# Mixing Species



## 81SHOVELHEAD (Oct 2, 2011)

Hello Ya'll 
I currently own 4 redfoot Tortoises .
I have be doing reserch & seriously considering purchasing a couple of Burmese Mountain tortoises ,
My outdoor enclosure is 12'x12' .
What would be the harm in putting the tortoises in the same enclosure with my redfoots .
Of coarse i would make sure the were quarentined & received clean bill of health from vet B4 ever deciding to do this .
They require same diet & needs as the redfoots(forest tortoise) but from different continents .
I know some on here would never consider this but what would be the harm in letting them share the same enclosure?
Just wondering 
Mike D.


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## bikerchicspain (Oct 2, 2011)

On this forum it is always an open debate on mixing species,

Although your vet gives a good bill of health, he cannot guarantee that the tort are incubating some sort of health issue, Also take into consideration that although their needs are the same, have you research the deseases?

for example a simple cold can be nothing for one tort species but could be fatal to other species..


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## 81SHOVELHEAD (Oct 2, 2011)

bikerchicspain said:


> On this forum it is always an open debate on mixing species,
> 
> Although your vet gives a good bill of health, he cannot guarantee that the tort are incubating some sort of health issue, Also take into consideration that although their needs are the same, have you research the deseases?
> 
> for example a simple cold can be nothing for one tort species but could be fatal to other species..



Didn't think of that Yvonne .
I have plenty of space to build a seperate enclosure ,i was just throwing the question out there to see if anyone has done this with no issues .
If i was add another 12 feet to my current enclosure & build a dividing wall (the enclosure size would be 6'x24')on both sides you think there would be any issues keeping them side by side like this?
Thanks 
Mike D.


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## Yvonne G (Oct 2, 2011)

I'm caring for Dr. Cosmonaut's two redfoot tortoises while he's in China on a teaching assignment. I made a pen for them in my Manouria rain forest. So there are Manouria and redfoot in separate pens side-by-side.

I don't know much about RF tortoises, but I feed them whatever I feed the Manouria, and they eat it all. The location is exactly the same, heat-wise and water-wise and shade/sun-wise.

One thing about both species, they seem to be able to eat plants that are high in alkaloids (or toxic). I think this is because many of these types of plant grow naturally in both home areas.


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