Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I have a male and female three toed box turtle. Can a male ornate box turtle live in the same enclosure with them for a few months? The outside pen is 9x9. Thanks for your help.

not a good idea.
1. you could end up with hybrids which really aren't all that great of a thing and as far as I am aware no one with experience and knowledge in the hobby will purchase them.

2. your female 3 toe could become overwhelmed by the constant want to mate by the males, not to mention they could also fight over her and the territory, and one of them could end up injured.

Lets not forget quarantine issues, too: if this is supposed to be a temporary situation anyway, just keep them separated. It will be better for all in the long run.

Thanks for the quick responses. I'll keep them in different enclosures. I had not thought about the breeding issue. Yikes...

Its really not that big of a deal, especially
on a temporary basis.

I have kept ornates and three toeds together
for five years. I have only seen a male ornate
attempt to breed with a three toed female, 2-3
times and all in the last year. None of the
attempts were successful.

I've never seen a male three toed go after an
ornate.

In the situation you describe, you'd probabably have
less problems with a female ornate or less problems
if you had a male and female pair of ornates.

Male ornates seem to be...err...more agressively horny
than male three toeds. Male three toeds go through
a courtship process. With male ornates, its more like
rape.

And if a male ornate can't find a willing female, he'll
go after another male ornate, in fact (based on my experience
anyway) he's more likely to go after another male ornate
before he would a female three toed.

I really hope to get these courtship differences on video
some day.

Sorry if I was too graphic.