Kball, do as you are. Research. Study. Ask questions from those whom you see are respected on this forum. I look forward to the day that I can refer younger newbies to you for advise.
I wouldn't keep the two together. Perhaps it does work for some people but there is still no benefit for the tortoise. In fact, the only benefactor is the keeper, who saves on space.
In my opinion, If you don't have enough space to keep large sulcata and leopard tortoises separate, then don't own them.
Thanks for your opinion. Your being an experienced keeper of both species, and caring for captive breds, your knowledge is helpful.without being controversial, there is another way to look at this subject. If talking about wild caught animals I would strongly agree with the above and say absolutely no, but 99.9999999% of the time with these two species this is not the case. So if the animals in question are both captive bred and of a similar size there is no problem what so ever housing them together once both animals are healthy. There is nothing a captive leopard tortoise will catch off a captive sulcata and vice versa that it won't catch out side grazing on grass. There is no harmful pathogens one can carry and make the other ill if captive. All tortoises should be vet checked on purchase and fecal tests carried out.
For the past 20 years we have housed our leopard tortoises with our sulcatas. They were similar size when acquired with the leopards being slightly bigger. Not once was there ever a time when the sulcatas got too big for the leopards. While they did bypass them, there was never an occasion where the sulcatas could cause harm. A adult sulcata will not be able to hurt or kill an adult leopard. Leopard tortoises are also a moderately large species. If cared for correctly a sulcata will never be able to grow to a size to harm a leopard tortoise that was originally a similar size. accelerated growth due to incorrect care which is wrong being the exception.
Our co-habituating the two species is so successful that our leopards are breeding for us and all animals are 100% happy and healthy. We would not breed the sulcatas.
Please note, in my opinion the above only applies to these species and redfoot and yellowfoot tortoises.
here's some pic's of our bunch and some recent babies.
I have a theory that I'd like to throw out there. Could be wrong or it could explain some of this. My theory is climate as it relates to health and behavior. I propose that living outdoors everyday in a warm climate with lots of UV, natural grazing and very large enclosures might encourage more natural behavior than living in small indoor enclosures with artificial lighting and UV most of the year. Let me share an example: In the past I used to rehab a lot of poorly cared for green iguanas. People would buy them as babies at a pet shop, keep them in a small aquarium, feed them lettuce, no UV, and they would get bored with them, or not want to buy a bigger cage as they grew. Most of these animals were dog tame, easy to handle and not aggressive in any way. For those reading this who don't know, this is NOT normal green iguana behavior. Yes some of them can tame down and be quite approachable, but the majority of healthy normal iguanas are fairly skittish and defensive. I would take these malnourished borderline MBD animals and I'd start feeding them well, supplementing their calcium, and most importantly, get them outside in large open cages for sunning daily. Nearly every one of these docile indoor house pets turned into a tail whipping, mouth gaping, mini Godzilla with a vendetta against humans. Some would tame down, but their obvious health and vigor from a good diet, spacious enclosure and exposure to real sunshine had an obvious impact on their behavior and temperament. I have seen the same thing, although admittedly less pronounced, in tortoises. Might this be a factor in our disagreement on the "normal" aggression levels in sulcatas?