Why not to keep 2 tortoises together - a lesson learned the hard way

Today I would like to write about an important lesson that I learned the hard way: it is not a good idea to keep 2 tortoises together (yes, there are exceptions). 
When tortoise owners ask me if I think they should get a second tortoise, I tell them: only if they plan to get a second enclosure. Then I advise them to spend the money on spoiling their 1 tortoise first: build a big outdoor enclosure, enlarge the indoor enclosure, upgrade the lighting. Put some money into savings for emergency vet care (you'll need it at some point during your tortoise's 80 or so years of life!).

...."But she's so.... lonely!"

Believe me, I've been there. Humans seek companionship, as do many other mammals. We like to project our own feelings onto our pets, and so, we assume that our tortoise would be happier with a 'friend.' Please know that I am not judging you for wanting to get another tortoise. Getting a little 'friend' for a tortoise can be so tempting. The truth is: (except for a few species like redfoot torts, aldabras, or pancake torts), most tortoises are loners in the wild. They roam several acres, and only occasionally encounter other tortoises. If a tortoise encounters another, they will fight, mate, or both. Then they wander apart again (or one is chased away by the other).

When thinking about getting another tortoise,
a person often thinks they will be best buddies...

If you are thinking of getting your pet tortoise a 'buddy' then I hope you read my story first, and put some serious thought into your decision after reading about my experience. Keeping 2 tortoises together (especially of the testudo species) is NOT a cake walk.

In reality, it will look like this... *BITE!* ... a lot of the time.

If you get a male and a female, after much biting and bullying, there will be plenty of mating too. More than there would ever be in nature. Enough mating to kill the female.

No comment. 

If the female can't get away from the male, he will seek her out again and again (more than in nature, since there she CAN get away). My friend rescued a tortoise female earlier this year whose vent was terribly infected and torn and chafed and ripped from all the mating. It took her a long time to heal.

The infected, oozing, puss-filled tail of my friend's rescued female that was mated too much.
(I'm posting a small picture just so it's not too gross)

Here is how I learned my lesson:

I started out with one female Russian tortoise, Timmy. After I had her for a few years, I decided I'd like to get a second tortoise. A few knowledgeable people on the tortoise forums advised against this. They warned me that tortoises, especially the testudo species (to which Russian tortoises belong) are very territorial. They told me that the tortoises would compete for food, for the basking spot, for space. They told me that they would bite and ram, and one would become stressed, hurt, and might die.

"Timmy needs a friend. My tortoises will be different and won't fight."

For some reason, I was convinced that 'my' tortoises would be different. I set up a my enclosure with lots of site barriers. I soon adopted a little male, Roz. For the first 18 or so months, everything went well. There were NO signs of aggression, both tortoises ate together, basked together, slept together. Yay! My tortoises were the exception!

Wait. What?! My male is biting my female?! Oh no!

Then one day, Roz matured. Roz discovered that he was a rapist little man-tortoise with needs and urges. Roz discovered that he didn't like sharing his food. Roz discovered that he could boss Timmy around, in spite of being half her size. Roz became a big, mean, bossy, biting bully. Timmy lost scales on her legs, and even got a bite wound on her face once. Roz got to spend a lot of time in the time-out bin until I separated him permanently.

Watch this video of Roz bobbing his head at Timmy (which is territorial behavior), and then circling her and biting her:

In the wild, this is 'normal' courting behavior. However, in the wild, the female can get away! In captivity, while both tortoises were kept in the same enclosure, Roz wanted to mate with Timmy 15+ times each day. He spent his spare time bullying her away from the food or the basking spot. Timmy started to become withdrawn, and wanted to hide and sleep all the time. I separated the two, and she started eating again, thank goodness.

Now, the 'easy' solution would have been to re-home Roz. This, however, was not an option for me. I had made a commitment to care for him, and did not want to break this commitment. The 'harder' solution was to a) separate my male, b) build a larger enclosure, and c) get a little harem of female tortoises for him. It took me nearly a year to find females, since in the pet trade, most tortoises are male. I finally got Mila and Jill, and then Lady.

Roz and his harem, basking.

I know that some people will advise that two female tortoises will get along fine. I disagree: one will always be the underdog. At least for testudo species, if you want to keep multiple females together, you should get 3 or more. This way they are less likely to fight, and the bullying will be divided a little among them.
During the Summer, the tortoises happily (and peacefully) lived outside in the large tortoise garden I built them. They will be divided over several indoor tortoise tables for the winter.

They spread out over the entire tortoise garden, except to eat.

IF you decide you want more than 1 tortoise, please avoid keeping 2 males together, or 1 male and 1 female. Either 3 females (with LOTS of space) or 1 male and 3+ females might work... but even then, you may find yourself needing a degree in tortoise diplomatics!

IF you decide to keep multiple tortoises, please remember that the enclosure size must adjust accordingly for multiple tortoises! If the absolute minimum size for 1 tortoise is 2'x4', then each additional tortoise will need at least that much more space. As always, larger is better when it comes to tortoise enclosures!

How to build a tortoise table out of a bookshelf - Tutorial with pictures!

Lady, our newest rescue, was in need of a nice enclosure. For the first month with us, we kept her in an XL cement mixing tub, since she was too large for the rubbermaid bins I usually put new rescues in while they are in quarantine.

Lady, chowing down on a mix of plantain weed, dandelion, and miner's lettuce

Tortoises need space to dig, live, eat, explore, bask, and sleep. Ideally, we provide them with an outdoor enclosure where they can spend the warm months. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have a lot of cold rainy days each year, so a good, roomy indoor enclosure is important as well.

People often ask me what the 'minimum size' for a tortoise enclosure is. I tell them, as large as they possibly can make it. The ABSOLUTE minimum is 4ft x 2ft, and this would be for just one fairly small tortoise. In an enclosure this size, I have found that it is difficult to create the micro-climates a tortoise needs (hot basking spot, water dish, cool end, hides, feeding area etc). Owners who keep their tortoise in a small enclosure often complain that their tortoise either paces non-stop, or that the tortoise is 'boring' because it never does anything interesting.

Buying an enclosure large enough has the potential to break the bank - however, there are cheaper, easier, and much more awesome options! Today I am going to show you how you can make a very nice tortoise table out of a 2nd hand bookshelf.

Step1: buy a shelf. I found this nice 4ft x 3ft oak and oak veneer shelf on Craigslist for $30. It matches our other furniture nicely. The 3 shelves are removable. I used 2 of the shelves to fashion the legs of the tortoise table. I used the remaining one as the roof to the hide box.

4ft x 3ft bookshelf... 

Since you are working with a pre-existing shelf, you don't really need to know much about carpentry to do this project. If you don't sink a cement mixing tub into the floor like I did (for deeper digging), you don't even have to worry about creating legs.

I removed the backing, since it was made out of super flimsy material. I had to pull out the staples that fastened it. If the shelf you get has a more sturdy back, then you can leave it on.

Step 2: Cut plywood (found in our garage) to the proper size of the back of the shelf for the floor.
I used the shelf boards for legs in a later step. To account for this, on the short ends I deducted the thickness of 2 shelves from the length (so the shelf is 48", and the shelves were each 5/8ths of an inch thick. So I cut the wood 1 1/4 inches smaller than the 48"). I'll explain why later. If you don't plan to make legs, don't worry about it, and just cut the wood to fit the shelf back exactly.

Step 3: Trace the outline of the cement mixing tub. I made mine a little fancier than it needs to be, with a cement mixing tub sunken into the middle, to provide deeper soil for Lady to dig in.

The cement mixing tub is optional... but nice!

Step 4: Measure the 'lip' of the mixing tub and draw a line inside the traced line. This way when you cut the hole, the lip will rest on the wood, and the tub will be sunken through the hole.

The darker line is the inside line, where the hole will be cut.
The outside (lighter) line is where I traced around the tub.

Step 5: Ask a friend who has a jig saw to cut the hole into the wood. (That's right, I out-sourced) The drywall-cutting attachment of a Dremel would work fine for this, too... but I happened to have a friend with a jig saw handy.

Step 6: Use a belt sander or file to smooth the edges of the hole, so that the tub slides smoothly into it. You want the edges to be completely flush. I drew the inside line a little too small, so this was more work than it needed to be. After you finish, sweep off the board so there is no sawdust left on it.

Step 7: Attach the flooring material.
Using a good adhesive, glue down some vinyl flooring. I found some vinyl bathroom floor in our attic that worked fine. For previous projects I went to the local non-chain carpet store, and bought a huge remnant piece for $12. That was enough to cover the floors of several tortoise tables.
Measure the size of the vinyl first. You will need to place the shelf walls on the floor floor board (the way it will be later when assembled) and trace the line up to where the vinyl needs to go at the edges. It needs to stop before it touches the inside walls of the enclosure. The adhesive (I used Tuff Stuff) will likely need to dry for 24hrs. I put cement pavers on it to help weight it down.

Step 8: Attach the floor of the enclosure to the shelf using wood glue as well as screws. First position it correctly, so that the shelves that you will use as legs fit nicely on each end. The 'pretty' side of the shelf wood facing out, it should fit flushly. You can see what I mean in the picture in step 9.
Make sure you drill pilot holes for the screws.
Since I wanted to have the cement mixing tub, which I knew would be heavy, I built a little frame out of 1x2s that I happened to have in our garage. I drilled pilot holes through this little frame, and attached the floor to the shelf walls with screws that go through the 1x2s, through the floor, into the shelf walls.

Step 9: Using the shelf boards, make legs! :)
I used screws (from the inside side) to attach the two shelves (pretty side out) to the 1x2 of the little frame I built. I also used L-brackets at the corners for extra stability. I was going to attach little 1x2 legs behind the 'shelf legs' but found that it was so sturdy, this wasn't necessary. *click on the picture to see a larger version

The tortoise table is upside down, this is the bottom.

If you look closely, you will see that I attached a skinny little 1x2 piece as an additional leg in the middle. I didn't want to risk the weight being too much for the floor to support. I used an L-bracket.

Step 10: Sealing the edges. This is done to protect the wood from moisture (substrate, excrement, water dish spills etc).
First, flip the table over so it is right-side-up. It already looks pretty awesome, don't you think?
In previous tortoise tables, I used silicone caulking to seal the edges. I didn't have caulk on hand today, and wanted to forge ahead with the project, so I went on a search for alternative solutions in our garage. I came up with this 'Shurtape' which is the modern new-and-improved version of duct tape (Random fact: did you know that traditional duct tape is not supposed to be used for ducts any more?! It has been deemed a fire hazard, and it also turns un-sticky with temperature fluctuations). Shurtape is AWESOME because it sticks for about 1000 years, even in different temperatures. Unrolling carefully as I stuck it on, I coated each edge. The tape folds nicely in the corner between the floor and the wall, I cut it at each vertical corner. Then I put a second small piece into each vertical corner, so that the edges were flush. I cut small pieces for the rounded corners of the hole, too.
Then I ran one more layer of tape along the bottom of all 4 walls, all one piece. This way the substrate won't damage the walls.

The edges are taped with Shurtape. 

This was so much quicker and easier than caulking... though not as pretty. I used the handles of the scissors to smooth the tape, to make sure it stuck to all the little bumps of the vinyl flooring and the wood.

Step 11: Insert the tub! Lady is a very large female, and I hope some day she will lay eggs. Providing her with deep soil to dig in will also be fun for her, since Russian tortoises love to dig and burrow.

The tub is in!

Step 12: Using Shurtape, tape around the edge of the tub, attaching it firmly to the floor of the tortoise table, as well as sealing the crack so no substrate etc. can fall through. Darn, I was so eager to finish that I forgot to take a picture.

Step 13: Put in substrate (I chose to use organic soil, but coconut coir, bought as bricks and mixed with water, is a great choice, too). Put some flat rocks in the basking area, and a water dish. I like using pyrex baking dishes or pie pans (from Goodwill) since they are shallow enough for the tortoise to get out, and easy to wash. I still need to put some river rocks around the water dish to help keep the substrate out of it.

Almost done.
I will put in river rocks around the water dish tomorrow, as well as properly attaching the lights. 

Step 14: Using one of the shelf boards, make a little hide house. I used the pegs that had originally held the shelf up. I just inserted them so the shelf is held up horizontally, and slid it in. I'll cut a small piece of wood to cover part of the front later. For now I also put Lady's little cardboard hide, just to give her something she was familiar with.

Step 15: Attach lights (I still need to attach a 'gallows' type contraption so I can safely suspend the basking lamp above Lady's basking spot - but it was late, so I just clamped the lamp to the edge for today. I also need to attach the UVB lamp properly.

Step 16: Insert tortoise! ;)

Lady seems to really like her new space!  100% better than the old mixing tub...

I hope this helps, and that you have fun!

The REALLY easy version of making an enclosure out of a shelf can go as follows: Get shelf. Take out shelves. Line inside with a tarp or pond liner, attached with Shurtape and staple gun. Put in substrate. Attach lights. Put in tortoises.

Ps: If you have the space, you could use a really large shelf. I wanted to use a 6ft long shelf, but the husband objected to giving up that much real estate of the living room floor. I didn't want to push it, since he so kindly 'lets' me have all these tortoises... So 3ft x 4ft had to do. A longer shelf would probably need more support framing, if you choose the option of sinking the cement mixing tub into the floor. Or you could make a 2x4 wooden frame to hold it up. I also know people who just used cinder blocks.

Doing everything together

It never ceases to amaze me how my tortoises always seem to do everything together, in spite of all the space I provide for them. My little Russians bask together, eat together, sleep together. I know that tortoises aren't 'social' creatures, and that I shouldn't project human emotions onto them... but it is very hard not to think that on some level, they enjoy each other's company.

A pile of tortoises

Did you know that a group of multiple tortoises is called a 'bale' of tortoises? Random fact of the day...

Basking time!

It is interesting to me how much less territorial Roz has been since I moved the two other females into the big tort fort. He now hardly bothers the girls at all - which to be honest, is not entirely good, since I am hoping to get some tortoise eggs this year...

Soaking up some warmth and UVB together - look how big Timmy is!

I am curious to see over the next few years how big Jill and Mila grow to be in comparison to Timmy. She really dwarfs the others with her size.

Timmy and Jill

Timmy and Jill both have exceptionally pretty coloring - their shells are bright yellow! Jill's shell has more light yellow, which is probably just due to her young age, while Timmy has a rich golden hue. (The basking light makes their shells look a bit more bright in this picture than they actually are, btw)

My three females, basking together while Roz roams his territory.

My three females especially seem to like spending time together. They have a lot of space to roam, and yet they always seem to end up in the same spot!

Our Tort Fort gets a dresser

I finally finished our tort fort, and it is no longer sitting on the ground! Our friend built this for us, and now the top and bottom have finally been put together. I love having all the storage, and it looks so nice, too! (Thanks, Andy!)

Front view

The tortoise table is the first thing people see when they come into our house - I am so glad that it is finally functional AND 'pretty' - don't you love the leg design of the dresser underneath? They look just like the little half-rounded opening into the hide house.

3/4 view

Our friend Andy built this from his own design, after sitting down with me to plan it. The left side has a window that has a shutter, so I can look into the hide box, which is large, and filled with a nice deep layer of substrate for the tortoises to burrow in. I treated the oak with several layers of 2 different colors of stained polyurethane, so it matches our antique oak wardrobes, dressers and such.

The torts exploring their new substrate mound (Mount Coco) and rock pile

UPDATE: I took some more pictures of the tort fort in daylight. I added a pile of large-ish rocks for the torts to scramble over, as well as mounding the substrate up and over a very large flowerpot. The little Russians are having so much fun exploring!

The females basking together. Roz is hiding.

Our friend Andy made all the trim himself, by the way. You really have to see it up close to see how nicely he built it.

Daytime view of the tort fort.

I double-checked my temps with a temperature gun, too, after putting everything back together. The 'cool' end is room temperature, at 69-71 degrees F at substrate level. The warm side is 82 degrees, and immediately under the basking bulb, I measured 97-102 degrees.

'Picnic' lunch in front of the Tort Fort

Our kids love watching my tortoises. Sometimes we even have a lunch 'picnic' in front of the Tort Fort! 

Eating lunch and watching the tortoises bask

Ps: I don't normally feed the tortoises on a plate. The weeds and greens were just so wet, and the slate was so covered in substrate, in stead of sweeping it off, today I just put the whole plate in after sprinkling the greens with TNT. 

Quarantine = done (a little early)

It has only been 6 weeks, but I just couldn't stand it any more. Jill and Mila lived with their old owner for 4 years, and were not in any contact with other tortoises during that time. They have been de-wormed (just to be on the safe side), and are acting and looking so healthy. Plus, Roz was bullying Timmy quite a bit, so I kept having to take him out of the enclosure. Hoping that the addition of 2 more females would help, I decided to move them in with Timmy and Roz now.

My very own 'bale' of tortoises. Roz, the male, is being a pillow.
Look how big Timmy is in comparison to the other two females!

Having 4 tortoises (3 females, 1 male) in the tort fort has done WONDERS. Seriously, it has been heavenly! All 4 of them bask together (rather than Roz chasing Timmy away), and rather than mating with Timmy 10+ times per day, Roz mates with the two bigger females maybe 1x per day, and he doesn't bother little Jill at all yet. Timmy is coming out more, basking and eating more, and I am overall very happy with my decision.

I took a ton more pics, and will share them with you as soon as I have time!

Dirty water in 2 minutes!

Boo, our Greek tortoise is so funny. I give him fresh water every morning, and within a few minutes, he has stomped back and forth through it until it is completely soiled with coco coir.

One little piggy, stomping through his water!

I think he just likes making me look bad, when guests come over. "No really, I change his water every day!"

Timmy and Roz update

Timmy, our 'big' female Russian tortoise has been pretty heavily courted this past week. Roz just would not leave her alone. Although they have a large tort fort with lots of sight barriers and hiding opportunities, I decided to move Roz into a rubbermaid for a 'time out' for a few hours at a time to give Timmy some breathing room. 

Timmy is pretending to be camera shy.

In nature, Testudo horsfieldii tortoises only happen upon one another rarely, and mating can be quite violent. Timmy and Roz usually get along very well, basking together, eating together, snoozing together... but Roz has pursued her much more aggressively since we moved them into the larger tort table. 

Roz biting Timmy's front legs, to make her submit and let him mate her

I can't wait for the quarantine of Mila and Jill to be over, so they can move in with the others, hopefully distracting Roz a little, or rather, dividing his attention among the 3 females! 

Timmy basking, with Roz nearby

In the meantime, Timmy is holding her own pretty well - she is quite a bit larger than Roz, and either walks away, ignores him, or bulldozes him. I'm making sure she gets enough food and doesn't get stressed.

Roz is actually a real sweetie, most of the time!

Roz must think that he is quite the little stud. I do hope that we'll get some tortoise eggs this year from Timmy, and possibly even from Mila (Jill is still too young)...  I also look forward to letting the torts spend more time outside once the weather gets warmer!

2 new female Russian torts!

Today I finally picked up our two new female Russian tortoises! Our little testudo horsfieldi herd is now much better balanced.

Meet Jill and Mila!

Their previous owner contacted me about six weeks ago, because her family is moving to Alaska and couldn't bring them along. Yesterday she sent me a new message that if I could get them today, they would be mine.

While setting up their quarantine tub, I let them wander around on the floor a little

These two sweet girls aren't rescues like most of the other torts we've brought home. Their owner was actually doing a good job caring for them. She fed them the right food, soaked them in water often enough, and had good lights. Their shells look good (though I suspect she used conditioner on them, they are so shiny!), they have nice bright eyes, good short beaks, and short claws. They are in quarantine for now, just to be on the safe side, but I don't anticipate any difficulties.

Jill was pretty easy to weigh.

The first thing I do when I bring home new torties is to measure and weigh them to get a base line.

Mila wouldn't hold still long enough to get a good pic of her measurements.

Mila is VERY active, and so it was a little hard to measure and weigh her because she kept trying to get away at top tortoise speed!

Mila - look at how much green is in her new growth. I've never seen this before.

The bigger of the two is just under 6 inches long, and weighs 500g, even. I named her Mila.

Jill - she has very pretty yellow coloring. She is more shy than Mila.

The smaller is just under 5 inches long, and weighs 385g. Her name will be Jill.

The new torts won't get to interact with my others for a few months, but for size comparison, I put Timmy  by them briefly after her bath.

Mila and Jill TOGETHER are about the size of our 'big' female, Timmy. I look forward to letting my little herd interact, once quarantine is over!

Jill exploring a little after warming up under the basking lamp. 

The quarantine bin is about the same size as the aquarium they lived in with their previous owner - 40"x18". They'll get to move into a much bigger home once the quarantine is over! :)

The challenge PLAN is not to take in any new torties now for a while. The reason I kept bringing home tortoises to rescue was that I came across them on my search for a female.

Boo's new tort enclosure

I am so excited to show you all our Greek tortoise Boo's new enclosure! I built this from my own design - and I had fun painting it. I had to use my neighbor's tools, and he took over a little lot more of the work than I would have chosen... however, truth be told, the end result is probably much more sturdy than it would have been if I had built it completely by myself. Boo's new tort fort is both functional, and attractive.

As you may have already read, I rescued Boo from a family who kept him in a tiny 20-gallon aquarium in the winter, and in the Summer kept him in the garden, tethered by a ring drilled into his shell.

This is what Boo used to live in:

20 gallon aquarium

...and this is what Boo lives in now:

48"L x 18"W x 15"H wood and glass enclosure

In the grand scheme of tortoise tables, even this new one is actually not very large. In a few years I am going to build Boo a much larger enclosure, and this tort fort will turn into the Russian tortoise nursery... (you know, when Timmy lays some eggs? *wishful thinking*)

The challenge, when building a tortoise table, is that tortoises are happier when they have solid walls around them. They can't grasp the concept of glass, and continually attempt to walk through it. However, the large dresser that I wanted to set the enclosure on was high enough up that nobody would have been able to see in if all four walls were made of wood. I created a simple design that allowed for three solid wood walls, and glass in the front for easier viewing. (I got the 1/4" thick tempered glass on Craigslist for $3!)

...done painting and staining, still need the glass front and the vinyl flooring

I built this tortoise enclosure out of stain grade wooden boards treated with several coats of 'mission oak'-tinted polyurethane, with vinyl flooring, caulked cracks, and a glass front that I decoupaged and painted a sight barrier on the bottom 4.5 inches. I painted a little mural on the back that matches the design of our curtains. The hide box doubles as a plant stand (and the flower pot helps prevent Boo from climbing up and out - he's half monkey!)

...the glass is installed, and the UV light is in place.

 For substrate I used a mix of moistened coconut coir and sand. The coco coir is 4 inches deep, except in the hide box, where it is closer to 6.5 inches. Boo will be able to burrow to his heart's content.

Live spider plant, and some bird seed, barley, and kale planted in some organic soil

 I planted some seeds in a plastic container of organic soil. They have sprouted in the meantime, and Boo enjoys nibbling on the sprouts, as well as digging in the soil. The spider plant has taken somewhat of a beating, too, since Boo keeps trying to climb it.

All moved in! 

 Once I was content with the set-up, I moved the basking lamps over from the little aquarium, and moved Boo in. The flat basking rock is nice and big, and helps hold the basking temperature at a steady 95-100 degrees F. The UVB light is installed in a way that Boo will benefit from as he moves around his tort fort.

This plant got replaced with a pumpkin in the meantime, until I find a good climbing rock.
The jade plant didn't survive Boo's climbing for long.

 Have I mentioned that Boo is half monkey? Tortoises seem to find the most complicated route to get from a) to b) and then they make it more interesting by doing acrobatics along the way. They are especially happy if in the process they can drag as much substrate and food into their water dish as possible.

All tuckered out from exploring and climbing!

At the end of the day, Boo luxuriously dug into his 6+ inches of substrate in his hide house and went to sleep!

I hope that some day Boo will learn to trust me enough to eat out of my hand. He is a VERY picky eater, and he still pulls into his shell any time someone reaches into the tort table (I don't blame him, after being disrespected by his old owners). He does seem so much more happy in his new enclosure, though. He is very active, explores, basks, climbs, digs... he is able to look out through the glass if he climbs to a high point, and he definitely watches the kids as they play.

Boo is still very shy...

...but with much patience...

...he is getting used to me!