Elongated with a Redfoot?

kmgreet

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
5
Hey everyone,

I've had my redfoot for about 4 years now and I've been thinking of getting her a cage mate. I would like something a little more exotic and thought an elongated would be a good fit based on their:

Similar diet
Similar humidity requirements
Etc.

What is your take on this? Do you think this is a viable option and safe for both torts? I would ideally try to get another female of similar size and slowly introduce them before putting them together.

Any advice and help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

KyleImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1428977425.154953.jpg
 

kmgreet

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
5
Hey everyone,

I've had my redfoot for about 4 years now and I've been thinking of getting her a cage mate. I would like something a little more exotic and thought an elongated would be a good fit based on their:

Similar diet
Similar humidity requirements
Etc.

What is your take on this? Do you think this is a viable option and safe for both torts? I would ideally try to get another female of similar size and slowly introduce them before putting them together.

Any advice and help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

KyleImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1428977666.623444.jpg
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
8,458
Location (City and/or State)
Northern California, bay area
welcome to the forums! red foot and elongated have some similar care but you should never house two different species together. these tortoises are from different parts of the world and they are adapted to survive diseases and bacteria from those areas, if they are introduced this could kill both tortoises. also if that doesn't kill them being kept in a pair one of them would become dominate and add lots of stress to the tortoises environment.
 

kmgreet

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
5
Thanks for the update - is there no way then to safely house torts of different species together? Wild caught I understand, but from
A "reputable" breeder?

What about red- and yellow foots? Surely they are similar enough, no?

Again thanks for the input.
 

russian/sulcata/tortoise

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2014
Messages
8,458
Location (City and/or State)
Northern California, bay area
Thanks for the update - is there no way then to safely house torts of different species together? Wild caught I understand, but from
A "reputable" breeder?

What about red- and yellow foots? Surely they are similar enough, no?

Again thanks for the input.
there is no way to house 2 different species together safely.
red foots and yellow foots can be housed together when they are hatchlings but as adults yellow foots are giants and could easily injure a red foot.
 
Last edited:

crimson_lotus

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
1,385
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Looks like everyone covered the different species issue very well, but if you were thinking about getting another red foot, then here it goes: tortoises should not be housed in pairs, it can never be guaranteed that they will get along, and they usually do not. They are solitary animals and do not enjoy the company of other tortoises. If you were to have a ratio where females outnumber the males, it could work with the right sized habitat, but pairs can be dangerous.

So if you did want another tortoise, I would recommend housing them separately.
 

Jodie

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2014
Messages
4,359
Location (City and/or State)
Spokane Valley WA
Tortoises are territorial and don't want friends. Different species also carry different pathogens. It is not a good idea to mix species. To avoid risk of making one or the other sick, stressed or injury, you would be best off to keep them in separate enclosures.
 

naturalman91

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
2,015
Location (City and/or State)
Medford Oregon
mixing species is a definite no no each species should have they're own dedicated enclosure kept away from each other it's a problem waiting to happen
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Species should not be mixed. We aren't telling you this to rain on your parade, we are telling you this so you don't end up with one or more dead tortoises.

Tortoises should also not be kept in pairs. It just doesn't suit them. Here is more explanation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...together-a-lesson-learned-the-hard-way.94114/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/bad-day-for-baby.114328/

Getting another tortoise is a great idea that I would encourage, but they will each need their own enclosure and they should have no contact with each other, each others habitats, or each others cage furnishings or "utensils".
 

kmgreet

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2015
Messages
5
Dang, well thanks for the info. I see a lot of "excluding redfoots" in the posts. Are red foots more "amiable" to the idea of being in pairs than others? Just asking for clarification sake.

Thanks
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
As you venture into keeping more than one tortoise, always keep in mind the space you'll need. They need to live primarily outdoors and when it's cold, they may need to come inside or have special heated lodging built for them. Even Redfoot get big enough that this becomes a real job!
And then there is the time that is required. There will always be one with runny eyes, one that is not eating, one that is bothering this one...So even if you have four Redfoot in a very spacious outdoors enclosure, such as mine, you STILL need other pens for temporarily moving stressed or ill tortoises, etc.
Don't get me wrong, it's worth it, but it isn't for everyone.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Dang, well thanks for the info. I see a lot of "excluding redfoots" in the posts. Are red foots more "amiable" to the idea of being in pairs than others? Just asking for clarification sake.

Thanks

RFs are generally amicable. Having said that, there was a member here who had them in a pair, ignored advice to separate them, and then came onto the forum and explained how one of her RFs literally ate the tail and one leg of its cage mate over the course of six weeks.
 

Turtlepete

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 12, 2014
Messages
972
Location (City and/or State)
South Florida
RFs are generally amicable. Having said that, there was a member here who had them in a pair, ignored advice to separate them, and then came onto the forum and explained how one of her RFs literally ate the tail and one leg of its cage mate over the course of six weeks.

Could be wrong, but I suspect this is often due to insufficient space. I've kept several ages in pair settings before (usually "keep-backs", one or two from ever year that I always end up holding onto for a while), and never had any issues like that. Of course, as hatchlings I keep 10-15 in a 4x2 setup with a ton of hides. After they grow a bit they move outdoors to a 8x4, heavily planted "rainforest" to continue growth. This is usually where I still have pairs late into the next year that have yet to be sold. I've had adult pairs in only pair settings as well. 12x20 setup. No issues. So I wonder if perhaps it's often due to just a lack of space to begin with. Way to many members seem to expect to stick a pair or trio of young reds in a 75 gallon tank.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Could be wrong, but I suspect this is often due to insufficient space. I've kept several ages in pair settings before (usually "keep-backs", one or two from ever year that I always end up holding onto for a while), and never had any issues like that. Of course, as hatchlings I keep 10-15 in a 4x2 setup with a ton of hides. After they grow a bit they move outdoors to a 8x4, heavily planted "rainforest" to continue growth. This is usually where I still have pairs late into the next year that have yet to be sold. I've had adult pairs in only pair settings as well. 12x20 setup. No issues. So I wonder if perhaps it's often due to just a lack of space to begin with. Way to many members seem to expect to stick a pair or trio of young reds in a 75 gallon tank.

Space might be a factor in some cases for sure, but I've seen RFs aggressively chasing other RFs in backyard sized habitats. Hormones are hormones regardless of available space.

Most people don't have issues with RFs and aggression, but some do.
 

New Posts

Top