Hello from Utah!

[JessKeen]

Hi there! I'm Jess, and I live in Utah with my hubbin, 7 year old daughter, two dogs, and four snakes. A couple of months ago I accidentally discovered that I love tortoises. Since then I've been researching obsessively, changing my mind rapidly and repeatedly, and chatting with some local tortoise keepers.
I was originally set on a red foot, but with care requirements and my (very busy) first year of teaching about to start, I thought something else might be better. A very experienced local tortoise keeper I've been chatting with said that a Leo would be a great choice for me, provided with a heated house outdoors during cooler months and an indoor pen for the coldest months.
I was initially (and still am, a little) concerned about their reputation for timidity. I wanted a red foot because I had read they are a very outgoing and inquisitive tortoise. After researching further and obsessing much, I'm now thinking a Leo might be best. What I want from my tort is to care for it, stare at it while it noms things, possibly even hand it noms, and give it pets if it doesn't mind.
If you've made it this far, you've probably realized I'm still somewhat undecided. Suggestions are more than welcome, if you feel like providing them. It will be a few more months at the least before I bring a tort home. Time to go read ALL THE STICKIES!

 

[mctlong]

How exciting! A leo sounds like a great choice. Good luck and keep us posted! We expect to see pics when you bring you new shelled friend home.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

This is a good one to start with:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hi Jess

You'll find the best info. Right here . Please don't get your self confused with other info.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome. We enjoy staring at our tortoise, even though she isn't interested in us! I hope you will feel the same.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome Jess and family !

 

[Jodie]

Hello and welcome. I have not found my leopards to be that shy once they get bigger.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Jess and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
You've come to the right place for anything you need to know.
But I saw one thing that intrigued me............
..........You want to maybe give it pets ?
Gerbils, goldfish, an ant farm ?
My Tidgy plays chess and has a Play Station, but i never thought of pets.
What a good idea.

 

[JessKeen]

Hello, Jess and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
You've come to the right place for anything you need to know.
But I saw one thing that intrigued me............
..........You want to maybe give it pets ?
Gerbils, goldfish, an ant farm ?
My Tidgy plays chess and has a Play Station, but i never thought of pets.
What a good idea.

Haha, pets as in petting it with my fingers. I reread my post after making it and wondered if that would confuse anyone XD

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Haha, pets as in petting it with my fingers. I reread my post after making it and wondered if that would confuse anyone XD

I am easily confused.

 

[Gillian M]

I am easily confused.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Please post pics of your tort as well as his/her enclosure.

 

[von345]

I used to live in Utah to be It is so dry there I would be afraid to raise one there. They grow a fast in a year that will need per tort 4x4 miniumim. And in the winter what will you do for human heat? They need at least 80% humidity and 80%humidity to stop pyramid ding. I have have thought about moving bCk but Leo's just can't thrive there.

 

[von345]

To be honest as a starter I'd go with a Hermanns I love mine! They are small, you can keep indoors in the winder and awesome personalities. Mine comes up everytime I come in the room. The first year of life most Tortioses require daily or every other day 20/39 min soaks in warn wAter. Trust me you will love a Hermanns

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Regular leopards do tend to be a bit shyer than some, but the South African Leopards tend to be bold, fearless and outgoing. They also tend to get a little bit bigger than the regular leopards.

Any of the Testduo species would work well for you too. Russians, hermanni, greeks or marginated.

 

[JessKeen]

I used to live in Utah to be It is so dry there I would be afraid to raise one there. They grow a fast in a year that will need per tort 4x4 miniumim. And in the winter what will you do for human heat? They need at least 80% humidity and 80%humidity to stop pyramid ding. I have have thought about moving bCk but Leo's just can't thrive there.

I'm prepared to put in the effort to create an environment my tort can thrive in, I'm pretty crafty. I generally build my own enclosures for my herps because I like to have them just the way I want them. I can make a heated house for outside, an indoor enclosure for winter, a drip system with sprinklers/misters on a timer, microclimates inside the enclosures. That said, is there a species you think I'd have more success with? I'm in Salt Lake, it's dry but not as dry as Southern Utah.

 

[JessKeen]

Hello and welcome.

Regular leopards do tend to be a bit shyer than some, but the South African Leopards tend to be bold, fearless and outgoing. They also tend to get a little bit bigger than the regular leopards.

Any of the Testduo species would work well for you too. Russians, hermanni, greeks or marginated.

My first choice right now is a South African Leopard from Arizona Tortoise Compound. (Might change my mind again.) They seem to have good reviews. My concern is that they don't show pics of individual animals. Might be worth a road trip if they'd let me pick one in person.

 

[JessKeen]

I'm also considering a marginated. Our local zoo keeps several of them (outside most of the time) and they're very healthy looking, so I know they can thrive here with help.

 

[Alexio]

What kind of snakes do you have? Depending on your room arrangement you may be able to align some of what your alredy doing to make having a tortoise easier.
For example I have a few ball pythons. Ball pythons being from sub-sahara Africa require 80f ambient temps . This is also the ambient temp for Leopard tortoises . So I have one room I call the Africa room where I keep my 80+ degree night day animals. I have another room where I keep testudo species of tortoises. They like to have a good night drop down to 65 so I have to keep them in a separate room because my African species of animals would not appreciate a 65 f night temp.
So not sure what kind you have but just something to consider.

 

[JessKeen]

What kind of snakes do you have? Depending on your room arrangement you may be able to align some of what your alredy doing to make having a tortoise easier.
For example I have a few ball pythons. Ball pythons being from sub-sahara Africa require 80f ambient temps . This is also the ambient temp for Leopard tortoises . So I have one room I call the Africa room where I keep my 80+ degree night day animals. I have another room where I keep testudo species of tortoises. They like to have a good night drop down to 65 so I have to keep them in a separate room because my African species of animals would not appreciate a 65 f night temp.
So not sure what kind you have but just something to consider.

I have 3 ball pythons and a sunglow BCI. We keep our house around 76 and with the animals in a rack (except my boa) their ambient easily stays around 80. I have this awkward space in my living room that is like a deep shelving unit built into the wall and if I took out the shelves in there it would be about 5'*3'. It would hold heat SO WELL even without a full door if I convert it to an enclosure. it would only work for a baby and then other arrangements would be made. We also have a large closet without a door that I could fit a tortoise table in, I could even build it tall enough to slide the snake rack under it. So many ideas! In 2-3 years we will be moving and buying a house, so at that point space won't be an issue. We are set on a big yard and I really want to build a heated reptile shed, for fun mostly. So many ideas!