Mixing Turtle Species

[Levi the Leopard]

Mixing Tortoise species is a big No-No.

I am constantly reading in care sheets and in posts about people mixing water turtles?
Why can aquatics mix but the land dwelling cant??

 

[sibi]

For the same reason that donkeys shouldn't mate with horses....what you get is a mule who cannot reproduce ever. Seriously, I just don't think you'll ever get a water turtle out of the water long enough to want to mate with a land turtle. There are many hybrids of various animals, but somethings just don't work because it was never meant to work. This, I believe, is one of them.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

wait, i must have worded my question wrong...

what i am trying to ask is this.

Can you mix different turtles in a tank? mud with musk with RES? i see people saying yes in care sheets and sometimes in posts here. But why can you? In regards to tortoises on land we NEVER mix species. No sulcatas and leopards together. No russians and greeks together.

Why can aquatic turtles be mixed and housed together? Because land torts can not be mixed and housed together....

Did that clarify?

 

[sibi]

Oh, ok got ya. I watched a video on utube and the man had about 4-5 different types of turtles in a tank. I recall he had a reeves, musk (two different ones), a mud and two others. Of course, they were only babies, but as they get bigger and have different needs, I would think there are some you can put together and others you can't. I would check the specific breed of aquatic turtles to see if they get along with others and which ones won't. For instance, I would not put a snapping turtle in with a reeves turtle because one is very aggressive while the other is very gentle. But, check with others or online as to the reasons why specific breeds can or cannot be put together.

 

[wellington]

I'm not sure that they really should be put together. However, I see it done all the time too. Babies, medium and large. Not sure why it seems to be allowed. Be interesting to see what others think.

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

Habitat-wise, it is a little easier to keep them together, but you still have issues like food competition, aggression, disease/parasite transmission, etc.

Another thing to keep in mind though is that a lot of the times, these are species endemic to the same region. I.E. mud turtles and RES and a spiny softshell turtle, can probably do well in a large enough habitat if fed properly and set-up right. Its not like throwing a Russian, sulcata and redfoot tortoise, all three species from 3 different continents.

 

[yagyujubei]

There are many species of water turtle who live together in the wild. In my pond I have Midland painted, spiny softshell, a couple of RES, and of course common snappers. You can often see several species basking together.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

interesting...

ok, thanks for the clarification!

 

[Yellow Turtle]

There are many species of water turtle who live together in the wild. In my pond I have Midland painted, spiny softshell, a couple of RES, and of course common snappers. You can often see several species basking together.

Interesting! I always think common snapper is aggressive to all turtles

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

There are many species of water turtle who live together in the wild. In my pond I have Midland painted, spiny softshell, a couple of RES, and of course common snappers. You can often see several species basking together.

Interesting! I always think common snapper is aggressive to all turtles

In a small, confined glass tank, probably yes. But in a spacious outdoor pond, it's not a huge concern. The other turtles have ample space to stay out of the snapper's way, and the snapper is adequately fed and has little desire to snap at pondmates.

 

[Utah Lynn]

My Yellow belly and 2 Western Painteds live very well together.