I have a lonely aggressive male. He wouldn't do very well with another male but needs some company. I have a large yard that could be fenced in if necessary. He already has a huge out door enclose but I think he is a little lonely. I will spare no expense to make another sulcata comfortable. But I need an adult. Just to be clear, I am not looking to breed. I just think my boy needs some company in his big lonely yard!!! I live in South Carolina by the way.
Wanted: Female sulcata between 5/10 years of age.
- Thread starter lstuart
- Start date
the truth is torts don't get lonely they love there own territory
. I'm pretty sure if they are kept together they might breed.
. I'm pretty sure if they are kept together they might breed.
keeping two sulcatas together can be stressful for torts because one of the torts will almost always become dominant. the dominant tort will harass and some times injure the the lesser tort. but if the yard is big enough for the lesser tort can run away and hide its ok to keep them together or you could have a bunch of females and your one male to even out the harassment between the females.
how big is the yard you are going to keep both torts in?
how big is the yard you are going to keep both torts in?
How big is the enclosure he is in now? Sounds like he is pacing from stress. This could be either no area to escape the sun, or too small of enclosure. Breeding will take place if you introduce a female, and you will get eggs. Lots of them.
My sulcata lives in a pretty large yard, but he still marches along the fenceline. This is just something sulcatas do. They pace their territory. I'm thinking he's making sure no one has gotten in that he has to chase out.
You can see the path he has worn along side the fence. Dudley is a 110lb male sulcata.
You can see the path he has worn along side the fence. Dudley is a 110lb male sulcata.
He is not lonely. They don't get lonely. He wants interaction with you and your family because he associates you with food and because that is the nature of the sulcata species.
Tortoises should never be kept in pairs. He would likely harass that female to death, if he doesn't just kill her outright. If she does survive, you will get eggs.
I assure you, your tortoise is quite happy as the sole king of the castle. Adding another tortoise would be a mistake. If you want another one make a separate enclosure. If you decide to ignore our advice and get one any way, don't forget to quarantine for several months. Don't risk the health of your current tortoise.
Tortoises should never be kept in pairs. He would likely harass that female to death, if he doesn't just kill her outright. If she does survive, you will get eggs.
I assure you, your tortoise is quite happy as the sole king of the castle. Adding another tortoise would be a mistake. If you want another one make a separate enclosure. If you decide to ignore our advice and get one any way, don't forget to quarantine for several months. Don't risk the health of your current tortoise.
I've seen so many pictures of people with several large sulcatas in the same enclosure. But from what I'm reading here it seems like that is not the norm. I've always wanted to have at least 3...but is it not possible for them to coexist in the same space if the space were large enough? I would never want to risk any injury of my boy.
Groups are different than pairs. The behavior dynamics are totally different. They can be kept in groups with one mature male and at least 2, but better 3-4 females. This usually works behaviorally, BUT you will literally have a baby factory on your hands. For about 9 months of every year you will be up to your elbows in babies. You will have a constant stream of new nests, incubators full of eggs, you'll have to make brooder boxes, and lots and lots of large indoor enclosures to start the several hundred babies you will get every year until you can find homes for them all. Once they get going EACH female can produce 60-100 babies a year. What will you do with 300-400 babies a year? Do you have the contacts to move that kind of inventory? Do you have the space, time, money and desire to care for 100 more tortoises at a time all year long?
If you want to get into that sort of operation, I'll be glad to help you. I just want to make sure you know how big of a mouthful you are biting off. Its HUGE! I did it for several years and gave it up. It was so much work that I was not enjoying myself anymore. All day every day was spent managing care for the babies. It was a huge burden on me and my family. It was just too much.
So again, your tortoise is perfectly happy all alone. They are not pack animals and don't want other tortoises around. It sounds like you have an idyllic situation there with lots of space and a happy well adjusted social tortoise. I wouldn't mess with that.
On the other hand, I of all people understand the desire to have more tortoises. Just make each one its own enclosure. Then you will have more than one tortoise, they will all be happy and healthy, and you will have plenty of daily work to do.
If you want to get into that sort of operation, I'll be glad to help you. I just want to make sure you know how big of a mouthful you are biting off. Its HUGE! I did it for several years and gave it up. It was so much work that I was not enjoying myself anymore. All day every day was spent managing care for the babies. It was a huge burden on me and my family. It was just too much.
So again, your tortoise is perfectly happy all alone. They are not pack animals and don't want other tortoises around. It sounds like you have an idyllic situation there with lots of space and a happy well adjusted social tortoise. I wouldn't mess with that.
On the other hand, I of all people understand the desire to have more tortoises. Just make each one its own enclosure. Then you will have more than one tortoise, they will all be happy and healthy, and you will have plenty of daily work to do.
I have quite a few tortoises, but there's only one tortoise in the sulcata yard. And that's the way he likes it.
Thank you for the advice Tom and everyone else. Currently I have no desire to breed spurred tortoises. It breaks my heart to even imagine what happens to the majority of the babies when they are purchased by someone who doesn't realize the responsibility they are taking on from the moment they take that cute "little"baby home. But back to the subject of owning more than one. I guess a female is out of the question unless completely separate. I have two acres of land that I could fence in. Would it even be feasible to have several males in one 2 acre enclosure with smaller separated "sleeping areas"? Or would that still be too risky? I don't want to segment off my entire yard, for obvious reasons.
People do it, but you have to be aware that it probably won't work out, and you would have to be prepared to separate them.
Yvonne is correct as usual.
Male herds can work successfully with the right enclosure and the right individuals, but you will have to be ready with a separate enclosure for each animal, in case things go south one day. Often it works fine for a while, and then one day battle erupts, for no apparent reason. Sometimes it doesn't work at all for one minute. They will literally kill each other if you let them. We have a member named Laura here who keeps a group of four males together, but I think she recently had to break them up. @Laura, Can you fill in the blanks for me?
You stand a good chance with two acres. Make sure there are lots of visual barriers. I put old logs and boulders in my pens. I also make my enclosures go around buildings and structures when possible. his way they can get out of each others sight, and they always have shade available.
Good luck whichever way you go. I'd be thrilled to see some more adult sulcatas go to a great home with lots of room.
