Can African Spurred/Sulcata Tortoise and Red Eared Slider Turtles be kept together?

TheEddyot

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I have a large enclosure, somewhere around 40-70 feet by 20-30 feet that I am presently renovating to keep Red Eared Sliders in, of which I shall soon receive four adults. After pretty extensive research, I believe I know how to keep them in optimal condition, though of course tips are welcomed. About a third of the enclosure will have 3-4 small ponds, where the turtles will spend most of their time, being nearly completely aquatic. My question arises here. I have the option to get multiple African Spurred tortoises. They are very large, and extremely long lived (though not aggressive.) I would probably get two, though I may not get any as of yet. As two thirds of the enclosure is empty, with only grass, and I kept the tortoises there overnight, probably letting them wander the yard in the daytime. If I keep them together, will there be problems? I'm heard rumors about disease. another issue is if the tortoises would burrow aggressively enough to disrupt the turtle ponds. I don't believe they will be directly aggressive to each other, as sliders only fight turtles that are smaller or equal size in the case of males battling, and the tortoises are notoriously easygoing.
 

ZEROPILOT

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Whoever told you that Sulcata are not aggressive,(towards each other) doesnt know much about them.
Although the enclosure is large. It would be small for even one of them. Water turtles aside.
I don't know if the land tortoises and water turtles would be aggressive towards each other. But I wouldn't keep them near each other.
 

wellington

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I second ZEROPILOTS post. Sulcatas should not be kept in pairs, can be very aggressive and should not be mixed with other species, and your enclosure is too small for an adult living with multiple ponds. Your RES should not be mixed with sulcatas either. The info you are getting is poor. Please stick around to this forum and read and learn the real truths about different species.
 

Yvonne G

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No. A male that's kept with a single female will pester the female all the time until she stays hidden all the time, trying to keep out of his sight, very stressful for both of them.

Just a note about the size of your enclosure - my sulcata's enclosure is appx. 50' x 25', with NO PONDS, and all grass, and it's just about the right size for him, ONE sulcata. He keeps the grass mowed. If there were another sulcata in there with him, there would be bare dirt in less than a summer.
 
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TheEddyot

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So what I'm getting here is the enclosure is far too small for one WITH the turtles. Without, it would fit one. Great info, Thanks to the three of you who've replied. My backyard as a whole is huge, about half an acre or more, and very thickly grassed, the only problem is that it is not enclosed, plus the fact that sulcatas dig a lot. Now, if I want to keep MULTIPLE sulcatas, how many and in what ratio of male/s to females would I need so that they wouldn't bully each other? I assume at some point there's enough females that the males wouldn't bother them, as it is with red eared sliders.
 

TheEddyot

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Well yes, but at some point there's a ratio where there's enough females for one male. For RES, it's 3 females per male and the male won't bother any of them in a bad way
 

Levi the Leopard

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The 1 male : 3 females is a guideline I've seen some follow with sulcata tortoises as well.

I tried that ratio with Russian tortoises but had to spilt them up within the year. The male wouldn't leave the girls alone. 2 were always hiding & stoped eating leaving the last girl to bare the brunt of his "affection".

So, it's always possible that despite a female heavy ratio, the male will just be" too much" for the girls in a confined space.

I have a single male leopard right now that I think would fall into that abuser category :rolleyes:
 

TheEddyot

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I don't have a confined space though. The enclosure I mentioned I only intended for at night, but then again they might be bothered at night. In the daytime, I have around half an acre with plenty of space.
 

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