New tort

[Ryuu2713]

Well, I got a new redfoot, haven't decided on a name, debating Bowser, Koopa, or one of the ninja turtles!

I was worried about my current redfood, Ralph, being territorial or something, but he's always been a bashful little bugger, and he seems quietly curious, but terrified of the new little baby. Every time the littler one moves, he hides in his shell.

Ralph is one year old, and a little bigger, but not by much.

 

[bigred]

Well, I got a new redfoot, haven't decided on a name, debating Bowser, Koopa, or one of the ninja turtles!

I was worried about my current redfood, Ralph, being territorial or something, but he's always been a bashful little bugger, and he seems quietly curious, but terrified of the new little baby. Every time the littler one moves, he hides in his shell.

Ralph is one year old, and a little bigger, but not by much.

Always exciting to get a new tort, Im sure they will be fine together

 

[Ryuu2713]

I'm actually getting a little worried. Ralph walked up to the new one and stuck his face into the little one's. He opened his mouth like he was gonna bite, but I said something and it scared him.

Should I be concerned?

 

[nearpass]

I'm actually getting a little worried. Ralph walked up to the new one and stuck his face into the little one's. He opened his mouth like he was gonna bite, but I said something and it scared him.

Should I be concerned?

If you have them together, in my opinion, I'd separate them. It's really easy for an older, larger tort to intimidate a new/ smaller one, and that leads to lots of stress, not eating, etc. I'd want to isolate them for a while anyway, incase of illness or disease. You never know what might crop up.

 

[Ryuu2713]

Ralph has always been an incredibly timid tortoise, I didn't really expect him to be aggressive, and I was under the impression redfoots got along well together.

Any advice on getting them to get along..?

 

[Yvonne G]

You should always have a quarantine period when adding new tortoises to an existing group.

 

[Ryuu2713]

How would that serve to lower the aggression though? What do I need to do?

 

[luvpetz27]

How are they doing today?

 

[Ryuu2713]

Eventually, they went to separate hides and went to bed last night. When I got up in the morning, I fed them separately, and then put a wall in the enclosure to keep them apart till I got home, I just took it down, so I guess we'll see.

 

[stinax182]

i would also quarantine the baby. there are many unknowns with a new tortoise and you don't want to endanger either. as for controlling the aggression, maybe after settling in and getting on a healthy schedule with you, the smaller one will be able to handle it. almost any time you have multiple torts together there will be a hierarchy, but healthy torts can deal with it while sick and/or stressed torts cannot. if there is still aggression i suggest adding more hides and planting some small bushes or other plants for camouflage.