Guest ssparkes Report post Posted September 16, 2003 Guy's I've just got a Horsfield's Tortoise & a Bearded Dragon. There both approx. 8 weeks old and I've been told that they will live together very happily. The pet shop that I got them from has been very helpful, but I'm also interested in hearing from people that have had first hand experience in keeping theses animals, especially keeping them together in the same terrarium I'm keeping them in a terrarium 36" X 18" X 18" (I already know that eventually I'll need a bigger terrarium so please don't bombard me with your terrarium is to small you'll need more space.) I'm using a Ceramic heater for temperature control Right questions At the moment I've got the temp set a approx. 30-35 on the Ceramic heater but towards the top of the terrarium it reaches 40. Bottom left near the heater reaches between 28-32 and bottom right gets to about 25-30. I would really like to know what you guys think the best temperature should be to keep my Tortoise & a Bearded Dragon happy. Thanks Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jan O. Report post Posted September 16, 2003 I would not keep different types of reptiles together. It's not even good to house different species of tortoises together. Every species has its own set of healthy gut flora, but what's normal in a beardie will not be normal in a tortoise and vice versa. You're risking the health of both animals. Horsfields (Russians) require a basking spot of approx. 95 degrees (F) and a cool end during the day of about 70 degrees. During the night, they do not need more than room temperature if kept inside. Although beardies eat veggies, they also eat crickets, etc. which should not be offered to a Russian tortoise. Each species needs an enclosure and diet geared specifically to their requirements if they are to thrive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Xavier Report post Posted September 16, 2003 Don't keep them together, they require different care. The beared needs warmer temp than your russian and they maybe used to have thing in their system but it can kill the other. I'll let someone else touch this as I've never kept russians and had only one beared for short time. It never a very good idea to mixes reptiles but there are a few that get along like painteds and maps but your are too different Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ssparkes Report post Posted September 23, 2003 Hi, This seems to be a popular opinion. I’ve listened to all the arguments and have to admit I agree with what you’re all saying. The pet shop that I brought them from however insist the keeping the them together will be OK. They have a large enclosure approx. 5ft X 3tf X 4ft where they keep a mixture of mature Lizards and tortoises and have assured me that they have never had any problems. Also the owner of the pet shop is very knowledgeable about the animals and is apparently quit well respected with in the animal arena. I appreciate that this doesn’t mean that I won’t have any problems myself but as I said in my original post I do intend to get a larger enclosure. What I have decided to do is separate them when I get the larger enclosure and hopefully I won’t have any problems in the mean time. Thanks for your advice. PS: Please try to be a little less critical and a little more supportive after all the reason I joined the forum was to get positive advice and support. I am interested in my pets welfare and also learning about my pets and the best way of caring for them and like all pet owners keeping animals is a learning experience. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
