marginated and hermanns together?

[rthorne1]

heya

just wondering whther hermanns and marginated can be kept together?

i have a 4foot by 2ft enclosure.

they're showing signs of mating though and the marginated is very rough. ive kept them together for 5 to 6 years and thyeve been fine.

thanks

 

[GBtortoises]

Technically speaking the two species can be kept together. They have very similar care requirements. But there is the concern of sexual aggression and the possibility hybridization if you are keeping males and females. Hybridization has been proven to occur in many combinations of Northern Mediterranean tortoise species. Most notably Marginateds and Ibera Greeks and between Eastern Hermann's and Russians. So the potential exists and shouldn't be encouraged in captivity because you are then "diluting" the true species qualities of both. Most people consider hybridized tortoises to be a novelty. They certainly can't contribute to the longevity of either species in captivity. The aggression should be taken seriously. A male Marginated can be extremely aggressive (as can a male Hermann's) and can cause serious physical injury to other tortoises, both male and female. Tortoises kept with other aggressive tortoises should either be separated or given a very large enclosure with lots of hiding places and visual barriers to co-exist in. A 2' x 4' enclosure is going to be much too small for medium to adult size animals of either species.
It would be wiser to seperate the two species and if necessary separate aggressive tortoises from submissive tortoises if they're kept in smaller enclosure.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Rich:

Do you have a male and a female?

If it were me, I would not keep the two species in the same habitat.