TRUE OR FALSE? (alone or in a group?)

[yillt]

Hello! Is it true that if you have a tortoise who lives by himself for his whole life he will become restless and aggressive and will walk back and forth the walls of his cage. Is it true that they need to be in a group. Billy seems fine by himself but he does sometimes pace back and forth.

 

[wellington]

The consenses it that most species do better alone or in a large group. The pacing is more because in the wild they have endless room to roam and in captivity, well you know the answer to that one. I have heard of tortoises with lots of space, acres and they still pace. My leopard is in a much bigger area then he had last summer and he still paces. They do seem to pace the fence lines they can see out of more.

 

[dmmj]

Wellington, nailed it.

 

[Tom]

They sometimes engage in all of those behaviors whether or not they are alone or with other tortoises.

So a tortoise living alone might do all of the above, but it is not because he/she is living alone.

No it is not true that they need to be in a group. In most cases, living alone is best.

If yours is engaging in those behaviors you might need to increase enclosure size and add some interesting features, plants and "furniture".

 

[JoesMum]

They sometimes engage in all of those behaviors whether or not they are alone or with other tortoises.

So a tortoise living alone might do all of the above, but it is not because he/she is living alone.

No it is not true that they need to be in a group. In most cases, living alone is best.

If yours is engaging in those behaviors you might need to increase enclosure size and add some interesting features, plants and "furniture".

Tom is entirely correct. In the wild, tortoises roam large distances, meet up to mate and move on. They don't want or need company. The behaviour you describe is symptomatic of a small enclosure. Torotises are not social and don't get lonely.

 

[Len B]

My feelings are,( this is all speculation) If all their needs are met in a specific area, a tortoise or turtle will stay in that area, if there is enough for two then possibly they both may stay, and so on. But if something starts running short such as food, that is when the competition may start. Many years ago back in the 1950s and 60s I used to spend a lot of time in the wilds outside Washington DC and look for animals, what I saw was groups, sometimes large groups of a specific animal in small areas. The 2 that I remember as the best examples were eastern box turtles and spotted turtles. When it was time for the big turtle race in the town I lived in, it only took 2 days to find 50 adult box turtles for the race. All the turtles were released back in the areas where they came from which was called the cinder block factory that was near Suitland Parkway, and what we called the gravel pits. There were other specific areas with an over abundance of easterns near by. Spotted turtles were so common they were no fun to catch. They were found in what we called the swamps but today they are called bogs and one of those is still there, fenced in and protected. So lets say there is a perfect setting for multible tortoises to have everything they need in a specific area, would they leave or stay? As for captive tortoises I haven't the slitest idea whats possible, but I am trying to keep russians together (so far so good) and in the future will try keeping more than one adult sulcata in the same pen.

 

[yillt]

Ok. My tortoise does pace but he is not aggressive. Someone told me this so I thought I better ask.