Looking Advice (what kind of tortoise)

[Sabrina]

I have been considering getting a tortoise for a few years and I have recently made the decision to start getting ready to buy one. I would love to hear all of your tips on owning one! What would you suggest for habitat, diet, and the actual breeder itself? I'm open to the breed of tortoise!

Thank you
Sabrina

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Sabrina!

In my opinion, where you live (climate) should determine what species of tortoise you start with. People from all kinds of climates all over the world keep all kinds of tortoises, but I think a beginner keeper needs to start with a tortoise that does well in your climate. Once you get that experience under your belt, you can branch out and get something else.

 

[tortadise]

Welcome

 

[phebe121]

Hi i love my leopard torts they cute and friendly easy to feed im still new to them myslef but i love them

 

[tortdad]

Yep, tell us where you live and how much space you have for both indoor and outdoor setups.

Welcome to TFO and tortoise ownership. Torts are awesome creatures!


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)

 

[Abdulla6169]

Welcome! I hope you find the perfect tortoise

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I completely agree with Yvonne! What type of tort you get can be heavily influenced by your weather.
So you live in Maine, right? I don't know A BUNCH about the weather there, but I do know you guys have cold winters and shorterish summers.
IMHO, I wouldn't get a sulcata there, because that's a while to house a big 100+ tort inside somewhere... I'm dreading winter here just a little because I don't know how it's going to go
In fact, JUST ME, but I would try and get a smaller species of tort first, one that can be easily housed indoors for the winter, but one that can also tolerate cooler temps all around!
So maybe I'm just a little biased, but I'd get a russain! They grow to a small size, and are very easily able to have a table inside for the winter, and could live outdoors for the summer with a little heated house and a predator proof enclosure! They are GREAT, so that's what I'd get!

 

[Moozillion]

I agree 100% with YvonneG.

If a tortoise is native to a very different climate, we must be prepared to not only have to deal with the uncertainty and anxiety of learning general husbandry, but spending a LOT MORE TIME AND MONEY on proper enclosures: lights, humidity, equipment to measure temperatures and humidity, heat/cooling, air circulation, food, security from escape etc. etc. etc. A tortoise living in a climate that it is not suited to is much more likely to get sick, which means expensive vet bills. And possible death of the tortoise- a death which might have been avoided in other circumstances.

A good first ownership experience can make all the difference in launching a lifelong hobby full of discovery, satisfaction and joy.
A bad first ownership experience can be not only stressful but traumatic if you lose a tortoise due to complex husbandry issues.

I initially wanted a really unusual and exotic, therefore COOL tortoise-(which would make ME cool for owning one!). But when I thought about it, our tortoises are even more dependent on us than our children are. Our decisions in their care LITERALLY mean the difference between a long healthy life, a long/short life of sickness and pain; or ultimately death. It's all on us. We have no excuse.

Once I looked at things that way, I felt the most responsible and loving thing I could do was to chose a less exotic tortoise that does well in my climate and am SO GLAD I did! Her care is FUN, not burdensome.

Best wishes, WHATEVER you choose!

 

[Sabrina]

We do have cold winters here! I own a large home with 5 acres , so I could do an indoor enclosure for the winter and for the summer I can build an outdoor enclosure no problem! I will defiantly get a Russian tortoise to make sure he stays healthy and safe! Where would you suggest I purchase the Russian tortoise? And could you give me some examples on what to put in his enclosure? (Bedding, decor, lighting)

 

[Moozillion]

Russian tortoises are commonly sold at places like PetSmart, PetCo etc. But the majority of these are wild-caught animals, who were shipped here from Asia, which stresses them terribly (many don't survive the trip) and adds to de-population in the wild. Many people are opposed to getting wild-caught tortoises but many have them and love them. It's a matter of opinion.

There are a lot of forum members who breed, raise and sell tortoises. A lot of us buy Captive Bred tortoises for the same reasons we avoid the wild-caught animals: they're not stressed, are generally much healthier and does not remove an animal from the wild. If you go back to Tortoise Topics, look for the one on Tortoise Breeding. If you click on that, a page will open that has a bar across the top with a little turtle icon next to it that says Breeders List. Click that and the next page is very similar: you click on Breeder's list again. Then scroll down to the type of tortoise you're interested in.

Another thing to consider is whether you want a hatchling, a yearling or an adult. Technically, tortoises are only supposed to be sold for pets if they're 4 inches long or longer. That's an old law and I'm told it's not well enforced. Smaller tortoises can be sold "for educational purposes." There's lots of reasons to choose one or the other. For me, although hatchlings are SOOOO CUTE, I read enough on the forum to know they are somewhat fragile. As a first- time tortoise owner, I did NOT have the confidence in my husbandry skills to start with a baby, so I got a slightly older tortoise: still not mature but well past the fragile hatchling stage.

There's a whole section of the Forum on Russian tortoises with TONS of ideas and information! That might be a good place to start. (I don't have a Russian- I have a Hermann's)

Getting a new tortoise is all very exciting!
Have fun, keep asking questions and good luck!