Tortoise checklist!!!

[margykid]

So I thought we could do a list of items needed for a new hatchling.
I know different species need different things but lets just do the basics.
I will start off.
1.bedding (coco coir)
2enclosure
Heat lamp,UVB lamp

 

[margykid]

To help out the new owners.

 

[tryme]

Thermometer
hygrometer
Hide
Food
Seeds

 

[jeffjeff]

water dish
food dish or slate
temp gun

 

[tryme]

Camera for cute pics

 

[margykid]

And of course a ..... TORTOISE....

 

[lismar79]

Calcium
Moss
Spray bottles

 

[G-stars]

Weight scale? Thermostat.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Reading, lots of reading, and not just the dogma here on TFO. Read old care sheets then new ones and walk that mental path from what was once considered a 'best' partice to what is recommended now. Look at a globe and see where on the world the species comes from. Read some natural history about that species. Read what zoos may or may not do, or other large collections where the species is kept. Talk to people live, not just here on TFO, go to shows and local club meetings ta;lk to real live people. Talk to the breeders of the species with an open mind, not a series of 'test' question so that you can judge what they say against your nascent knowledge. Know that if you are even marginaly good at the husbandry of the tortoise it will be a 'lagacy pet' - that is one that your children or grandchildren will have. Realize that even after all that reading and knowledge attainment you still won't really know that much about an animal that has endured several mass extinction events and posses still untold adaptive abilities. Chelonians are very unique animals.