Desert tortoise & desert box turtle (?) in the same habitat

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keen266

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A while ago my family found a small tortoise wandering around, and we've been keeping him while we look for the owner. I've been on here once to try to figure out the breed, and he appears to be a desert box turtle, from what I can tell.

The thing is, we've been keeping him in the back yard with our desert tortoise, Speedy. Speedy is about 3 times bigger than Turlough (what we've been calling the new tortoise) and as far as we know hasn't been exposed to other tortoises.

Today, we saw the two of them together, and Speedy was bobbing his head at Turlough. I looked that up and it sounds like a dominance thing, which worried me a little. And then I didn't see it, but I guess he started to bite Turlough's shell or something like that.

Is it safe to keep them in the same area? Are these just "getting to know you" or "establishing dominance" things that will pass, or should I try and find another place to keep Turlough?
 

Yvonne G

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In some areas on the U.S. the desert box turtle's and the desert tortoise's areas overlap. I'm sure they must come into contact with each other at times in the wild. So the "do not mix species" thing is not so important with these two animals. However, the aggression thing is making it important. Its time for Turlough to have his own space, for his protection. Its obvious that Speedy wants to be an only tortoise.

But, if memory serves, we were never able to actually see your pictures, so we're not really sure that Turlough IS a desert box turtle. If he's a different kind, then the desert tortoise deffinitely should not be in the same habitat with him. Try to post your pictures again:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Posting-pictures-from-IPhone#axzz26StnkmT0

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-to-post-pictures-in-your-forum-posts--5245#axzz26SvRMXul
 

Tom

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I say separate them either way. Both for disease potential AND for the obvious behavioral reasons. You just found this turtle running around. You have no idea what he might be carrying.

A dog from Southern CA can give parvovirus to another dog from Southern CA just as easily as a dog from Europe or anywhere else. Same with tortoises and and other animals that share the same general habitat.
 
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