Best tortoise for me

[vinnie05]

Hi

I'm looking for a tortoise that will suit me. I live in indonesia where it is sunny all year long. Avg temperature is about 80-90 farenheit or about 30-35 degrees. Humidity level is around 50-70 percent. I can keep it both indoors or outdoors just that if kept outdoors in my garden, I'm not sure if wild cats/ lizards/ mouse are a threat to tortoises. My garden is full of grass and if kept indoors vegetables and fruits are easy to get from my local market. If kept indoors I can buy those rubbermaid boxes

types of tortoise that's common amongst the sellers here are cherry head, sulcata, pardalis, radiata and yellofoot
Please advice what suitable tort to get, and the suitable housing/ specific diet it needs thx

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hi

I'm looking for a tortoise that will suit me. I live in indonesia where it is sunny all year long. Avg temperature is about 80-90 farenheit or about 30-35 degrees. Humidity level is around 50-70 percent. I can keep it both indoors or outdoors just that if kept outdoors in my garden, I'm not sure if wild cats/ lizards/ mouse are a threat to tortoises. My garden is full of grass and if kept indoors vegetables and fruits are easy to get from my local market. If kept indoors I can buy those rubbermaid boxes

types of tortoise that's common amongst the sellers here are cherry head, sulcata, pardalis, radiata and yellofoot
Please advice what suitable tort to get, and the suitable housing/ specific diet it needs thx

A bit humid for a sulcata or leopard, but just about right for the Cherryhead redfoot, Yellowfoot or Radiated.

Best kept outside (they really need sunshine), so build it an enclosure with a hardware cloth lid, to keep of other animals. Radiateds are primarily vegetarian (weeds, greens, grasses, cactus pads), while redfoots and yellowfoots like a little animal protein once or twice a week, along with weeds, greens, grasses, cactus pads and a little fruit.

Planning on a hatchling or an older tortoise?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[vinnie05]

Hi

I'm looking for a tortoise that will suit me. I live in indonesia where it is sunny all year long. Avg temperature is about 80-90 farenheit or about 30-35 degrees. Humidity level is around 50-70 percent. I can keep it both indoors or outdoors just that if kept outdoors in my garden, I'm not sure if wild cats/ lizards/ mouse are a threat to tortoises. My garden is full of grass and if kept indoors vegetables and fruits are easy to get from my local market. If kept indoors I can buy those rubbermaid boxes

types of tortoise that's common amongst the sellers here are cherry head, sulcata, pardalis, radiata and yellofoot
Please advice what suitable tort to get, and the suitable housing/ specific diet it needs thx

A bit humid for a sulcata or leopard, but just about right for the Cherryhead redfoot, Yellowfoot or Radiated.

Best kept outside (they really need sunshine), so build it an enclosure with a hardware cloth lid, to keep of other animals. Radiateds are primarily vegetarian (weeds, greens, grasses, cactus pads), while redfoots and yellowfoots like a little animal protein once or twice a week, along with weeds, greens, grasses, cactus pads and a little fruit.

Planning on a hatchling or an older tortoise?

most likely hatchling as older tortoise is lot more expensive

 

[ssydney]

Sounds humid, so I would go for a Redfoot, Yellowfoot, or Cherryhead.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Agreed. You could go with the South American forest-dwelling yellowfoot or redfoot (including cherryhead) tortoises. Alternatively, if you can find Indotestudo tortoise species from breeders or pet stores (preferably captive bred), they would do very well, too, because they are native to Southeast Asia.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Vinnie05, if you decide on the radiata, give some thought to eventually starting a breeding colony...radiatas are growing rare, so by breeding them, you might help save them from extinction.

 

[vinnie05]

Agreed. You could go with the South American forest-dwelling yellowfoot or redfoot (including cherryhead) tortoises. Alternatively, if you can find Indotestudo tortoise species from breeders or pet stores (preferably captive bred), they would do very well, too, because they are native to Southeast Asia.

What are some indotestudo species? And I just found out that radiateds are like 4x more expensive than cherryheads.. Is that normal?

 

[yagyujubei]

Elongated tortoises are native to Thailand and Vietnam, so should do well for you.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

What are some indotestudo species? And I just found out that radiateds are like 4x more expensive than cherryheads.. Is that normal?

Yes, radiateds are very expensive because they are so endangered.

As for Indotestudo species, they are related to the Mediterranean Testudo species, and to the African pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri). Three species are recognized.

Elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata):

Length 30-38 cm (12-15 inches), weight about 3.5 kg (7 pounds) in weight
Native to Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and southern China.
Habitat is forested areas
Diet is leafy greens, fruit, mushrooms, and occasionally animal matter
Conservation status - Endangered
http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Indotestudo&species=elongata
http://www.reptilesweb.com/reptiles-section/tortoise-world/elongated-tortoise.html

Forsen's tortoise (Indotestudo forstenii):

Length and weight similar to elongated tortoise (above).
Native to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (Celebes)
Habitat is tropical rain forest, near water
Diet is similar to elongated tortoise as well.
Conservation status - Endangered
http://www.chelonia.org/articles/iforsteniicare.htm

Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica):

Length up to 13 inches (33 cm)
Native to western India
Habitat is upland forests
Diet is similar to the other two Indotestudo species
Conservation status - Vulnerable
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/ctrav.html[hr]
BTW - Even though Indotestudos are related to Testudos and pancake tortoises, their ecology is more like that of redfoots, yellowfoots, and hingebacks. As you can see, like those other forest tortoises, they eat fruit, mushrooms, and some animal matter in addition to leafy greens.