Well, if you have a normal household pet like a dog or cat, you definitely don’t want to mingle them all together. Red – foot tortoises are even-tempered reptiles that could share space only with its kind and a few other turtle or younger tortoise species given that they are provided enough room to be housed comfortably.
Many hobbyists aim to integrate many of their reptile pets in one habitat and though this is possible and often successfully accomplished by experienced keepers, tanks housing mixed – species of turtles or reptiles can be very challenging to keep clean, is quite costly and can also be time consuming.
Don’t House Them All in One Space
Although red – foot tortoises are docile and seemingly non – threatening to humans, they can show aggressiveness towards other tortoise species especially when its territory is threatened or if food is not enough within the enclosure because it can obviously create a competition.
It can possibly show its innate rage and prey upon other species if it is housed with other tortoises but as long as you provide them with more than enough space as they grow and give them a fair amount of food and other necessities to live a comfortable captive life, then you won’t have a problem with housing them in one habitat. If you are planning to house multiple species or red – foot tortoises in one tank you will need to follow a thought out strategy to help them be comfortable with one another.
You may need to provide a lot of extra space with many hiding places and visible barriers. You also have to ensure that all species are fed separately to make sure that each one is properly fed.
No socialization or interaction is needed prior to mixing them with other tortoise species because they can pretty much get along, however if you may need to quarantine new species to prevent the spread of possible illnesses particularly Salmonella bacteria.
Author and long-time animal lover. Sharing knowledge on pet care through experience and the written word. 