I Have two tortoises

Question
So i have had my first tortoise for about a year but i really don't know the actual age of this tortoise and it was doing fine and great! and then we decided to add to our family a new tortoise, this i also don know the age of the tortoise but i know that one is way older then the other. i put them into the cage together and they seemed to be fine with each other but then the bigger one got crazy mean and was hitting the smaller one with its head and pushed the small one. so i don't know what to do? and i want them to be able to roam around one day in my back yard but i don't want them to fight...

also when is a good time to put them out side because my oldest is getting pretty big but i dont want it to be attacked by birds or anything.

also how old or big do they have to be to tell if it is a boy or a girl?

Thanks so much!
      Ryan M

Answer
Most species of tortoises are solitary animals and do not like to share habitat with other tortoises and they fight endlessly, even if only in small ways.

As far as size and age- that is tough without knowing the species. Tortoises range from 4" to 48" as adults.

Boy or girl- usually requires that the tortoises be sexually mature, and most of the time the male will have an incurved belly and a long tail with the vent in the middle. Females have flat or outcurved bellies with short tails and vent near the base.

Outdoors, in a BIG pen, should be fine. Indoors, they either need a much bigger pen, or separate housing.

A couple helpful sites are...
http://www.tortoisetrust.org and
http://www.tortoiseforum.org

Good luck!