Turtle or Tortoise?

[My Torts]

I own 2 male redfoots. I've had them about 6 years and have been looking to add more to my outdoor enclosure. This is just a hobby for me and my kids. We are not looking to breed or sell, just enjoy! Tonight, I came across someone selling Eastern Box Turtles ... the price was affordable so I am interested. He said that they do not need to be in water so do you think I would be able to keep a male Eastern Box Turtle with my 2 male Redfoots? Over the years, I've only read about redfoots. He keeps callng it a turtle and not a tortoise and says it'll be fine but I want to be sure before I bring it home. I thought only tortoises were "on land". I still have lots to learn... Any expert advice?

 

[dmmj]

some people do, I don't mix species myself, even though their diets are similar, the RF's will get much bigger than the EBT, and they do require some water, they do best if they have access to a nice big bowl of water to swim in. The way I look at it, is sure odds are they won't be any problems but personally I don't want to take the chance.

 

[dmarcus]

If you do decide to get it, make sure your enclosure is large enough to where everyone will have there own space to get away from the others...

 

[terryo]

I have a friend who kept RF's and Box Turtles in her yard for years. They had the run of the whole yard, and were able to live separate lives if they wished to.
When I got my Cherry Head I had just gotten a Three Toed Box Turtle who was the same age, so since both needed the same type of environment...humidity, heat, low light..etc. I kept they together for three years, inside in a large vivarium, and outside in a garden. I did have intentions of separating them when they got older. This Summer I kept my little Three Toed hatchling with my little Cherry Head hatchling in a small outdoor enclosure during the day. They come in at night.
I only did this because they were both CB and I knew where they came from and who the breeders were. When they get older I won't keep them together any more, and I would never put any together that didn't start off together. I do know others who keep box turtles and Red foots together though.

 

[My Torts]

Thanks for the input so far ... So the Eastern Box Turtles live more like a tortoise than say something like a slider turtle? I'm trying to read on the internet in addition to searching on here. My enclosure is large enough that I could put a divider and they could still share the water/soaking area. My friend sent me a message stating that she thinks I need a permit for these in Florida so I'm also researching that.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Box turtles (Terrapene species) are terrestrial turtles and in the family Emydidae, which is the pond turtle family that contains aquatic species like the European pond turtle, painted turtle, red-eared slider, and diamondback terrapin. There are also some semi-terrestrial species in that family, like the wood turtle and spotted turtle. Box turtles are the most terrestrial members of this family, although some species or subspecies are more terrestrial than others.

True tortoises, in contrast, are in the family Testudinidae. Some species live in arid environments, others in wetter ones, but all are completely terrestrial turtles that are adapted to life on land. All animals in the order Testudinata are known as chelonians or turtles in general, but only those turtles in the family Testudinidae are tortoises. People in Australia do commonly refer to their aquatic side-necked turtles as tortoises, but in the scientific sense, side-necked turtles and tortoises are not closely related.

There are some similarities between box turtles and more wet-adapted tortoises, like the redfoot, because redfoots are less herbivorous than other, more arid-adapted tortoises. Like other tortoises, redfoots eat leafy greens, but they also eat fruits and some animal protein in the form of snails or animal carcasses. Box turtles are completely omnivorous, though. They eat leaves, fruits, mushrooms, snails, earthworms, insects, and carcasses as well.

As a rule of thumb, you don't want to mix turtles that don't normally co-occur in nature, because they can spread diseases and pick on each other. It's not a big deal to keep red-eared sliders and painted turtles together, but it would be risky to mix redfoots and boxies because, despite some similarities, they are from different continents and would never encounter each other in the wild. Some people do mix healthy turtles from different species and they do fine, but there is a greater chance of something going wrong than otherwise.

 

[dmmj]

Box turtles (Terrapene species) are terrestrial turtles and in the family Emydidae, which is the pond turtle family that contains aquatic species like the European pond turtle, painted turtle, red-eared slider, and diamondback terrapin. There are also some semi-terrestrial species in that family, like the wood turtle and spotted turtle. Box turtles are the most terrestrial members of this family, although some species or subspecies are more terrestrial than others.

True tortoises, in contrast, are in the family Testudinidae. Some species live in arid environments, others in wetter ones, but all are completely terrestrial turtles that are adapted to life on land. All animals in the order Testudinata are known as chelonians or turtles in general, but only those turtles in the family Testudinidae are tortoises. People in Australia do commonly refer to their aquatic side-necked turtles as tortoises, but in the scientific sense, side-necked turtles and tortoises are not closely related.

There are some similarities between box turtles and more wet-adapted tortoises. Redfoots are less herbivorous than other, more arid tortoises. They at leafy greens, but they also eat fruits and some animal protein in the form of snails or larger animal carcasses. Box turtles are completely omnivorous, though. They eat leaves, fruits, mushrooms, snails, insects, and carcasses as well.

As a rule of thumb, you don't want to mix turtles that don't normally co-occur in nature, because they can spread diseases and pick on each other. It's not a big deal to keep red-eared sliders and painted turtles together, but it would be risky to mix redfoots and boxies because, despite some similarities, they are from different continents and would never encounter each other in the wild. Some people do mix healthy turtles from different species and they do fine, but there is a greater chance of something going wrong than otherwise.

That's what I meant to say

 

[My Torts]

Thanks so much for the info!! I've decided to pass on the box turtles and have already notified the seller. I think I'll only look for more redfoots to join the 2 I have. I think the seller thinks I'm being paranoid and I've decided he's too pushy!

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Thanks so much for the info!! I've decided to pass on the box turtles and have already notified the seller. I think I'll only look for more redfoots to join the 2 I have. I think the seller thinks I'm being paranoid and I've decided he's too pushy!

A wise choice if you only want one enclosure to deal with.

BTW, if you add female redfoots, add at least 3 or more, otherwise it'll get really ugly...0ne female means that your two males will be constantly fighting over her (until the dominant male stresses out or kills the subdominant one) and/or constantly trying to mate her (which can stress her to death, as well), while 3 or more females means no one female gets all the attention, and, with enough females, the males'll likely be too busy to fight as much.

Adding another male just means a 3-way battle until, again, the dominant male stresses out or kills both subdominant ones...

How large is your redfoot enclosure?...too little space is a very bad idea, as well, and should be considered.

 

[terryo]

I think you made a good decision too.

 

[My Torts]

Thanks so much for the additional info! My enclosure is 1200 square feet for the 2 of them. I do have room to expand whenever I find some females.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Thanks so much for the additional info! My enclosure is 1200 square feet for the 2 of them. I do have room to expand whenever I find some females.

Excellent!

You could end up with quite a colony, with plenty of room for all!