Can I house two tortoises together?

[vampire5003]

I wanted to ask if I could house two tortoises together, one is a leopard tortoise and the other is a sulcata. They are both at hatchling size. Could it work for a month, a year, or until it's time they go into their outdoor enclosure? I am asking because my husband saw a adult sulcata and ironically fell in love with it. I like them too. We have 3 acres of land, we just re-homed some dogs we used to have. I have lot's of space already made. The dogs enclosure was huge. My husband believes it was 40X20 feet. It might be bigger. We still have 3 dogs, but my son David (28 years old) plans on taking 2 of them. Leaving only our German Shepherd which we will move him. We have space for winter. There used to be a pond where the dogs are so we have access to electricity for outdoor heating. The fence is cage-link fence style. It is five feet high and 1 foot underground therefore it is in total 6 feet. We love tortoises and I had some bad luck with hatchlings but the price is incredible and so is the guarantee.

I almost forgot the current enclosure is 8X4 foot enclosure, I would take pics but my camera recently broke. I will attempt to put pics soon though.

PS- I did take my leopard tortoise to the vet if you saw my last thread. The feces came out negative.

 

[Laura]

Hello!
We love torts too!
Ideally sulcatas and leopards should be housed seperately. Thier temperments are different and the sulcatas tend to bully others.
They also carry different bugs in thier intestinal track.. and could potentionally get each other sick.
Fencing works, but sometimes something that they cant see thru works better.
Are you getting another hatchling or a older one?

 

[vampire5003]

Hello!
We love torts too!
Ideally sulcatas and leopards should be housed seperately. Thier temperments are different and the sulcatas tend to bully others.
They also carry different bugs in thier intestinal track.. and could potentionally get each other sick.
Fencing works, but sometimes something that they cant see thru works better.
Are you getting another hatchling or a older one?

A hatchling one, it is the same size as my leopard maybe a little smaller.

 

[Edna]

I'm confused. In this thread, post 13, you said your other tort was Jeremy, the redfoot.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Leopard-Tortoise-Eating-Substrate#axzz1K6lL5Dhc

Do you have a leopard and a redfoot, and planning to get a sulcata too?

Plan to keep species separate.

 

[vampire5003]

I'm confused. In this thread, post 13, you said your other tort was Jeremy, the redfoot.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Leopard-Tortoise-Eating-Substrate#axzz1K6lL5Dhc

Do you have a leopard and a redfoot, and planning to get a sulcata too?

Plan to keep species separate.

Sorry about the late reply. I have a redfoot in a large inclosure indoors/outdoors. I's 8X8 feet. My husband builds lots of enclosures.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

It bothers me that you rehomed your dogs so easily. When you get an animal it is for life and yet you've already rehomed several dogs. That's just not right. Yes, I want young Sulcata to get homes badly, but I don't think it's right to rehome your dogs either. What are you going to do when all those Sulcata are over 50 pounds and nothing but trouble? Are you going to rehome them then? I know just how much trouble a large tortoise can be as I keep Bob who is almost 100 pounds.

To answer your question, yes, you can house those 2 species together, but you should not. Each species carries pathogens that could conceivably make the other species either sick or dead. Or maybe nothing will happen. You would need to quarantine the new tortoise for about 6 months first but even then you run risks. I personally wouldn't house different species together and I recommend that you don't either...

 

[vampire5003]

It bothers me that you rehomed your dogs so easily. When you get an animal it is for life and yet you've already rehomed 3 dogs. That's just not right. Yes, I want young Sulcata to get homes badly, but I don't think it's right to rehome your dogs either. I believe that when you get an animal, it's for life. What are you going to do when all those Sulcata are over 50 pounds and nothing but trouble? Are you going to rehome them then? I know just how much trouble a large tortoise can be as I keep Bob who is almost 100 pounds.

To answer your question, yes, you can house those 2 species together, but you should not. Each species carries pathogens that could conceivably make the other species either sick or dead. Or maybe nothing will happen. You would need to quarantine the new tortoise for about 6 months first but even then you run risks. I personally wouldn't house different species together and I recommend that you don't either...

I didn't just wake up and say lets get rid of the dogs. My son davidhas been wanting my 2 labs forever. I finally let him take them when hes ready. I loved them but its for the better, my daugher in law is a vet and only does dogs and cats.

 

[Tom]

I recommend housing them separately for a whole host of reasons.

 

[vampire5003]

I recommend housing them separately for a whole host of reasons.

Thank you for a good response. I will buy a 55 gallon stock tank for know.

 

[Tom]

I use stock tanks pretty regularly for indoor housing. They have always worked very well for me.

Here's a thread I did along time ago: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Basic-Enclosures#axzz1K8CcD0dj

 

[Maggie Cummings]

*we just re-homed some dogs we used to have. I have lot's of space already made. The dogs enclosure was huge. My husband believes it was 40X20 feet. It might be bigger. We still have 3 dogs, but my son David (28 years old) plans on taking 2 of them. Leaving only our German Shepherd which we will move him.*
[/quote]

In reading this you say you've *just* re-homed some dogs you used to have *AND* your son will be taking the other 2 dogs. In reading that you make it sound like more than just 2 Labs. There's no way you can change what you wrote. I know that as soon as the Sulcata start to cause trouble you will rehome them and make someone else take care of your problem. This is just wrong all the way around.

Do you know just how much trouble they cause? Will you have a warm insulated house out on your three acres for the tortoises to sleep in? You will have to make some sort of a safe warm place for them to sleep at night. They need much more than just a chain link fence. Hatchling tortoises will need to sleep inside for about a year, then they can stay outside during the day but they'll need to sleep inside at night.

 

[vampire5003]

*we just re-homed some dogs we used to have. I have lot's of space already made. The dogs enclosure was huge. My husband believes it was 40X20 feet. It might be bigger. We still have 3 dogs, but my son David (28 years old) plans on taking 2 of them. Leaving only our German Shepherd which we will move him.*

In reading this you say you've *just* re-homed some dogs you used to have *AND* your son will be taking the other 2 dogs. In reading that you make it sound like more than just 2 Labs. There's no way you can change what you wrote. I know that as soon as the Sulcata start to cause trouble you will rehome them and make someone else take care of your problem. This is just wrong all the way around.

Do you know just how much trouble they cause? Will you have a warm insulated house out on your three acres for the tortoises to sleep in? You will have to make some sort of a safe warm place for them to sleep at night. They need much more than just a chain link fence. Hatchling tortoises will need to sleep inside for about a year, then they can stay outside during the day but they'll need to sleep inside at night.
[/quote]

Ok now I get that I didn't make a lot of sense. I meant that my son wants to take the 3 dogs but hasn't yet. He might only take 2 but it's okay because I love them.