Temporary outdoor enclosure swap

[k8tburt]

Hello,
I have 2 redfoot tortoises that live in separate enclosures in the garden (we live in Florida). One of them will eat weeds and most of the greens I planted for them, the other won’t. My question is, is it ok to swap their enclosures so the less picky eater can mow down all the weeds in the other enclosure? Can I switch them back and forth depending on how well the weeds grow back? Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[Michael Bird]

As long as they aren't sick or have any parasites (like worms), I don't think there should be any problem swapping them between enclosures, but I'd wait for an expert to come along and confirm that before you actually move them.

 

[Tom]

Hello,
I have 2 redfoot tortoises that live in separate enclosures in the garden (we live in Florida). One of them will eat weeds and most of the greens I planted for them, the other won’t. My question is, is it ok to swap their enclosures so the less picky eater can mow down all the weeds in the other enclosure? Can I switch them back and forth depending on how well the weeds grow back? Thanks in advance for the advice.

Its as Michael said. If neither is sick or carrying anything, there is no issue. If one is asymptomatically carrying some tortoise disease or parasite, you run the risk of infecting the other.

Personally, if these were both my animals, both the same species, both form safe sources, and I had them for at least several months each, and I saw no sign of any problem, I would probably risk it.

Having said all of that, I DO happen to have animals that meet all of the above criteria, and I am keeping them all separate in their own spaces.

 

[k8tburt]

Thank you for the responses and advice. I did swap them and monitored for any problems. None noted except she didn’t do quite as good a job on weed clean up duty as I had hoped. They have since been swapped back again.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I also keep Redfoot in Florida.
Once my tortoises are established and have been previously isolated, I do swap out enclosures for maintenance etc.
I have one RF in particular that likes to bite me if I turn my back.