Spur-thighed Greek and Marginated

georgeamis

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I have had a spur-thighed greek tortoise (Noah) since October 2018, and he is lovely!

I am considering getting another tortoise, I have read up on and researched the extra space and other considerations needed when introducing two tortoises.

My question is, can Noah be joined by a marginated tortoise, or is it better for him to be joined by another spur-thighed greek tortoise?

Or additionally is there another type of tortoise that would get on with Noah?
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

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Torts are loners , they don’t want to share their food , water ,or their hide box !
 

Yvonne G

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The answer to your question is just what Grampa turtle said: Neither. Tortoises should not be kept in pairs. You will end up with a dominant and a subordinant. The dominant will continuously try to get the meeker tortoise out of the territory. The meeker tortoise will try to stay hidden to keep out of his way/sight. He will stop eating, he won't grow, he will eventually die and that takes a LONG time. Very stressful for both animals. Groups might work if the enclosure is big enough, but pairs very, very seldom.

The other part of the answer is that species should never be mixed.
 

SweetGreekTorts

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I agree wholeheartedly with the above. Tortoises are not a social species. Another tortoise added to the enclosure is only seen as competition for everything.

If you want to get a second tortoise, you should get a second enclosure for it too. Greeks in particular can be very aggressive in pairs.

I also discourage mixing species. I keep multiple different subspecies and locales of Greek tortoises and I won't even mix them.
 
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