Hello from New York!

[Samantha S.]

Hi everyone, I am a longtime "lurker" of tortoise forum and I finally made an account!
I am the proud mama of a female Russian Tortoise (Tootsie), rescued from a horrible situation and was being sold on craigslist (poor diet, poor husbandry, small class enclosure, etc).. I also have two RES.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to inherit a lovely red footed tortoise, named Tortellini :]

My question is..is it okay to house he red footed and the russian tortoise together? I have them together temporarily because getting him was a complete surprise to me.... my friend is moving and can't take him and randomly brought him to my house. I know that Tootsie is a desert species, and Tortellini is a tropical, so they will have different requirements as far as food goes...just not sure about their housing situation.

Thanks for any advice!!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. No, it's not a good idea. I would get the RF out of the Russians enclosure ASAP, as the Russian is probably wild caught and could pass on bad pathogens/worms, etc that your RF may not have or have any immunities to fight off. Even if you have to put it in a cardboard box until you get a proper enclosure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Samantha, and welcome to the Forum!

Even if you have to put one into a cardboard box, separate them immediately! It is not a good idea for new tortoise-keepers to mix species...especially when one of the species is a Russian tortoise. Russian tortoises come into this country very dirty (dirty=full of parasites and bad micro-organisms), and he could possibly make your RF tortoise ill or even dead.

Once you have the new habitat containers in hand, the RF tortoise is going to require a humid/moist environment, while the Russian tortoise will need a drier environment.

We have two Russian tortoise care sheets for you to read, one is for babies and the other takes you up to full grown. You can find them pinned at the top of our Russian tortoise section.

Our RF tortoise care sheet can be found in Tortoise Library

 

[Samantha S.]

thanks for the info!

 

[Samantha S.]

thanks for the info!

I have moved him out separately. I had an extra tote so I gave him fresh substrate and his own lamp and water for tonight. I was planning on constructing my Russian a new enclosure soon anyway, so now it looks like i'll be making two

 

[pdrobber]

Welcome fellow New Yorker! Upstate, western, finger lakes, Hudson valley, Long Island, NYC? If you're comfortable answering, just wondering

 

[4jean]

Welcome! I am a New Yorker as well. Upstate area. Here comes the cold weather!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Samantha

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome, Samantha!

 

[Samantha S.]

Welcome! I am a New Yorker as well. Upstate area. Here comes the cold weather!

I grew up wayyyy upstate, but now I live near NYC

 

[Samantha S.]

Welcome fellow New Yorker! Upstate, western, finger lakes, Hudson valley, Long Island, NYC? If you're comfortable answering, just wondering

Grew up in the adirondacks...but now I live in westchester

 

[Alaskamike]

Welcome.
I try to not look at Craig's list anymore did a similar thing with an abused Redfoot and with my other torts have my hands full.

I hope you have good luck with your new one It can be gratifying to give them a good environment when they've had a rough start.

Since RF 's are omnivores & eat such a variety of foods , I'm having fun trying to give her the nutrition she needs.

Hope yours grows big & strong

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Samantha and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you, Tootsie, Tortellini and your two sliders.
Read, learn, contribute ask questions and have fun!

 

[AnimalLady]

Hello! Welcome!

 

[Gillian M]

Hi everyone, I am a longtime "lurker" of tortoise forum and I finally made an account!
I am the proud mama of a female Russian Tortoise (Tootsie), rescued from a horrible situation and was being sold on craigslist (poor diet, poor husbandry, small class enclosure, etc).. I also have two RES.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to inherit a lovely red footed tortoise, named Tortellini :]

My question is..is it okay to house he red footed and the russian tortoise together? I have them together temporarily because getting him was a complete surprise to me.... my friend is moving and can't take him and randomly brought him to my house. I know that Tootsie is a desert species, and Tortellini is a tropical, so they will have different requirements as far as food goes...just not sure about their housing situation.

Thanks for any advice!!

A very warm welcome to the forum!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome !