Pair of sulcata?
- Thread starter Hai
- Start date
Minority2
Well-Known Member
No. They need to be separated.
Separate
Sulcatas are solitary animals. They are territorial and regard others simply as rivals for food and territory. Bullying is common regardless of gender or relationship.
If you want a second sulcata they must be kept entirely separately even when they weigh over 100lb each. If you decide to breed from in years to come then introduce them to mate before separating them again.
If you want a second sulcata they must be kept entirely separately even when they weigh over 100lb each. If you decide to breed from in years to come then introduce them to mate before separating them again.
JasonThornton
New Member
I actually disagree with the other posters on this thread about them being completely solitary. One of my favorite Youtubers is Kamp Kenan, he has 11 adult sulcatas in one enclosure and they do fine. I believe he has 3.8 (3 males:8 females) in that enclosure. He just did a video a few weeks ago about how he was adding the 3rd male to that enclosure and the males will fight with each other so you will have to watch for that, but it died down after a few weeks. I think really it was a one time thing.
Here is the video:
This guy's channel is a great resourse for all things Tortoise.
Here is the video:
This guy's channel is a great resourse for all things Tortoise.
A lot of the information he gives out is outdated, and most of it is geared towards where he lives geographically. Also, you're talking about 11 sulcatas. What we're talking about is a pair, whether it's a male/female, male/male or female/female. PAIRS don't do well at all!
Kamp Kenan is definitely not a good resource for all things tortoises. He gives out outdated, sometimes just flat out incorrect, information, has some very questionable care practices like mixing species(and telling others to do the same, like telling someone housing a bearded dragon with a Russian Tortoise is okay), all the while calling himself an expert. He himself has also said that he has found dead males in his beards from losing fights.
Another thing you have to realize, is that he has groups. In groups, the aggression is spread out and not directed at one individual. They can also establish a pecking order. He also has lots of land for his tortoises, so they have more of an opportunity to escape.
In pairs, there’s always a dominant and a subordinate. They are constantly stressed because one is constantly being bullied, and the other can never get the subordinate out of its territory. Neither can ever escape from each other in an enclosure, and the dominant will usually seek the subordinate to chase it away.
Even though they can be kept in groups, they absolutely are still solitary animals, and do much better alone.
LittleBit
Member
Yes he did, BUT he also said one of his males killed the other male while he was on vacation!!!!
He mentions here about how the male was killed:
LittleBit
Member
Listening to your heart when it comes to keeping Sulcatas as a pair is foolish. They don't get lonely, they don't want a friend and you will have a bullied tortoise that gets sick.
I advise OP to follow the advice of the experienced keepers on here and only get two if you have room to keep them entirely separately even when they weigh over 100lb each which they soon will.
sincebirth
New Member
OMG! im a newbie.. got 4 baby sullies and they are all together in one enclosure 
i was so excited to have plenty of them good thing my wife allowed me 5 tortoise only.. so my last buy will be an aldabra tortoise soon.. i need to raise these sullies before upgrading to aldabra
i was so excited to have plenty of them good thing my wife allowed me 5 tortoise only.. so my last buy will be an aldabra tortoise soon.. i need to raise these sullies before upgrading to aldabra
4 sullies and a soon-to-be aldabra? Ambitious much? Lol. I had to convince my wife for months to let me get my sully. I think its only because she got tired of hearing about it. Lol. On the bright side... it keeps me out of her hair a little while longer now, so she's happy now.OMG! im a newbie.. got 4 baby sullies and they are all together in one enclosure
sincebirth
New Member
yes four baby sullies
and yes im planning to get one aldabra when these four survive raising them hahaha my wife is still reluctant on my plans LOL
kazjimmy
Active Member
2 is not ok. But more then 2 is ok. 3 would be better.
