# Again...



## Thomas tortoise (Mar 30, 2022)

I know i know. Why am i so obsessed with keeping different tortoises together. But first just hear me out. Why cant i keep a redfoot with a cherry head? All thats different is the color and 2 inches of size.


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## jeff kushner (Mar 30, 2022)

Troublemaker.......LMAO....

Mooooommmm, Thomas is doing it againnnnnn!


LOL


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## Avuwyy (Mar 31, 2022)

I’m unsure if this is sarcasm (I struggle with tone), but I always assumed that you could? If you can’t, then it’s fortunate I don’t own redfoots or cherryheads as I probably would’ve made the mistake of housing them together.

If size is the issue, Arent there tortoises of the same species who grow to different sizes due to genetics?


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## Tom (Mar 31, 2022)

Thomas tortoise said:


> I know i know. Why am i so obsessed with keeping different tortoises together. But first just hear me out. Why cant i keep a redfoot with a cherry head? All thats different is the color and 2 inches of size.


In this case, two reasons:
1. You don't want interbreeding.
2. CH are often more aggressive than a RF, so there might be some behavioral incompatibility.

Also, you'd need more than two since torts should never be in pairs. A few years back a new member came on the forum and was doing exactly what you are asking about. One CH and one RF. We told her to separate them and answered some other questions and didn't hear back. Six weeks later she came back asking what to do as the CH had eaten the entire tail and most of the back leg of the RF. Can you imagine the living hell as that poor tort was literally tortured and eaten alive by its cage mate while this idiot stood by and did nothing... Infuriating. Don't be like that person. Keep like with like, and no pairs.


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## Thomas tortoise (Mar 31, 2022)

Tom said:


> In this case, two reasons:
> 1. You don't want interbreeding.
> 2. CH are often more aggressive than a RF, so there might be some behavioral incompatibility.
> 
> Also, you'd need more than two since torts should never be in pairs. A few years back a new member came on the forum and was doing exactly what you are asking about. One CH and one RF. We told her to separate them and answered some other questions and didn't hear back. Six weeks later she came back asking what to do as the CH had eaten the entire tail and most of the back leg of the RF. Can you imagine the living hell as that poor tort was literally tortured and eaten alive by its cage mate while this idiot stood by and did nothing... Infuriating. Don't be like that person. Keep like with like, and no pairs.


Okay. So no pairs of torotises no matter what type. I got that. But i dont think you made your post clear enough. At first it kinda says not to have them together but then in the middle it says i could if i have more than one? Idk its a little confusing. Maybe if I had 2 female redfoots and 1 female CH? OH and while im asking questions about keeping tortoises together I'll ask a question for a friend. My friend has a asian box turtle and a red eared slider turtle together. I told him not to but i think he wants a reason. So if you could answer that question too that would be great!


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## Tom (Mar 31, 2022)

Thomas tortoise said:


> Okay. So no pairs of torotises no matter what type. I got that. But i dont think you made your post clear enough. At first it kinda says not to have them together but then in the middle it says i could if i have more than one? Idk its a little confusing. Maybe if I had 2 female redfoots and 1 female CH? OH and while im asking questions about keeping tortoises together I'll ask a question for a friend. My friend has a asian box turtle and a red eared slider turtle together. I told him not to but i think he wants a reason. So if you could answer that question too that would be great!


You can have a group of juvenile RFs, or a group of juvenile CHs. You should not have a mixed group. Keep like with like, even if they are the same species. This is the same advice I would give for someone with regular leopards and SA leopards. The two should never be mixed, though they are technically the same species. Do NOT mix different locales of tortoises.

If you do get a group of juveniles, you will need to separate the males from females as soon as you can tell which is which. Males mature sooner and they will harass the immature females. None of them need that stress. Once the females are of correct breeding size for that species, you can try a re-introduction and see how it goes. Sometimes it works and sometimes every tort needs its own enclosure. They don't always get along, and some are just more feisty than others.

The problems for your friends situation are multiple:
1. These two species need different habitats.
2. Different diets.
3. These two species come from different continents, and the disease that one has evolved to deal with can kill the other.
4. These two species are behaviorally incompatible.
5. NEVER in pairs.


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## Thomas tortoise (Mar 31, 2022)

Tom said:


> You can have a group of juvenile RFs, or a group of juvenile CHs. You should not have a mixed group. Keep like with like, even if they are the same species. This is the same advice I would give for someone with regular leopards and SA leopards. The two should never be mixed, though they are technically the same species. Do NOT mix different locales of tortoises.
> 
> If you do get a group of juveniles, you will need to separate the males from females as soon as you can tell which is which. Males mature sooner and they will harass the immature females. None of them need that stress. Once the females are of correct breeding size for that species, you can try a re-introduction and see how it goes. Sometimes it works and sometimes every tort needs its own enclosure. They don't always get along, and some are just more feisty than others.
> 
> ...


thank you. Although i did tell him that he needs to separate them because they can pass diseases and kill each other he says he had them together for a while and has never had any problems and he said they never fought. And he also claims they need the same enclosure and i have no idea what he feeds them.


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## wellington (Mar 31, 2022)

No no and no. No species of any kind can be mixed period. 
If you want an answer of yes then this isn't the place to ask. Ask on FB they will give you all the wrong answers and you will be satisfied. Just don't forget when it goes wrong, you learned the right way here.


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## Avuwyy (Mar 31, 2022)

Sounds like a ticking time bomb. Also an excuse to avoid purchasing a second enclosure for whatever reason (Lack of money, lack of space, unwillingness to rehome despite these two things, etc). I often leave the gas on without knowing after cooking scrambled eggs, I haven’t burned the house down doing it yet, but that doesn’t mean I will never burn the house down by being stupid when making breakfast.


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## Yvonne G (Mar 31, 2022)

Thomas tortoise said:


> thank you. Although i did tell him that he needs to separate them because they can pass diseases and kill each other he says he had them together for a while and has never had any problems and he said they never fought. And he also claims they need the same enclosure and i have no idea what he feeds them.


The thing is, because of their very slow metabolism, when the tortoise finally starts to show symptoms after a long time, no one realizes it's because they mixed species a while, or quite a while ago.


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## Thundersnow (Apr 1, 2022)

Tom said:


> In this case, two reasons:
> 1. You don't want interbreeding.
> 2. CH are often more aggressive than a RF, so there might be some behavioral incompatibility.
> 
> Also, you'd need more than two since torts should never be in pairs. A few years back a new member came on the forum and was doing exactly what you are asking about. One CH and one RF. We told her to separate them and answered some other questions and didn't hear back. Six weeks later she came back asking what to do as the CH had eaten the entire tail and most of the back leg of the RF. Can you imagine the living hell as that poor tort was literally tortured and eaten alive by its cage mate while this idiot stood by and did nothing... Infuriating. Don't be like that person. Keep like with like, and no pairs.


Listen to Tom!!!!!


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