RT sleeping position

[russiantortoise]

I read somewhere that if a Russian tortoise sleeps with his arms and legs stretched out it means they are happy. Is this it?

 

[dmmj]

I wouldn't say happy per se, that is just how they like to bask.

 

[russiantortoise]

Do you know how I could tell if he's happy?

 

[dmmj]

I would say happy is a subjective term. Provide food, water, sunlight, and a nice enclosure and it should be happy. But they won't wag their tails or anything like that, a certain amount of faith is involved.

 

[Bobo's Dad]

Do you know how I could tell if he's happy?

I believe from the experts that is called the "Death Pose" and it symbolizes that the Tortoise is happy and relaxed enough to "sprawl out"

Just what I have heard everywhere hope it helps!

 

[russiantortoise]

That's a relief! Now I know that he's happy.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

All turtles assume this stretched-out position when basking. It allows them to expose more of their body to the warmth, as well as to absorb more UV radiation from the sun, which is good for their appetite, calcium metabolism, and immune system.

If a turtle is basking like this, it means he feels safe and comfortable enough to expose his head and limbs while he rests, often with his eyes closed. I consider this a form of contentment and happiness.

 

[russiantortoise]

Thanks! He usually sleeps with his legs stretched out and sometimes sleeps in the open, closed eyes. I'm also getting him a female companion close to Christmas!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Thanks! He usually sleeps with his legs stretched out and sometimes sleeps in the open, closed eyes. I'm also getting him a female companion close to Christmas!

A word of caution about companionship in tortoises. Most tortoise species, including the Russian, are solitary and come together only to mate. In the wild, each Russian tortoise has a home range of some 25-50 acres, which is quite large for such a small animal.

In captivity, if you put one male in an indoor enclosure with one female, I guarantee it won't be long until the male starts courting the female. This consists of head-bobbing and shell-ramming, as well as biting about the face and forelimbs. A few bouts of this is normal, and can lead to healthy mating and offspring. However, if a male and female live together all the time, the male is going to end up stressing the female out or injuring her with his frequent advances.

If you want to keep more than one Russian tortoise, here are your options:

1) Keep them in completely separate enclosures. You could let them come into supervised contact every now and then, especially if you want to breed them. Otherwise, don't leave them alone together.

2) You could keep 1 male with 2-4 females in a large outdoor enclosure (or 2 males with 4-8 females, etc). That way, courtship and aggression are spread out over many individuals, and no one individual gets stressed out by all the attention.

If you don't do one of these things, your female could end up sick or even dead. I say all this not to alarm you, but only to press home the point that, if you want more than one Russian tortoise in your house, you will need more room, and usually separate pens.

 

[russiantortoise]

Can I put another male with him?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Even worse. Two males in the same indoor enclosure are going to fight. In nature, the loser would leave, but in captivity he can't, and is just going to get continually bullied until he gets sick or even killed.

Two females may get along better than two males, but crowding is still an issue, and one can still bully the other.

Basically, if you want to keep multiple tortoises, you need to either provide them with a very large outdoor enclosure, or else multiple smaller enclosures instead where they can live alone.

 

[russiantortoise]

I was in petsmart the other day and in the small tanks were they kept the Russian tortoises I saw there was only 1 male and 1 female and they were mating

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I was in petsmart the other day and in the small tanks were they kept the Russian tortoises I saw there was only 1 male and 1 female and they were mating

You were lucky to be able to observe mating, if that's indeed what it was (might have just been dominance-mounting). But in general, pet store animals live in fairly crowded conditions, have a short residence time, and may be malnourished or parasite-laden. So, they are usually not in the mood to fight for a territory or mating opportunities. Until, that is, you bring them home and they start feeling better. That's when their personality reemerges and they become feisty again.

 

[kanalomele]

Here are just a few things to think about before adding to your tortoise collection. Your tortoises good health and continued comfort do not require any sort of companion. Many people anthropomorphise their animals and attribute human emotions to them . They do not get lonely or miss the friends they had before. These animals are only ever together for occasional and seasonal mating. They do not seek one anothers company for any other reason. Unless you would be able to provide large separate indoor and outdoor enclosures for them as well as incubate and properly care for their offspring then you should not look to add another. In my opinion it would only jeopardize the health of them both, creating a potentially expensive and unnecessary vet bill for yourself.

If however you are able to provide all of that for the next 40 or so years then please get at least 2 females so one can have a break while the male pesters the other.

 

[russiantortoise]

Is there any way I can get tortoise without building another habitat?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

If you want to keep just two tortoises, you're going to need to keep them in separate pens (except for periods of supervised interaction). If you have a large outdoor enclosure with lots of hiding places, then you can get away with keeping two, although it's a safer bet to keep at least three (aggression dilution).