Should I buy 1 or 2 Tortoises?

We often get asked by customers and tortoise keepers if their tortoise will get lonely on their own or if they should get a friend for their tortoise and the simple answer is:

Tortoises are solitary animals in the wild, so they are fine on their own.

However, we know that often the reason behind people are asking this question is because we feel sorry for them being on their own or simply we’d like to get a friend for them. This is OK too but there are some things to consider before rushing into buying another tortoise, which we’ve outlined in the next section.

Considerations when buying another tortoise or multiple tortoises

There are some questions to think about when buying a friend for your tortoise or when you’d like to purchase multiple tortoises at the same time or even expanding your tortoise collection:

• are they a gentle breed of tortoise?

  by this we mean can they be aggressive or territorial towards each other. For example: Leopard and Indian Star tortoises are gentle breeds so they are ok in groups. Greek tortoises can be a little aggressive towards other males when competing for females so may need to be kept separate.

• do you have the space, time, money etc for another tortoise?

  This is something to think about not just for the time being but also when they are fully grown as they will inevitably need an enclosure upgrade (or two!)

• are you prepared to separate them if required?

  For example: if they don’t get along or one tortoise bullies or pesters the other tortoise you may need to separate them

• what size tortoise should you get?

  we recommend getting a similar sized tortoise to your existing tortoise so it reduces the competition for food or bullying

• what age tortoise should you buy?

  if you have a young tortoise already, then we would recommend a similar sized tortoise (rather than age)

  if you have an elderly tortoise that has been living on his/her own for years then it can be stressful to introduce a companion so we would advise against this

• will your existing tortoise get along with a new tortoise?

  if your current tortoise was from a tortoise breeder and used to having tortoise companions then they should adjust fairly quickly to having a new friend. However, please be aware they any change is stressful so you will need to keep a close eye on them in the days following the introductions

• are you prepared to quarantine a new tortoise?

  We recommend quarantining any new tortoise for at least 6 months before introducing to your existing tortoise. It’s just not worth the risk of making your tortoise poorly if the new tortoise has an illness or disease that is passed onto your beloved pet.

• what tortoise species do you want to get as a friend for your tortoise?

  you should not mix tortoise breeds as some species of tortoise can carry diseases or parasites that can be harmful to other breeds of tortoise. We only recommend keeping same species together and never mixing different species.

• and lastly, if you think you may want a second tortoise in the future (and are prepared to separate them later on if required) then it is advisable to buy 2 to start with (rather than one now and one later on), so they are similar sizes and there will be less competition for food.