Re: COINHABITATION QUESTION

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Posted by Esther on April 29, 2001 at 22:57:43:

In Reply to: COINHABITATION QUESTION posted by REW on April 29, 2001 at 21:49:08:

Heather has summed it up very well. I would like to add that even some sulcatas sould be separated after a while. My Angel Baby and Chanel used to cohabit very sweetly together, they would frequently cuddle up to each other in one habitat, two cute sulcatas.

HOWEVER, at about 3 years of age, Chanel started to experience a bit of sexual maturity and we have had to separate them ever since due to injurious behavior. He would mount Angel Baby and dig his nails into her and it seriously damaged her shell, they would ram each other and he flipped her over on her back, he would go to bite her sometimes and would be snatched away in the nick of time. Witnessing this behavior in action or after the fact is painful to the tortoises and as a keeper, one feels awful about each occurance. My apartment is now a series of barricades. . . .

When they were first put together, Chanel was also resentful of all the attention that Angel got, and he would behave menacingly towards her in the very beginning. Only after about 8 months did he soften up towards her. But that means we as keepers only experienced about 2 years of "peaceful" cohabitation before we had to again be ever vigilant and barricade constantly. If you don't have the facilities to separate the tortoises when this begins to be an eventual necessity, you may want to reconsider getting another tortoise and instead just lavish your affection on the one you already have and spoil it rotten! They get big, and fast, so enjoy the baby years while you still have them! :)

: Hi, thanx for helping me out or trying to. I was wondering if theres a tortoise that will stay pretty small, dosen't cost tons of money(up to $100), dosen't hibernate, and can live with a baby sulcata(obviously until the sulcata grows up)?
: THANX

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: Heather has summed it up very well. I would like to add that even some sulcatas sould be separated after a while. My Angel Baby and Chanel used to cohabit very sweetly together, they would frequently cuddle up to each other in one habitat, two cute sulcatas. : HOWEVER, at about 3 years of age, Chanel started to experience a bit of sexual maturity and we have had to separate them ever since due to injurious behavior. He would mount Angel Baby and dig his nails into her and it seriously damaged her shell, they would ram each other and he flipped her over on her back, he would go to bite her sometimes and would be snatched away in the nick of time. Witnessing this behavior in action or after the fact is painful to the tortoises and as a keeper, one feels awful about each occurance. My apartment is now a series of barricades. . . . : When they were first put together, Chanel was also resentful of all the attention that Angel got, and he would behave menacingly towards her in the very beginning. Only after about 8 months did he soften up towards her. But that means we as keepers only experienced about 2 years of "peaceful" cohabitation before we had to again be ever vigilant and barricade constantly. If you don't have the facilities to separate the tortoises when this begins to be an eventual necessity, you may want to reconsider getting another tortoise and instead just lavish your affection on the one you already have and spoil it rotten! They get big, and fast, so enjoy the baby years while you still have them! :) : : : Hi, thanx for helping me out or trying to. I was wondering if theres a tortoise that will stay pretty small, dosen't cost tons of money(up to $100), dosen't hibernate, and can live with a baby sulcata(obviously until the sulcata grows up)? : : THANX

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