Mrs_Gal1981
New Member
Hi! I've been a lurker here but this is obviously my first post. This forum has helped me a lot in the searching for the perfect tortoise for my family and its care. We brought Lorenzo home 2 days ago on Sunday.
My family and I had been talking about adding a tortoise to the family for about 4 years and started to seriously consider it for the past 2. Finally the day came. My 11 year old son -longtime homeschoolers here- is obsessed with critters and learning about them. In recent years we have had a parade of beetles, lizards, frogs, snails, spiders etc come and go; usually catch and release. But he had begged us for a more permanent pet for ages. We used this excuse to finally get the tortoise we all wanted. It’s his pet but really it’s the family pet. We haven’t had a new one since we adopted our dachshunds 12 and 13 years ago, and they are still thriving.
My original idea was to find a local rescue, but as my son’s birthday approached, no rescues contacted me back, I waited weeks. After a lot of research and deliberation we decided we wanted a non hibernating species that didn’t get too huge. We determined the red footed tortoise was the perfect fit. I started looking into pet shops and even breeders, even though the idea of shipping a live tortoise wasn’t my favorite. We live in San Antonio, Texas and finding a red footed tortoise locally was more challenging than finding a Russian or a sulcata which most shops seem to keep in stock. Some shops had hatchlings and I would get one but I wanted to try and find a bigger one if possible. We found a shop in Austin, 1.5 hrs away from here and we were willing to drive. That was the plan, but one day out of the blue I decided to try my luck call a few Petcos, although that was my last resource.
Surprisingly, my closest petco told me they had ONE red footed about 5” big. This is exactly what we wanted. Should we wait another week and drive several towns away, or should we jump on this opportunity? I don’t know about other shops but at least Petco has a 30 day health guarantee. We ran out the door to meet this guy and put a hold on him while we made more progress on his outdoor enclosure which us still in progress. Upon arrival we discovered its actually a cherry head! We fell in love, paid for him and came home to finish his outdoor enclosure. We finally picked him up on Sunday.
So, meet Lorenzo! We believe he’s about 3-4 years old, according to Petco and a breeder I talked to online, he’s favoring male traits (I don’t see it yet). So far he has been offered cantaloupe, collard greens, blueberries, raspberries, carrots and a little taste of mushrooms (don’t worry, I’ve spend countless days studying these guys’ diets (mushrooms in moderation!). He didn’t seem to eat much but he did like cantaloupe and blueberries. Should I be worried he’s not devouring his food just yet? We lightly misted him with the hose and he seemed a bit scared. Wondering if he’s ever even been outside at all. Also, he’s spent most of the time in his hiding house, we’ve brought him out to get some sun, but after a while he goes back on his own. Is this normal? Should I keep bring him out to the natural light? I’m sure I will he having many more questions as time comes, especially winter!
Oh! And I noticed he has an extra scute on his right side. This wasn’t a deal breaker for us, we just wanted a tortoise baby to love and spoil.
If you read this book, spam me with advice! Sorry for the long post, I’m just so excited about this guy and about this forum!
Thank you for this wonderful space!
My family and I had been talking about adding a tortoise to the family for about 4 years and started to seriously consider it for the past 2. Finally the day came. My 11 year old son -longtime homeschoolers here- is obsessed with critters and learning about them. In recent years we have had a parade of beetles, lizards, frogs, snails, spiders etc come and go; usually catch and release. But he had begged us for a more permanent pet for ages. We used this excuse to finally get the tortoise we all wanted. It’s his pet but really it’s the family pet. We haven’t had a new one since we adopted our dachshunds 12 and 13 years ago, and they are still thriving.
My original idea was to find a local rescue, but as my son’s birthday approached, no rescues contacted me back, I waited weeks. After a lot of research and deliberation we decided we wanted a non hibernating species that didn’t get too huge. We determined the red footed tortoise was the perfect fit. I started looking into pet shops and even breeders, even though the idea of shipping a live tortoise wasn’t my favorite. We live in San Antonio, Texas and finding a red footed tortoise locally was more challenging than finding a Russian or a sulcata which most shops seem to keep in stock. Some shops had hatchlings and I would get one but I wanted to try and find a bigger one if possible. We found a shop in Austin, 1.5 hrs away from here and we were willing to drive. That was the plan, but one day out of the blue I decided to try my luck call a few Petcos, although that was my last resource.
Surprisingly, my closest petco told me they had ONE red footed about 5” big. This is exactly what we wanted. Should we wait another week and drive several towns away, or should we jump on this opportunity? I don’t know about other shops but at least Petco has a 30 day health guarantee. We ran out the door to meet this guy and put a hold on him while we made more progress on his outdoor enclosure which us still in progress. Upon arrival we discovered its actually a cherry head! We fell in love, paid for him and came home to finish his outdoor enclosure. We finally picked him up on Sunday.
So, meet Lorenzo! We believe he’s about 3-4 years old, according to Petco and a breeder I talked to online, he’s favoring male traits (I don’t see it yet). So far he has been offered cantaloupe, collard greens, blueberries, raspberries, carrots and a little taste of mushrooms (don’t worry, I’ve spend countless days studying these guys’ diets (mushrooms in moderation!). He didn’t seem to eat much but he did like cantaloupe and blueberries. Should I be worried he’s not devouring his food just yet? We lightly misted him with the hose and he seemed a bit scared. Wondering if he’s ever even been outside at all. Also, he’s spent most of the time in his hiding house, we’ve brought him out to get some sun, but after a while he goes back on his own. Is this normal? Should I keep bring him out to the natural light? I’m sure I will he having many more questions as time comes, especially winter!
Oh! And I noticed he has an extra scute on his right side. This wasn’t a deal breaker for us, we just wanted a tortoise baby to love and spoil.
If you read this book, spam me with advice! Sorry for the long post, I’m just so excited about this guy and about this forum!
Thank you for this wonderful space!
