different species

[Danny]

is it possible to keep two different species of tortoises together (e.g. leopard tortoise and Hermann tortoise) providing you have a large enough enclosure and plenty of space for them to graze etc?

 

[GBtortoises]

Anything is possible. But maybe not advisable or in the best interest of each tortoise species involved. It has much less to do with the amount of space for each, although more space is always better, and more to do with the environmental requirements and disease immunity levels of each species. If you plan to provide the best environmental conditions for a Leopard tortoise and a Hermann's tortoise in order to keep them both healthy over a long period of time you may have some difficulty trying to keep them together in the same environment. They have some different requirements.

 

[tarta4ever]

i think that there are too many difference between leopard tortoise and Hermann tortoise but you can keep leopard and sulcata together

 

[dmmj]

Is it possible? yes, should you do so? no, and here is why this is my viewpoint and it may differ from others, they come from different enviroments, and if I am not mistaken have different habitat requiirements. Also they may carry different diseases and such and they could get sick.

 

[Tom]

Its never a good idea to mix species. Disease, stress, bullying, competition for food or spaces, mis-communications, parasites, etc.... All potential problems.

Some people do it anyway. I don't recommend it and I wouldn't do it with any of mine.

 

[Danny]

Its never a good idea to mix species. Disease, stress, bullying, competition for food or spaces, mis-communications, parasites, etc.... All potential problems.

Some people do it anyway. I don't recommend it and I wouldn't do it with any of mine.

thanks for the info and don't worry im not mixing species i was just curious

 

[Kayti]

Its never a good idea to mix species. Disease, stress, bullying, competition for food or spaces, mis-communications, parasites, etc.... All potential problems.

Some people do it anyway. I don't recommend it and I wouldn't do it with any of mine.

I keep reading that it has something to do with their digestive bacteria not being compatible, or with one species having bacteria that are beneficial to it, that could harm another species.
Is this true? Because I've never actually seen any hard evidence for this, and the hybrids being produced now seem to refute it.

Why would tortoises have these dangerous digestive bacteria, but it is perfectly fine to keep cats from different areas of the world together, or parrots (mostly- just looking at bacteria) or other animals etc?

If disease, stress, bullying, competition, mis-communication, and parasites could all be controlled, would you say mixing species would be acceptable?

I'm asking mostly because I've always been painfully careful never mixing my tortoises's stuff (food tiles, bath tubs, etc), or putting them in an outdoor enclosure that another species has used, etc. Is all this necessary if my tortoises are healthy?

 

[dmmj]

think of it this way, when we first came to america how many native americans did we kill with our germs by accident? Even though we wer eboth humans we still killed alot of people because we had germs they could not fight, I would imagine it would be the same with different tortoie species.

 

[terracolson]

Read this article about the herpes virus and you can see some of the species died with in 12 hours and others lived with it for a long time....
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/herpes.html

 

[Tom]

Its never a good idea to mix species. Disease, stress, bullying, competition for food or spaces, mis-communications, parasites, etc.... All potential problems.

Some people do it anyway. I don't recommend it and I wouldn't do it with any of mine.

I keep reading that it has something to do with their digestive bacteria not being compatible, or with one species having bacteria that are beneficial to it, that could harm another species.
Is this true? Because I've never actually seen any hard evidence for this, and the hybrids being produced now seem to refute it.

Why would tortoises have these dangerous digestive bacteria, but it is perfectly fine to keep cats from different areas of the world together, or parrots (mostly- just looking at bacteria) or other animals etc?

If disease, stress, bullying, competition, mis-communication, and parasites could all be controlled, would you say mixing species would be acceptable?

I'm asking mostly because I've always been painfully careful never mixing my tortoises's stuff (food tiles, bath tubs, etc), or putting them in an outdoor enclosure that another species has used, etc. Is all this necessary if my tortoises are healthy?

Don't know about the bacteria thing, have no scientific studies to cite, but I'll make an educated guess that its risky.

If all those factors could be controlled, as well as not-hybridizing, then sure, why not? This is , however, not possible.

BTW, I don't agree with mixing cats or parrots either. I do sometimes mix fish from different parts of the world and it does sometimes cause problems.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here's what I was told many years ago, and it has just stuck with me. It wasn't proven, it was just told from one person to another:

Tortoises on different continents have evolved with different pathogens inside of them. Over the eons, the tortoises on each continent have become accustomed to their own pathogens and live in harmony with them. If you put tortoises from different continents together, the pathogens might make each other sick or even dead.

The thing is, it might not happen today or tomorrow or even next month. It may take a long, long time for the tortoise to get sick and die. And by the time he dies, it would have been such a long time that the owner doesn't even think about having mixed the species.