Why they shouldn't be in pairs

[wellington]

Came upon these two Gopher tortoises Jousting...the males will do this over a mate, but females have been known to do this if they feel that another is... | By Chrissy Simmons Florida Nature | Facebook

Came upon these two Gopher tortoises Jousting...the males will do this over a mate, but females have been known to do this if they feel that another is...

fb.watch

 

[Blackdog1714]

A visual aid may help to dissuade people. Horrifying but educational

 

[Tom]

This is a good example of overt fighting, but my fear is that people will see this and say, "Well my two tortoises never do any of that, and I've had them together for X number of years, so they are fine..."

 

[SinLA]

This is a good example of overt fighting, but my fear is that people will see this and say, "Well my two tortoises never do any of that, and I've had them together for X number of years, so they are fine..."

I agree with Tom.

I know you have a section on pairs in your "for new people" FAQ, but maybe we need a separate FAQ about pairs that goes into this explicitly

 

[wellington]

This is a good example of overt fighting, but my fear is that people will see this and say, "Well my two tortoises never do any of that, and I've had them together for X number of years, so they are fine..."

Anything might help. But there are those that it's not going to matter what you, I or anyone else says. They will still do as they want!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

This is a good example of overt fighting, but my fear is that people will see this and say, "Well my two tortoises never do any of that, and I've had them together for X number of years, so they are fine..."

You just know that's going to happen

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Do we still have photo's of bloody bites and missing limbs from earlier posts?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Came upon these two Gopher tortoises Jousting...the males will do this over a mate, but females have been known to do this if they feel that another is... | By Chrissy Simmons Florida Nature | Facebook

Came upon these two Gopher tortoises Jousting...the males will do this over a mate, but females have been known to do this if they feel that another is...

fb.watch

I've also seen videos of a tortoise getting credit for "rescuing" another tortoise by flipping it back over right side up.
No mention of why it was upside down...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Anything might help. But there are those that it's not going to matter what you, I or anyone else says. They will still do as they want!

Doing horrible things out of convenience really ticks me off.

 

[Cathie G]

It's not just a two males in the same area thing. What if a certain female doesn't like a certain male and he's desperate. They are picky. She'll beat the tar out of him. Vet bills. I don't know anyone that has 24 hours a day to watch and make sure they really are always lovey dovey. Or even 12 hours for that matter 😉 so no

 

[TammyJ]

I think most people can understand obvious outright aggression. But the less aggressive form of bullying, like crowding up against the other one, is mistaken for cuddling, so it is looked upon with approval and fondness while the animals suffer.

 

[wellington]

I've also seen videos of a tortoise getting credit for "rescuing" another tortoise by flipping it back over right side up.
No mention of why it was upside down...

Yes, I'm always explaining the real bullying/fighting going on with those videos.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It's not just a two males in the same area thing. What if a certain female doesn't like a certain male and he's desperate. They are picky. She'll beat the tar out of him. Vet bills. I don't know anyone that has 24 hours a day to watch and make sure they really are always lovey dovey. Or even 12 hours for that matter 😉 so no

My most territorial tortoise is a female.
She tolerates NO ONE

 

[Cathie G]

My most territorial tortoise is a female.
She tolerates NO ONE

I've seen a female gopher go at it and war break out in a second. The poor guy didn't have a chance. So no I won't. If I was a breeder I would probably use a baby Cam etc just to keep a noninvasive way to watch the shenanigans at all times. And like hummingbirds separate them immediately afterwards. They don't really like each other. It sucks but that's how they are 😋

 

[SinLA]

I think the biggest issue is people seeing behavior that is cute if done by mammals and interpreting it as the same for reptiles, rather than deadly.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I think the biggest issue is people seeing behavior that is cute if done by mammals and interpreting it as the same for reptiles, rather than deadly.

Exactly