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RE: mixing turtles and tortoises

Ratsnake — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:30:02 GMT

Thats great, but you are responding to post thats 6 years old. Thats beyond dead, its just dust.

RE: mixing turtles and tortoises

skyemac13 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:25:18 GMT

I also have a 3 toed box turtle, and in my experience, if the box turtle is a male and larger then the russian tortoise then I would NOT suggest housing them together. I recently bought an 18 month old Red Foot Tortoise and all he does is bully her or try to mate with her. However, if both are females, adults, or similar sizes then you should be fine.

RE: mixing turtles and tortoises

beccer — Fri, 25 Jul 2003 20:20:04 GMT

jurassicjunior,
thank you so much for you advice it is very helpful. we are not able to put them outside since we do not have a yard. I did in fact take them both to the vet after purchasing the Russian from the pet store. they both passed with flying colors, and then recieved their worm prevention. we are actually looking for a reptile rescue in our area for the box turtle. he was actually rescued from the wild and since he has been in captivity for oer two years. he really isn't happy living with us. but as of yet all I have found is rescues who keep them in boxs or aquariums. I really want him to be in as natural an environment as possible.
Thank you so much for your advice,
-Beccer

RE: mixing turtles and tortoises

jurassicjunior — Tue, 22 Jul 2003 16:03:14 GMT

A box turtle needs a humid environment.
A Russian needs a low humidity environment. Depending on where you live, you may be able to house them outdoors, but seperately. The box needs to burrow in humid soil whereas the Russian will develop a respiratory infection if he's exposed to continous humidity. Another thing to consider is cross-species illnesses, as most Russians are wild-caught and harbor parasites along with the "runny nose syndrome" known to experienced Russian keepers. A male, regardless of species, will often drive a female crazy constantly attempting to mate which causes stress-related behavior/illnesses in some situations. My advice, if you haven't yet, is to have each examined by your herp vet and wormed and ask his/her advice on outdoor housing in your area. Size is not as relevant a matter as species mixing and what environments the animals originally come from. Good info sites are http://www.tortoisetrust.org and http://www.anapsid.org .
Also, rapidly changing their temperature, such as bringing them indoors from a warm summer day to a cool indoor house temperature could cause health problems, as reptiles don't handle sudden temp changes as well as we mammals do. It would be best if they have a permanent, predator proof set up to spend the summer days/nights in.

Good luck,
Wendy

**Gulf Coast Turtle & Tortoise Society**
http://www.gctts.org

RE: mixing turtles and tortoises

Atrox — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 14:38:03 GMT

I'm not expert but those two should be fine together. They are of similar adult size.

Caught my first snake (blue racer) at 3, been hooked since!

mixing turtles and tortoises

beccer — Mon, 14 Jul 2003 14:35:55 GMT

I had a question about my two babies Sasha and Fred. Sasha is a Russian Tortoise, and Fred is a Three Toed Box Turtle.
I am wanting to put them in the same outdoor inclosure during the daytime hours. But I don't know if they will fight or make each other sick.
I would appreciate any feed back.
-Beccer