Advice for a new tortoise owner in Washington

[katies]

Greetings! My name is Katie and I have enjoyed browsing this forum. I have been doing hours upon hours of research about tortoises as my daughter has asked for nothing but a tortoise for Christmas. Quite a bit of information out there, and some very confusing. If anyone in the group has advice to offer us as we start on this new adventure, we would appreciate it. My husband and I are very excited about welcoming a tortoise to our family, but we want to do it right.

We live in Olympia, Washington where it is pretty damp and cool most of the year. For that reason, we are hoping to find a tort that could be inside for a while, possibly developing a sheltered area outside several years down the road. From what I have read, I am inclined to go with a redfoot as I think it could do well in our more humid climate. I am also inclined to get a baby, but am concerned that this might be more difficult to keep healthy. To me it would seem preferable to know the history and not been mistreated through the years. My husband is concerned that a baby may not be sturdy enough to withstand some affection from our kiddos. Of course we plan to limit and carefully supervise handling, but we do want a tortoise that can handle some attention from little human companions. I understand a redfoot would require careful attention to heat and humidity for the early years. And space as time goes on. Can anyone offer me advice on good torts for kids, for our climate and whether or not we should go with a baby or an older tortoise? If you think it would be wise to go with an older tortoise, can you point me to any breeders who have older torts available?

Thanks so much in advanced for your time and help!

Katie

 

[Torty Mom]

Kudos to you for doing your research first!!! I would go with an older one. My Daisy Lou loves to be with us and is always kicking back on my lap or my sons lap. She is much older. Babies are really fragile and require alot of care, I have 4 hatchlings and I worry every minute something is going to go wrong. JMO!

 

[dmmj]

If you are looking for a smaller tort that is hardy you can't go wrong with a russian. They are hardy and personable torts, a box turtle could also be a good choice, they tend to like it damp.

 

[coreyc]

Welcome to the TFO Katie thats great that you are researching before you get one I also would go with an older one

 

[katies]

Thanks for your advice. Any ideas on where to get an older one? I really would like to find one that is captive bred and with a known history. Thanks!

---

My concerns with Russians were their climate needs. It is just so damp here. Also the hibernation issue is overwhelming to me.

 

[Torty Mom]

Do you have any Tortoise/Turtle clubs? Any rescues? Those are great places to start, also watch craig's list. Maybe Maggie know of one, she lives in Oregon. I am sure she will be by soon! I'll dig a little after dinner.

 

[katies]

Do you have any Tortoise/Turtle clubs? Any rescues? Those are great places to start, also watch craig's list. Maybe Maggie know of one, she lives in Oregon. I am sure she will be by soon! I'll dig a little after dinner.

There is someone posting a redfoot and a russian on craigslist not too far from me. My concern is just the risk of not know the history and also my desire to have a captive bred tortoise. I have asked her for more info so we will see.

Another question for the group...how big does an indoor enclosure need to be for an adult redfoot? And for a Russian? I am not sure how realistic it will be for us to keep either outdoors in our climate during the winter months.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

You cannot keep them outside during the winter in Washington, so your inside enclosure should be just as big as you can make it. Remember, that will be your torts whole world and I think you should get a Russian, Redfoots get pretty big for living inside, yet a Russian who would rather live outside can live inside quite comfortably. They are very personable and would do well for you...Welcome to the forum...

 

[katies]

Thanks Maggie! Do you bring all your torts in during the winter? My big vision involved some kind of heated house within a greenhouse with access to a fenced and covered area outside but I was hoping we might have a few years to figure out what that would require for a Redfoot. We will consider a Russian more carefully . Thanks all for the wonderful advice!!

 

[Torty Mom]

Maggie do you have magic powers, did you hear us talking about you? I mentioned your name and poof there you were!

 

[Balboa]

Russian, Greek, Herman's all would be my top picks for a fellow washingtonian.

The greenhouse idea would make a redfoot work (and that's what I'll be doing down the road), but our damp doesn't really add up to the humid that redfoots need.

Its so darn cold outside that once that damp air warms up, its really very dry (warm air holds more water vapor than cold).

For me its a constant struggle to keep my redfoots warm and humid enough.

 

[Isa]

Welcome to the forum
It is a very good thing to do to make the research before buying the tortoise .

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Another vote for a European tortoise...Hermann's, Russian or Greek (in that order)...great personality, and will be considerably easier to keep alive and healthy than a red-foot, which is not a good choice for a "starter" tortoise.\

Plus, a sub-adult to adult European does well in a smaller enclosure (10-12 sq.' can work fine, if it can be allowed exercise time around the home/yard) than a red-foot (35 sq.', minimum and needs MUCH higher humidity) and can be purchased very reasonably (saw that one dealer had some adult male Hermann's tortoises for $75 just yesterday).

Not as colorful as a red-foot, but their personalty more than makes up for their less exciting appearence.

 

[monica02]

Greetings! My name is Katie and I have enjoyed browsing this forum. I have been doing hours upon hours of research about tortoises as my daughter has asked for nothing but a tortoise for Christmas. Quite a bit of information out there, and some very confusing. If anyone in the group has advice to offer us as we start on this new adventure, we would appreciate it. My husband and I are very excited about welcoming a tortoise to our family, but we want to do it right.

We live in Olympia, Washington where it is pretty damp and cool most of the year. For that reason, we are hoping to find a tort that could be inside for a while, possibly developing a sheltered area outside several years down the road. From what I have read, I am inclined to go with a redfoot as I think it could do well in our more humid climate. I am also inclined to get a baby, but am concerned that this might be more difficult to keep healthy. To me it would seem preferable to know the history and not been mistreated through the years. My husband is concerned that a baby may not be sturdy enough to withstand some affection from our kiddos. Of course we plan to limit and carefully supervise handling, but we do want a tortoise that can handle some attention from little human companions. I understand a redfoot would require careful attention to heat and humidity for the early years. And space as time goes on. Can anyone offer me advice on good torts for kids, for our climate and whether or not we should go with a baby or an older tortoise? If you think it would be wise to go with an older tortoise, can you point me to any breeders who have older torts available?

Thanks so much in advanced for your time and help!

Katie

---

I was shocked to come across someone else from Olympia, Washington. I am also on here doing some research on a tortoise. My daughter has been asking for one for months. I am prepared and almost there in getting all materials needed but I have hit a road block in actually locating one to purchase. I have almost come to terms that Santa will not be bringing her one this year. I thought it would be alot easier and I didn't realize that there was so many to choose from or the fact that they are so spendy from what I have noticed so far. I was wondering were you were able to purchase one in this area. Thank you for any help that you can provide.
Monica

 

[Torty Mom]

Here is a reptile show coming up in March, I know it's a long time away......

http://www.emeraldcityreptileexpo.com/

Mary Anne

---

Here is another link to a club. You can call or email them and let them know you would be interested in a tortoise if one came in!

http://www.pnwhs.org/AnimalWelfare

I think I read that they have a meeting coming up on the 19th.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Monica and Katie:

Welcome to the forum!!

(I vote for a Russian too)

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Do you have any Tortoise/Turtle clubs? Any rescues? Those are great places to start, also watch craig's list. Maybe Maggie know of one, she lives in Oregon. I am sure she will be by soon! I'll dig a little after dinner.

There is someone posting a redfoot and a russian on craigslist not too far from me. My concern is just the risk of not know the history and also my desire to have a captive bred tortoise. I have asked her for more info so we will see.

Another question for the group...how big does an indoor enclosure need to be for an adult redfoot? And for a Russian? I am not sure how realistic it will be for us to keep either outdoors in our climate during the winter months.

There's a big turtle and tortoise club in Seattle, so maybe one of the members will come up with a phone number of the adoption chairperson or at least where the next meeting is. I am not a club person and I am about 300 miles away from Seattle so I just don't know those numbers. You'd better watch that talking about me stuff...

 

[Yvonne G]

http://www.pnwhs.org/

http://seattleturtleandtortoiseclub.com/default.aspx