sulcata & redfoot - comparison - can live together?

[marcy4hope]

i have a sulcata tortoise - louis - i just love him. he's supposedly 6 1/2 months old. the pet store where i bought him told me he was 5 months old, but he was very tiny. after seeing how they raise them there, he probably really was that old, but just wasn't growing well. he's really taken off in growth since i've had him - growing about 3/4 inch since i got him the first of january.

i saw my first redfoot tortoise this weekend and fell in love with them. i knew as soon as i saw them that the next tortoise i would have, would be a redfoot. i'm not in any hurry to get one right now. i already have enough going on to not need a new pet right now. (my husband brought home a rabbit the other day and i just bought a second one yesterday. yes, now i have the tortoise AND the hare.)

so - when and if i decide to get a redfoot - can my sulcata be raised up right along side of a redfoot??? what are the major differences in diet and housing that i would have to consider? i have just begun to do a bit of research on the redfoot and would like to know some really good recommended sites to research them ... besides this one of course.

thanks!

 

[Jacqui]

Can he? Yes. Should he? In my opinion, no.

Let's look at some of the reasons. There is the chance of giving each other diseases, which may be ones the other tortoise has no natural resistance too. There is a huge size difference between a bulldozer adult sulcata and a redfoot. Also there is a personality difference between them, where most sulcata will become more aggressive then the redfoots. Think about if the sulcata is a male and hits sexual maturity and gets into the male one track mind of sex, sex, sex and is constantly trying to breed the poor smaller redfoot. Think stress, possible shell damage, or even worse.

Or look at the diet difference, a redfoot really needs it's fruit and protein, the sulcata can eat those things too, but not in the same percentages as the redfoot. An adult sulcata tends to get a lot of hay in it's diet, but the redfoot won't be so happy to see that on his plate. They both could survive on each others diet, but it would not be the best idea for them to have to do so.

Then climate, the redfoot tends to not want the high intensity lighting the sulcata needs, plus the redfoot needs a higher humidity level. Yes, they could once more compromise, but should they have to?

My opinion is strongly only one species to an enclosure. Others feel differently and flaunt their ability to do so with no apparent problems all the time. It's to some degree a personal opinion and you have mine and some of my major reasons for them. It comes down to your choice in the end. Can you do two enclosures? Which any time you have two or more tortoises, you do always need to have the ability to separate them any how in case of a problem arising.

 

[ripper7777777]

Yea I have to agree with Jacqui on this one and I've been known to mix species of animals. Redfoot's diet needs are to different from sulcatas, the sulcata is gonna want all the fruits and goodies the Redfoot gets and that is just bad for the sulcata.

Also there are people who have kept different species together with no issue until they were separated and the tortoises seemed depressed. So even if you decide to overlook the health and diet risks sooner or later the sulcata will be to big to live with the redfoot safely and they will have to be separated which could cause stress.


I would still get the Redfoots, I currently have two and they are great, just get a different enclosure. A 40 gallon breeder tank works well as a terrarium for Redfoot babies.

 

[Redstrike]

Well said Jacqui, couldn't agree more!

 

[marcy4hope]

thanks for the opinions guys. that's EXACTLY what i needed to know! i did see the difference in diet and wasn't sure if that was just the way one person was feeding their redfoot or a general rule. the more research i've done, i have seen that their diet is a LOT different than a sulcata and so they really would not work well together. thanks for the advice ... definitely taken! if i decide to get a redfoot in the future, i'll know ahead of time to definitely put him or her in a totally different enclosure.

 

[dmmj]

I have both red foot and sulcata and I keep them separate. Like said above my main concern would be diet, and eventual size difference. They are both great tortoises though, but just separate.

 

[Tom]

You could certainly raise a red food along side a sulcata. They would do great in two separate enclosures along side each other.

Haha. Just being funny. Jacqui summed up my feelings on the matter precisely.