Russian Tortoises social needs

Question
I have owned 2 male RT's for 14 years. They live separately because of terrible fighting. Until a few months ago they were both kept in my living room where there were often people present. Now after remodeling the room, my husband asked me to keep them in our extra room upstairs where there is usually no activity. I have read that they have no social needs, but it seems hard to believe that they wouldn't need more interaction with people and/or another tortoise. They are not neglected as far as food,etc. but have almost no social life or stimulation. What are your thoughts? Thank you- Sarah

Answer
Hi Sarah,

Russian tortoises are solitary in the wild, so no, they don't need interaction with other tortoises.  A male tortoise's primary interest would be in a female, anyway, and that presents a whole other set of problems.  They also don't need interaction with people, because they're not domesticated pets and don't have the attachment to people that dogs and cats do.  They'll be fine by themselves.  What *is* important, however, is that they have plenty of space--enough for them to roam and get exercise, and provide their enclosure with plenty of things to climb over, hides, etc., along with a good diet.  If they're inside exclusively, I would give *minimum* 4 x 6 to each tortoise if you can.  I hate to see tortoises in small spaces all the time; there's just not enough room for them to have any natural behavior.  The best thing would be to have an outdoor planted pen for spring, summer, and fall and then keep them indoors for winter.  If outside, they can graze and wander around, getting natural sunlight and air, and that alone will give them a lot of stimulation they can't get indoors.  That's really much more important than interaction with other tortoises or people.  Hope this helped!