Russian and Box Turtle

[russiantortoise]

Hey guys I've been wanting an ornate box turtle for pretty much all my life. I looked and I couldn't find one so I got a Russian tortoise. I was at the pet store in a different city. I saw an ornate box turtle and the enclosure was almost the same enclosure as my russian tortoise enclosure could I get it and keep it in the same enclosure? I have a 3x3 foot enclosure and my russian tortoise is happy and the box turtle was in a small enclosure and it was happy

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

In short, no.

 

[kanalomele]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

You cannot house them together. They have entirely different needs. Some searching through the forum will help you understand their differing requirements.

 

[dmmj]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

3 foot by 3 foot is to small for 2, they have different dietary needs, they are from different countries so you have possible pathogen problems.
so no I would not do it, plus russiand are very territorial, and they don't like cage mates, even other russians.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

All of the above are valid reasons, plus the Ornate Box turtle is considered by many to be about the least-easy to keep healthy in captivity, due to, among other things, a need for higher humidity.

My daughter's 3 have a watefall in their outdoor enclosure and very lush greenery to accomplish this. Inside, during the winter, they get to soak for an hour everyday and get misted 3X a day.

You might want to consider a 3-toed Box turtle...not as colorful, but quite a bit easier to keep. Eastern Box turtles seem to be somewhere in the middle, hardiness-wise. All three can become excellent, friendly pets.

 

[russiantortoise]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

But not in the same enclosure right?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

But not in the same enclosure right?

The Steppe tortoise needs a dry environment, as their native homeland is VERY arid desert lands (in fact, it's some of the least pleasant real estate on this Earth...Death Valley probably feels right at home to them!), while box turtles are more inclined towards fields to forests. At the same time, putting some moss or coit inside both species' hideouts and moistening it daily is important...it knows what it needs at any given point, and your job, as it's keeper, is to supply that.

So, no, you'd need to give each their own enviroment to keep them in optimum health. My daughter's ornates live in an enclosure that iss about 2/3rds covered, to keep the humidity higher, with temps of 95F on the warm end, and 70 or so on the cooler end, while my Hermann's have an enclosure that has no cover and a basking spot that gets to about 95F...your Steppe tortoise prefers even drier temps, so you'd want the basking spot's temperature a bit higher (100-105F is good), but a cooler end (70F or so) is also essential.

 

[biochemnerd808]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

Sounds like you have already been given proper advice. As mentioned above, NEVER mix different tortoise/turtle species (even if they do it in Zoos!). The can carry different pathogens and parasites, and you could lose BOTH worst case if they infect each other with something the other isn't immune to.

Also, with such different environmental requirements, and food needs, it wouldn't be realistic to keep them together. My female Russian tort was given to me along with a large bearded dragon that the previous owner kept in the same glass tank! (yikes)

I hope you find a good solution - I have 3 different tortoise enclosures, two of them are tortoise tables (one of them is "pretty" for my 2 healthy Russians (72"x30"); one tort table that is more functional than attractive (48"x33"), and it's where the tort(s) live that I rescue and rehabilitate - can be divided further to quarantine a sick animal, and then in a different room I have another home-built enclosure on top of a large dresser that has my Greek tort. I also keep a 10 gal "hospital" tank on hand in case I get a really sick tort... little Norbert lived there for 4 months until he was strong enough to explore.

If you build the enclosure(s) yourself, the extra cost isn't much... you just need a second set of light fixtures and bulbs, which are MUCH cheaper if you order them on eBay than buying at the pet store...

Good luck!

 

[russiantortoise]

RE: Russain and Box Turtle

Thanks! Also, I've seen Big Apple Pet Products and Zoomed sell this kind of tortoise table (I built my own). Can I buy that and put a box turtle in there?