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Old 07-02-2009, 04:44 PM   #1
3lli3 xx
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hey everyone, recently, ive been nagging my mum for another tort, and i think im finelly getting to her, she is just sure to torts cant live together cos there territorial, just because she heard that from a shopkeeper is this right, cos a lot of u keep torts together!
if this is the case i shall probably get another enclosure and gt a different breed for a change but i would prefebly want another dwarf hermann living with jasper
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Old 07-02-2009, 05:02 PM   #2
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Hi i have two torts and they live together with no problems, but i would reccomend if you get a second one that you put he or she in quarantine for up to 18months, just to be on the safe side incase the new one maybe carrying anything that your unaware of
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Old 07-02-2009, 05:04 PM   #3
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Also if you end up with to males you could be in trouble in a few years down the line, as the males tend to bite eachother and fight alot!
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Old 07-02-2009, 06:03 PM   #4
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There also is no such thing as a dwarf hermans. This causes lots of confusion if the right speices name is not used They are hermanni hermanni.
The only time you get problems usually with tortoises are when they are different sexes.
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Old 07-02-2009, 06:36 PM   #5
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would you reccomend getting a female to go with jasper then?
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Old 08-02-2009, 12:49 PM   #6
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Yes but it's really hard to sex them properly when there so young! So it's just the luck of the draw really, best of luck
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Old 08-02-2009, 01:08 PM   #7
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If you buy from a reputable breeder, they might have a better idea if they have females or not.
I breed ibera, and have some hatchlings left from August, and I do try and guess which are female and which are males. There are no guarentees but a better chance.
I think all my ibera hatchlings are female, one I am not so sure about. But I do incubate for females, but you can get mixed clutches. Any of the ibera I have decided to keep (first hatchling from a particular female) so far have all been females. So you can get a better idea of what sex they are.
Sorry for rambling on
So hermans breeders can be the same.
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Old 09-02-2009, 01:42 PM   #8
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I have two male hermanns who were living together happily for 3 years with their old owner, but when they came to live with me last September the larger tortoise (7yrs old) starting attacking the smaller one (3yrs old). He actually cut the little one above the eye so they have been separated now. I don't know If i would have left them to fight out dominance over the new territory if they would have eventually got along, but I chose not to risk it. I think it was the moving house which spurred them to start fighting out the new territory, I don't know if they'd never moved if they'd still get along?
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Old 09-02-2009, 02:59 PM   #9
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Thats quite a big age gap between the tortoises. So it could be a dominance thing.
If you can post a picture of their underside tail end, then someone will try and ID if they are male or female. Then it might give us a better idea on what is what
It also depends on if there is any difference in the amount of space they have, as the more space the better. You have done the right thing in seperating, as you dont want any real damage done to the smaller tortoise.
When you can get them outside, and in a bigger area it might get better, especially if we can id the sexes.
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Old 09-02-2009, 03:30 PM   #10
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I encountered this same situation last month and luckily, it turned out well for me (after some excellent advice from Sandy in a PM).

The first point to consider, and the most important point, is if things do go wrong and the Tortoises do end up fighting; do you have provisions to keep the new Tortoise in another enclosure? If you do and are happy with the possibility that you might have to accommodate two enclosures then go for it. If they do like each other then GREAT if they don't, at least you aren't stuck with another tortoise with no-where to place him. Sorry if this sounds extremely pessimistic but at the end of the day, we are dealing with live animals!

Secondly, is the current enclosure big enough to accommodate two Tortoises for the foreseeable future? My current enclosure for both of mine is 2 foot by 4 foot and it should suffice for at least the next two years (when I envisage an upgrade). Even still, at times I feel it is a tad too small to house them over the winter months (obviously, when summer hits, space isn't such an issue in the garden). So, the bigger the better; also, from experience, the bigger the less issues that being "cramped" will cause.

Thirdly, food costs - Remember, that the amount of weeds you must grow/gather will be doubled. If you are having trouble finding enough now, then it will be much harder getting enough for another mouth!

Fourthly, quarantine - Alot of people suggest that the two tortoises should be separated for a number of months before being "integrated" together. This is to make sure that if one Tortoise has something icky, then the other won't contract it. However, I personally skipped this stage and haven't had any bad effects (touch wood). Even still, I wouldn't recommend my approach since I was just incredibly luckily!

Fifthly, Gender - Having two males seems (from what I read) to be the most likely candidate for tortoise aggression. So, having either a male/female combination or female/female will be best. However, with the male/female remember that down the line in the future, you will have to deal with other Tortoise "shenanigans!".

Finally, if you are able to provide all the things above for the new tortoise then I say GO FOR IT. Remember, with another Tortoise, your enjoyment is not doubled but tripled. Since the two Tortoises will not only each interact with the environment but also with each other (In my case, with some very bizarre incidents). Mine haven't had any fights or aggression apart from the one isolated leg biting incident two weeks ago (I've put it down to the fact that Boadicea was sitting on the food whilst Spartacus was eating it). So, for me it was a great success, however, since Tortoises are such idiosyncratic creatures, anything could happen. So preparation for all eventualities is the key!
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