can redfoot and cherryhead live together?

[naturalman91]

so this is probably a dumb question but can redfoot's and cherry heads live together? or would that be considered crossing species? because from my understanding a cherry head is "dwarf" redfoot which i know isn't always true , i'd like to add another red but i was more wanting a cherry then the average red so after the quarantine period could the go into the same enclosure obviously i'd have to watch for aggression issues

 

[shanu303]

yes you can as they belong to the same species..... most people keep their's together. but you have to watch for aggression just incase, but aggression is seldom seen in Chelonoidis carbonaria

 

[naturalman91]

yes you can as they belong to the same species..... most people keep their's together. but you have to watch for aggression just incase, but aggression is seldom seen in Chelonoidis carbonaria

thank's for the reply how long would suggest quarantine period for? and would it be ok to use the same enclosure as quarantine as i have a very big enclosure i was thinking about just splitting it in half for the time being

 

[shanu303]

quarantine period of 3 months is sufficient according to me.... more would obviously be better... i quarantined my star for 3 months.... and remember that pathogens/bacteria can transmit through air so simply splitting the enclosure in 2 with just a partition is not suffice.. but if both your RF's are CB(Captive Bred) then simple splitting just might work...

 

[naturalman91]

they are/ both will be captive breed i already know who'd i'd like to get my cherry from both will/have came from reliable forum breeders

 

[shanu303]

then i think you can split your enclosure as the new one is less likely to have any pathogens as it will be from a reliable source...

 

[Tom]

It is best to house them separately. Breeding won't be possible until maturity, but why do it in the first place?

Also, pairs are not a good idea. We just had a member here with two RFs where six weeks after she was told to separate the for obvious aggression, she cam back on explaining that the one had nearly eaten the other one's foot. Best to keep them alone in in groups, not pairs, of the same type.

 

[naturalman91]

It is best to house them separately. Breeding won't be possible until maturity, but why do it in the first place?

Also, pairs are not a good idea. We just had a member here with two RFs where six weeks after she was told to separate the for obvious aggression, she cam back on explaining that the one had nearly eaten the other one's foot. Best to keep them alone in in groups, not pairs, of the same type.

oh wow red's did that? i thank you for telling me that because most seem to say red's aren't aggressive

 

[Geochelone_Carbonaria]

yes you can as they belong to the same species..... most people keep their's together. but you have to watch for aggression just incase, but aggression is seldom seen in Chelonoidis carbonaria

I totally disagree, you should definitely keep them separated ! Cherry males can be VERY agressive especially towards other males. I only keep Cherries, and I have a male that I have tried to keep together with my other Cherry males, but it is totally impossible. After several attempts keeping all of my Cherries in one big herd, I just have to keep this male in a separate group with a couple of females. Every attempt I have made trying to integrate him with the rest of the herd, he picks one of the other males out and literally start to bite a leg off just like Tom describes... After about 10-15 minutes, watching him biting the same spot several times, I have felt so bad myself and it hurts just seeing that so I have given this idea up totally years ago !

 

[naturalman91]

yea i've changed my mind about adding a additional tort i'd hate to see anything bad happen to either one's

 

[shanu303]

ok listen to what others have said because they're experts in RF's and tortoises in general.....

 

[Tom]

oh wow red's did that? i thank you for telling me that because most seem to say red's aren't aggressive

Yes sir, and they were still fairly young too. Most of the time RFs are not aggressive toward each other, but a pair in a (relatively) small indoor enclosure is absolute worse case scenario.

If you want another tortoise, that is totally cool. I think most people on this forum want another tortoise. Just house them separately. Then each one can be the king/queen of its own castle and everybody lives happily ever after.

 

[naturalman91]

Yes sir, and they were still fairly young too. Most of the time RFs are not aggressive toward each other, but a pair in a (relatively) small indoor enclosure is absolute worse case scenario.

If you want another tortoise, that is totally cool. I think most people on this forum want another tortoise. Just house them separately. Then each one can be the king/queen of its own castle and everybody lives happily ever after.

Thank's for that but i think i will just hold off and if i still want to add in the future I'll wait till i can sex my lil one then get him/her a boyfriend/girlfriend which won't be for awhile if ever

 

[immayo]

That story is horrible Tom!

I keep a cherry with my group of redfoots with no problems but they are all very young. I also plan to either sell him or separate the poor guy down the line so he can not breed with my Northerns. I guess it really depends on the individual tort but some will show aggression unfortunately.

 

[naturalman91]

That story is horrible Tom!

I keep a cherry with my group of redfoots with no problems but they are all very young. I also plan to either sell him or separate the poor guy down the line so he can not breed with my Northerns. I guess it really depends on the individual tort but some will show aggression unfortunately.

i agree it depends on the tort but i'd rather not take the chance i'd feel horrible for something happening to either of them