Behaviour

Tortoise behaviour is very different from human behaviour. Beware of thinking that they have similar instincts to humans. They do not. Tortoises are solitary, territorial animals. They do not form herds or packs. They do not pair bond. This means that:
 

• Keeping a solitary tortoise causes no problems.
• Keeping a group of all female tortoises only causes problems if one or more is gravid (see breeding).
• Keeping a group of all male tortoises is possible but it requires regular supervision. Healthy males are sometimes aggressive. They can inflict injury and keep other less healthy or smaller individuals from eating or basking normally. If there is aggression tortoises must be separated.
• Male and female tortoises should be kept separately. Keeping them together can lead to a variety of problems, which can prove lethal, particularly for the female (see breeding).
• Keeping a male tortoise with a female tortoise of a different species is not acceptable.
• Tortoises' primary sense is smell not sight. They can be profoundly influenced by smells that human noses cannot detect. In particular, do not upset the equilibrium of males by the smell of females. Sometimes even the smell carried on someone's shoes, when walking from a female enclosure to a male enclosure, can have an effect.
• Tortoises move forward as they eat. They also urinate and defecate as they eat. In semi-desert conditions, in the wild, this behaviour causes the plants, the tortoises need, to thrive. In captivity this behaviour aids the spread of disease and internal parasites. Be hygienic.