried to get out of each others way. In the first year they didn't even explore half of the enclosure, so I guess they were content with staying together in their familiar hide.
Sorry, I have posted my thread in the false forum. They are Testudo hermanni, no greeks.
No, that was my fault.
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Two baby Hermann's can easily be kept together with no issues at all. It is only when they become sexually mature that you may encounter problems. Two males generally cannot be kept together. A male and a female kept together will usually be very stressful on the female due to the males constant courting. It could also result in physical injury. Two females kept together are fine. There have been very rare cases of aggression with two mature females but it is almost unheard of.
Not sure where the belief that keeping two babies originated but is simply is not true.
Not sure where the belief that keeping two babies originated but is simply is not true.
