Alf said:Because turtles natural habitat is I water and Tories and a dry whic high humidity kind of reptile and it only brings disadvantages putting them together but it was a sick question to ask the public geez
supremelysteve said:Squidget said:For the record i am NOT talking about housing them together...rather hanging out together. I have a 6 inch ornate box turtle and my little baby sulcata and i have read that they cannot be around each other due to some microbe or something that they carry that will kill the other. but i cannot find out exactly how or what it is that is so bad for the other? i like to give them free time in the house and when it gets warmer in the yard...but i only have one house and yard so how can i keep it safe without keeping one caged up all the time(which of coarse would have to be the box turtle since she wont get as big as a small car lol)...is it something in their poop or what? i would love for them to meet and hang out together when my little guy (still cant decide on a dang name lol) gets a little bigger but only if it will not cause harm to either of them. can anyone tell me exactl what it is thats so bad and how it is transfered to the other, and what it does as well as how to prevent it from happening.
The only diseases I am aware of is the mycoplasma's which are a very dangerous pathogen that have been spread to california desert tortoises and to certain populations of eastern box turtles and herpes which is known to be carried by some testudo species.
Mycoplasma probably won't be carried long without expressing itself, and your turtle and tortoise are almost certainly free from it. I don't think either of your species are on the radar list for herpes either.
Many keepers do exactly what you're proposing. I don't, but many others do. It is not advisable because of the possibility one could be carrying something, but the real risk is probably somewhat low. If I had to put money on it, I'd say both will be perfectly fine. But you need to know that it is a real risk. From what you're reading in the above posts, I can see that you now know there is a risk!
The most likely problem would come from your wild-caught box turtle and could be transmitted to your tortoise. Perhaps your tortoise gets parasites from eating box turtle poop. Not life-threatening but a real world possibility.
Steve