Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I like having my turtle pen mutli species orientated. I like how they all live together. However, I was thinking it would be better to set my enclosure up like a zoo and seperate species. What are the benifits of this?

I never mix my species because too many problems can happen, I don't want to deal with that.
When they are separated you don't have to worry about diseases spreading from species to species. What is normal flora for one species can cause infection in another species.
Reptiles are often too aggressive toward other species & will fight sometimes kill another species.
Then there is the problem of different needs in their environements.
For example my yellow mud turtle & western painted are from different regions, the requirements for keeping them differ. The mud likes a higher water temp, they don't like the same foods, the mud prefers shallow slow moving water, he prefers to walk the bottom, not swim. The painted enjoys deeper water and loves to swim. They're both male, muds are known to be aggressive towards other species & likely would kill the painted if they were together. Even though they're both aquatic, they'd never do well together.
I take my aquatics outside for sun bathing only in areas where the boxies don't live so that I can avoid cross contamination and/or attacks on them by the larger box turtles.
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PHRatz

Because of the problems I have had I have every intention of seperating my species. I just wonder how "reputable sites" show mutli species together. Such as "bills box turtles" there is only one outdoor pen and he has a few sub species of Box turtle. I could be wrong.
Anyway, I figure whant could be a coomon cold for a boxie may be deadly for a spotted turtle.

I don't know why "reputable" sites picture different species together, pet stores do it too.
I know that zoos sometimes mix species too. Zoos tend to have have sterilizing equipment to keep germs down & of course all the animals have regular veterinary care.
At home I don't have sterilizing equipment, I don't take chances because I learned long ago that if something can go wrong it will.. so I just don't take the risks.
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PHRatz