MarissaA2911
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2014
- Messages
- 7
Hi my name is Marissa i will be new to tortoise owning soon. I am super excited! I do have a red ear slider turtle that i have had for three years now. I have had him since he was a hatchling . So i know tortoises and turtles are life long partners. I have been doing a lot of research on owning a tortoise. There is a lot of confusing information out there. I have heard this site was a good place to join to learn how to properly care for your tortoise. I do have a few questions
1. What substrate do i use?
As of right now i can't have an outdoor enclosure because we are renting our home and , i don't know how the landlord would feel with a fence and a tortoise outside. There maybe a chance next year (about a 90% chance) that we will rent to own then i can build one with no issues. So it'll be housed indoors for now. I do plain to take my tortoise outside daily as much as i can since i am home a lot now,and i have no excuse on why i can't.
2. How big of a plastic tub or book shelf would i need to house one?
I am not looking for the minimal size i can go big, just as long as i have enough room for a bed and desk. I know everyone says no on using any types aquariums to house them indoors.
3. What kind of lettuce, vegetables and grass would be good for them to eat? I know no iceberg lettuce and don't give them much fruit. Would it be ok eating lettuce from the store? I would love to grow my own stuff but i don't know if i can with it being hot and dry here.
4. What supplies would i need other then the substrate, lights and the calcium powder for the food?
5 What age of tortoise would be good for a first time owner? A hatchling, Yearling or a full grown adult?
6 what breed would be good for a first time owner? I am looking at Russians, Greeks and Redfoots. I really like Redfoots a lot but i know they can get big. Then i also like the Russians and the Greeks since they do stay kinda small.
7. What websites would be good to order one off from?
I live in a small town and the nearest reptiles rescue is three hours away. Then the only tortoises I'm seeing on craiglist is suclata and no matter how badly i want one i know i could not provide a big enough outside enclosure for when he or she gets big. Then the only petstore here is petsmart and they don't have any. I am looking at tortoisesupply.com and LLLReptiles.com. are they good places to order from?
8. Because i live in the desert would the tortoise be ok walking on the dirt outside or would i have to plant a grassy part for him\her? I don't have much of a grassy lawn it all dirt. Lol. There is a few spots that have grass but that is it.
9. How often would you soak a tortoise especially an adult?
10. How often would you clean the enclosure ?
11. If i have him or her outside all the time and we have a storm, would i bring them inside or would i keep them outside?
Hopefully that wasn't a lot of questions l. I'll probably have a lot more when i get my tortoise. I am not planning on getting one till i get the enclosure set, ready and perfect.
Now here a little about my area.
I live in southwest Arizona. It is always hot here, temps can be 100+ during the day then at night it usually 80-90's. The fall I've heard here is suppose to be nice. I just moved to Arizona from Tennessee so i don't know how the fall is here actually. But i know it won't be 20-below zero here... i hope haha.
Inside my house we keep the temperature around 79-80 degrees. We do that because when we moved here we heard if you keep your air conditioner below 78 it will cost you an arm and leg and mess up the air conditioner. I do have other animals including a dog, two cats and a turtle. The dog and one of my cats is really good about leaving the turtle alone but my other cat not so much. I will make sure though the tortoise will be safe. I'll lock my room so he cant go in to bug it.
Thank you for reading!
1. What substrate do i use?
As of right now i can't have an outdoor enclosure because we are renting our home and , i don't know how the landlord would feel with a fence and a tortoise outside. There maybe a chance next year (about a 90% chance) that we will rent to own then i can build one with no issues. So it'll be housed indoors for now. I do plain to take my tortoise outside daily as much as i can since i am home a lot now,and i have no excuse on why i can't.
2. How big of a plastic tub or book shelf would i need to house one?
I am not looking for the minimal size i can go big, just as long as i have enough room for a bed and desk. I know everyone says no on using any types aquariums to house them indoors.
3. What kind of lettuce, vegetables and grass would be good for them to eat? I know no iceberg lettuce and don't give them much fruit. Would it be ok eating lettuce from the store? I would love to grow my own stuff but i don't know if i can with it being hot and dry here.
4. What supplies would i need other then the substrate, lights and the calcium powder for the food?
5 What age of tortoise would be good for a first time owner? A hatchling, Yearling or a full grown adult?
6 what breed would be good for a first time owner? I am looking at Russians, Greeks and Redfoots. I really like Redfoots a lot but i know they can get big. Then i also like the Russians and the Greeks since they do stay kinda small.
7. What websites would be good to order one off from?
I live in a small town and the nearest reptiles rescue is three hours away. Then the only tortoises I'm seeing on craiglist is suclata and no matter how badly i want one i know i could not provide a big enough outside enclosure for when he or she gets big. Then the only petstore here is petsmart and they don't have any. I am looking at tortoisesupply.com and LLLReptiles.com. are they good places to order from?
8. Because i live in the desert would the tortoise be ok walking on the dirt outside or would i have to plant a grassy part for him\her? I don't have much of a grassy lawn it all dirt. Lol. There is a few spots that have grass but that is it.
9. How often would you soak a tortoise especially an adult?
10. How often would you clean the enclosure ?
11. If i have him or her outside all the time and we have a storm, would i bring them inside or would i keep them outside?
Hopefully that wasn't a lot of questions l. I'll probably have a lot more when i get my tortoise. I am not planning on getting one till i get the enclosure set, ready and perfect.
Now here a little about my area.
I live in southwest Arizona. It is always hot here, temps can be 100+ during the day then at night it usually 80-90's. The fall I've heard here is suppose to be nice. I just moved to Arizona from Tennessee so i don't know how the fall is here actually. But i know it won't be 20-below zero here... i hope haha.
Inside my house we keep the temperature around 79-80 degrees. We do that because when we moved here we heard if you keep your air conditioner below 78 it will cost you an arm and leg and mess up the air conditioner. I do have other animals including a dog, two cats and a turtle. The dog and one of my cats is really good about leaving the turtle alone but my other cat not so much. I will make sure though the tortoise will be safe. I'll lock my room so he cant go in to bug it.
Thank you for reading!