Hi  We are looking after a friends hermann tortoise for a fortnight whilst they are away on holiday and I was wondering if I should put him in with my horsfield?  They are both roughly the same age but as the Hermann was fed pellets and lived in a viv he is about three times the size of my little Trevor!  The Outdoor cage is large enough for both of them but we will have to seperate them at night as Trevors indoor table is smaller.  I was thinking I could bring the outdoor cage in for Humphrey (the Hermann) at night. (We think they are both boys!)

Hi, welcome to the site.

The answer is NO you should not put them together.  They are different species and should be housed separately, with hand washing between handling them.  Each species originate from different parts of the world and carry pathogens etc that may be ok to them but can kill other species.  We even recommend a 6 month quarantine period when introducing the same species together, incase one or the other is harbouring any illnesses such as runny nose or even worse herpes.

Its best to put them out separately and not let them mix, any other queries please fire away! regards Vivienne

Thank you Vivienne

I will keep them seperately.  I didn't realise it was so complicated! I was just worried about the size difference

Kerry, Trevor and Humphrey x