Two diffrent breeds

Question
Hello there my name is james and i have a russian tortoise i got him from pets smart so i have no idea how old or what gender but i am offered a red fotted tortoise for a great price is it ok to let them be in the same tank? Last thing i want to do is have them fight so what would be the absoloute best thing to do? Space for them is not an ishue there will be plenty of room for bot if them

Answer
Hi James,

Tortoises don't have breeds--that refers to domesticated animals.  But no, mixing species in general is not recommended because of cross-species pathogens (what one species has resistance to may cause another species to become ill).  In particular, mixing a Russian and a redfoot would be an extremely bad idea because their care requirements are very different.  You would likely end up with two very unhealthy tortoises.

Russians are complete herbivores (greens/weeds only, no fruit or veggies), while redfoots are omnivores (greens, fruits, veggies, and animal protein).  Russians need some moisture in the environment, but shouldn't be wet.  Redfoots are a tropical species and require a lot of moisture.  They also need warmer lower temperatures than Russians

I know you said you have enough space, but tortoises require a lot of room.  One adult Russian should have *at least* 5' x 3' indoors, and a redfoot needs more like 8' x 4'.  More space than that would be ideal.  Neither species should be kept in a tank; something large, open, and airy is better (glass makes it difficult to keep a good temperature gradient).

The Russian you have is a wild caught adult, or may be slightly sub-adult.  You can find information on sexing here:  http://www.russiantortoise.net/male_female.htm.  Keep in mind that tortoises all look female until maturity, so if you have a sub-adult male he may not look male yet.  Wild caught Russians imported into this country are all around the 4" mark (this is so more can be crammed into shipping crates) and at least five years old, although may be quite a bit older.

Since you are new to tortoises, I suggest keeping your Russian, making sure he's housed properly, and learning all you can about his care.  Then if you want to get another species, and you're confident you know what you're doing, go ahead--but keep them separate.

More info for you:

http://russiantortoise.net/
http://redfoottortoise.com/
http://tortoiseyard.com/