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I have an 8 month old leopard tort and want to get a new hatchling for a friend for him. Is it ok for them to be paired together?
Pairing torts
- Thread starter alexialawrence
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no its not. tortoises dont do well in pairs. in groups of three or more theres a better chance of them getting along, but theres always a possibility of one getting bullied. if you do end up going with a trio, you need to make sure there is plenty of room for each tortoise. or for a pair, they need separate enclosures.
0.1.0 Sonoran Desert Tortoise
0.0.1 Leopard Tortoise
1.0.0 Bluenose Pitbull/American Bulldog
0.1.0 Sonoran Desert Tortoise
0.0.1 Leopard Tortoise
1.0.0 Bluenose Pitbull/American Bulldog
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Well I just did some research and every site said they're not aggressive and they can be kept in pairs.
Leopards are one of the less aggressive torts. However, that does not mean they can be kept in pairs all the time. Don't forget, not very many "other sites" have the best information out there. They do better in pairs if they were raised as a pair.
If you decide you want to try it, quarantine your new one for approx 3 months to be sure there is no illness he will bring to your other one. Then, you will have to wait until they are closer to size before putting them together. Then watch very closely for any bullying. It's not always very obvious either. Then be prepared to separate them if it does happen.
If you decide you want to try it, quarantine your new one for approx 3 months to be sure there is no illness he will bring to your other one. Then, you will have to wait until they are closer to size before putting them together. Then watch very closely for any bullying. It's not always very obvious either. Then be prepared to separate them if it does happen.
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Awe mannn :/ I really want another one! Lol
Why don't you want two more other ones
. If you have room to separate them if it, bullying happens, go for it. However, the one you have now will be almost a year old after the 3 month quarantine. Look for one closer to the age of the one you have, better yet, look for two the age of the one you have.
. If you have room to separate them if it, bullying happens, go for it. However, the one you have now will be almost a year old after the 3 month quarantine. Look for one closer to the age of the one you have, better yet, look for two the age of the one you have.
Don't do a pair.
I have 4 leopards (had 5 ) but I have seen first hand the difference between keeping 1 alone, 2 together, 3, 4 and 5 together. Everything is always peachy king except when just 2 are together. I notice when only 2 are together one of them has a different behavior. One hides more. Not a drastic difference but enough to notice. None of mine have yet chased, rammed, bitten or been outwardly aggressive BUT I do notice that when it's only 2, one of them is different. Add another tort and then that "shy" one is fine.
Doors my rambling make sense? Lol.
In a nut shell, a Leopard group is great! Just don't do a pair.
Sent from my TFOapp
I have 4 leopards (had 5
) but I have seen first hand the difference between keeping 1 alone, 2 together, 3, 4 and 5 together. Everything is always peachy king except when just 2 are together. I notice when only 2 are together one of them has a different behavior. One hides more. Not a drastic difference but enough to notice. None of mine have yet chased, rammed, bitten or been outwardly aggressive BUT I do notice that when it's only 2, one of them is different. Add another tort and then that "shy" one is fine. Doors my rambling make sense? Lol.
In a nut shell, a Leopard group is great! Just don't do a pair.
Sent from my TFOapp
My concern would be more for the age and size difference. The bigger tort could easily bully the little guy by accident even. The care is different as well, or rather, will be quite soon. If you want a new tort get one, but your current tort does not need or want a friend. If you have the space, get two more and keep them separate.
Is having two enclosures an issue? Seems to be an easy solution...
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Re: RE: Pairing torts
Hi, could you be troubled to put links to these web sites here. I'm interested to see the result of your research.
Will
alexialawrence said:
Hi, could you be troubled to put links to these web sites here. I'm interested to see the result of your research.
Will
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Tom said:
Having two enclosures is not an issue but buying the heat pad, heat lamp, UVB light. Is all expensive for me
Will said:
I could only see one site from my history. I don't know what happened to the other ones.
http://www.reptilechannel.com/care-sheets/leopard-tortoise.aspx
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Thanks alexialawrence.
Both Richard and Jerry Fife are well regarded by many people ( me included) for the results of their long term reptile keeper and breeding experience. That greater experience might have influenced the inclusion of the idea it is OK to keep them together in such close quarters. I tend to me more conservative, and with as much experience, would not elect to keep adults together without more space and several visual barriers (things that block tortoises eye level views of each other).
Another TFO member posted pictures of a pen design in a large "U" shape which provides separate 'areas' for each adult, that is smart design in action
The real key to the situation is lots of observation. Close daily monitoring is essential for what I would consider a crowded enclosure (two adult Leos in a 10 by 10 pen). Even with that, the modest stress of that scenario would be enough to put one of the tortoises into a 'weakened' state, so any other stressor, could push them into a not so slow decline to death.
What is not included in articles like that linked to, are statistics of how or why many of the captive animals have not done well in those standards reported.
Another famous, now anyways, turtle keeper once told me with uninhibited pride, they never had a turtle die in their care. That was no doubt 100% true. Further conversation revealed they had less than ten animals for less than four or five years. That was about 30 years ago. Their record has changed. But many of the lessons learned are not used to inform current practices.
It is a "best practice" to not crowd or group large tortoises despite what you may see in zoos are other collections.
Will
Both Richard and Jerry Fife are well regarded by many people ( me included) for the results of their long term reptile keeper and breeding experience. That greater experience might have influenced the inclusion of the idea it is OK to keep them together in such close quarters. I tend to me more conservative, and with as much experience, would not elect to keep adults together without more space and several visual barriers (things that block tortoises eye level views of each other).
Another TFO member posted pictures of a pen design in a large "U" shape which provides separate 'areas' for each adult, that is smart design in action
The real key to the situation is lots of observation. Close daily monitoring is essential for what I would consider a crowded enclosure (two adult Leos in a 10 by 10 pen). Even with that, the modest stress of that scenario would be enough to put one of the tortoises into a 'weakened' state, so any other stressor, could push them into a not so slow decline to death.
What is not included in articles like that linked to, are statistics of how or why many of the captive animals have not done well in those standards reported.
Another famous, now anyways, turtle keeper once told me with uninhibited pride, they never had a turtle die in their care. That was no doubt 100% true. Further conversation revealed they had less than ten animals for less than four or five years. That was about 30 years ago. Their record has changed. But many of the lessons learned are not used to inform current practices.
It is a "best practice" to not crowd or group large tortoises despite what you may see in zoos are other collections.
Will
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Thank you for all the info guys
The U shape design is interesting. Thanks for sharing that Will.
I agree with everyone. Seems like three is the magic number for a happy little herd.
I agree with everyone. Seems like three is the magic number for a happy little herd.
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