Do tortoises prefer company?

[Pitcorthie]

Just wondered if tortoises are better with the company of another tortoise.Do they get lonely or are they not really bothered?
If you had two but later found that they were male & female would you need to seperate them all the time or is there a mating season? Do tortoises lay eggs even if they are not with a male like aquatic turtles? Sorry if these questions sound daft but I am a beginner


Sharon

[carl20]

hi i understand that tortoises prefer to be alone. Also they do lay infertile eggs and they will **** whenever they get randy

[shootinglou79]

lol carl i think you mean s***g as theres kids on ere :P

[Becks]

Linz i just sorted that 1 out

[shootinglou79]

gd one hun x

[Becks]

torts can live together but dont really need to and are very happy alone ..
if u did have a male and female you would have to think about space ect needed if the male would not leave the female alone.
as a male going on and on at her could stress her out ..
and yes a female can lay even tho there is not a male presant and produce infertile eggs but this does not happen oftern so ive been told ..usually it's an older females hat has been with a male at somepoint ..
hope that helps
becks xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Henry-flash]

Also consider the species some are more aggressive and terrororial than others. Take for example Horsfields in some cases they are very violent and aggressive to each other and so would need separate housing. Especially in the case of a male and female or 2 males or I expect 2 females could also have this problem. So you should be prepared to separate them of necesary. Other species can be aggresive to each other 2 but in general most are quite happy to live with each other, but there will always be one who has to spoil things So consider species and the individual torotises too.

[Dazza]

I am going to throw Contraversay on this one, and whilst i agree these animals are solitry, i have a group of males and a group of females living together, these came to me as pairs Male/Female when i put them all together to graze they ALWAYs seek out thier partners and are in close proximity whilst grazing.. The males have NEVER attepted to mate with the other females other than thier original mate, so it just goes to show there is some kind of a bond formed from these long term partners..

Any comments would be greatly appreciated...

Darren

[Henry-flash]

aww thats sweet Dazza shows they recognise each other after a time.

[Lisa McIntyre]

Originally Posted by Henry-flash

Also consider the species some are more aggressive and terrororial than others. Take ofr examplm Horsfiedls in most cases they are very violent and aggressive to each other and so would need separate housing. Especially in the case of a male and female or 2 males or I expect 2 females could also have this problem. So you should be prepared to separate them of necesary. Other species can be aggresive to each other 2 but in general most are quite happy to live with each other, but there will always be one who has to spoil things So consider species and the individual torotises too.

Just wanted to point out that although Peter is correct and brings up the point that all tortoises are individuals and you should always be prepared to seperate if necessary, that isnt always the case. My group of 11 russians live in completely harmony together and I rarely, if ever, get any fighting. Just wanted to point that out as sometimes, people are put off russians by their "aggressive" reputation.