Hello from CO!

[S. Golding]

Hello everyone! My name's Shelby

My fiance (Cody) and I have been considering a tortoise or some type of reptile for some time, and after careful consideration, we feel that a tortoise is likely to be best for us.

Our family is currently one four-legged critter large thanks to Velli, a 13-month-old border collie who is trained as a service dog. She's a sweet pup, and gentle around animals, but she's also very curious. When she met a large sulcata tortoise at a local pet store, she just stared in awe.

We're here to learn more about tortoises and how they will fare in our lives. Once we're certain that everything will be a good fit, we plan to adopt a tortoise who needs a home. I really, really wanted to buy a baby, but I don't feel right doing so considering how many torts get abandoned because they grew too large.

Anyway, sorry for rambling! Hello!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[Jodie]

Hello, and welcome to the forum. There is a lot of information here. Always happy to see people researching before buying. Rescuing is a great idea.
I have to tell you my dog story because everyone always think not my dog. My dog ignored my tortoise for years. Until the day she didn't. I was lucky, and there were no punctures or crushed shell. Most aren't that lucky. They are walking bones. How is a dog to resist that? If you have a very large tortoise it is safer, but I read a year or so ago about a very large Sulcata, 100 pounds, that got chewed up pretty bad by the dog that had been around him for years.
You just have to keep the tortoise in a safe enclosure, separate from the dog. Best of luck finding the perfect pet.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello Shelby

Dogs see torts as chew toys !

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Shelby and Cody !

 

[KaitlinKeefe_]

Welcome!

 

[S. Golding]

Thank you for all of the kind welcomes and replies!

I hadn't thought about Velli hurting our tort, but that's good to know. She goes with us pretty much everywhere, and she would never be left alone with him.

Thankfully, even if she was alone with him, I imagine she'd behave herself if we'd had time to lay a proper foundation. She learned not to leave our 1-acre, un-fenced property in a day, even if her ball/frisbee goes past her flag-marked barrier.

That sounds a lot like the "not my dog" thing, though, and we don't want to be *those* people, so we'd treat her like it's a risk nonetheless.

 

[HappyHermanns]

Hello & Welcome!

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Any tortoise is good as long as you get the set up right first, before it arrives.
I would recommend some of the med species, russians, greeks, hermanns and maybe redfoots from a bit nearer you.
look about here and then ask the people who have that species.
honestly; loadsa people will be happy to help.
This first though. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Jimb]

Welcome, always great to see a fellow Coloradoan join up. I have 3 young ones; a Russian, a Hermanns, & a Sulcata. They each have their own personality and right now the Hermanns is the most responsive and comes running almost every time he sees me pearing over the top of his Tort table.
Mostly cause he either wasn't food (he's an eating maching) or because he just wants out to explore.
There's tons of great info around and I consult the Tort table pretty often as well. http://thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp