Tortoise Bullying

[sagoandsugee]

Hello,
I've had 2 Horsefields for about a year now that were brought when they were both 6 months old. When I first got them they lived well together and both ate. But recently one tortoise has started to hide away more and not eat as much and he appears considerably smaller than the other. Yesterday the larger tortoise bit the small one removing some scales from his leg, I moved the apart and saw the other going for him again, at which point I obviously removed the smaller one. I've now moved him to a different enclosure and they do seem to be eating much more and appear much more active.
Does anyone know what else I can do to help them?
I'm worried about his health as he also has developed quite puffy looking eyes, perhaps the other tortoise may have attacked him prior?
I've given him eye drops is there anything else I can do.

Many Thanks.

 

[SinLA]

Yeah, no pairs. Read this it might help with a number of things, even if you consider yourself an experienced owner. But here is the section on pairs:

9. Pairs: Tortoises should never be housed in pairs. Groups of juveniles can sometimes work, but not pairs. Group dynamics are different than pair dynamics. Whenever there are just two, one will be dominant and the other submissive. The dominant is clearly telling the submissive to "GET OUT!" of my territory, but the submissive can't. This can be seen in animals as primitive as flatworms. Most people do not see the signs in tortoises. Our tortoises don't have the ability to growl. They don't have lips to snarl, or hackles to raise, yet they show their hostility just the same, but in their own way. Following each other, cuddling in a shelter, sleeping face to face, sitting on the food pile... All of these are blatant tortoise aggression. People are looking for biting, ramming and other overt signs. Those overt behaviors do happen in some cases, but more often the two tortoises are just forced to live in each other's space in a state of constant chronic stress, while the owner thinks everything is just fine because they aren't actively attacking and biting each other. It is NOT fine. Keep tortoises alone, which is totally fine, or in groups of three or more, which can sometimes lead to other problems down the road as they all begin to mature. Tortoises do not want or need company. Some species tolerate company better than others, but none should be kept in pairs. For some breeding projects, it is advantageous to raise them up in groups, but never pairs. If you only want two tortoises, that is great. Get two separate enclosures. And two outdoor enclosures for fair weather too.

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[wellington]

Totally keeping them separate from here on, the smaller one should improve.
We stress this all the time on here, no pairs. Unfortunately you had to learn the hard way.

 

[Tom]

I'm worried about his health as he also has developed quite puffy looking eyes, perhaps the other tortoise may have attacked him prior?

Moving is very stressful. Leave the smaller one in its familiar home, and move the dominant one.

Read the link from SinLA. It will be an eye opener.