- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 4
Hello All!
My name is Kim and I live in the Orlando, FL area. We have been contemplating getting a pair of tortoises to eventually house in our courtyard. Spent the day yesterday at the Chelonian Research Institute in Oviedo checking out the variouse habitats and types of tortoises. We were given a tour by Dr. Pritchard and D.J. and ofcourse fell in love with all of the tortoises!!!
I came home and did lots of research and I think I have it narrowed down to either a Herman or a Red Foot. I have a few questions and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
Dr. Pritchard recommended going to the Daytona Reptile Convention they will be holding in late August so I am trying to make some decisions before hand!
1. What age would be good to start with? and if we get little guys how long before they are old (big) enough to live in the courtyard?
2. I'd like to get a pair, but from the sounds of what I've read the males can be pretty aggressive during mating season and even hurt the females, so should I consider 2 females? I'm really not interested in breeding them, so I'm OK with not having babies one day, but I just don't want them to be lonely ; )
3. Are Hermans too small to live outside in a courtyard year round even when fully grown?
4. We originally thought we wanted a Russian but from my research it seems they are not good for FL humidity, so is there another variety/species, besides the Herman and Red Foots I should consider?
5. Will I need to have a "pool" of water for them to soak in through out the day, or will it be sufficient if I just put one out occasionally, like maybe once a week?
These are few of the questions I've been pondering. Thank you in advance for any help/suggestions you may have!
Kim
My name is Kim and I live in the Orlando, FL area. We have been contemplating getting a pair of tortoises to eventually house in our courtyard. Spent the day yesterday at the Chelonian Research Institute in Oviedo checking out the variouse habitats and types of tortoises. We were given a tour by Dr. Pritchard and D.J. and ofcourse fell in love with all of the tortoises!!!
I came home and did lots of research and I think I have it narrowed down to either a Herman or a Red Foot. I have a few questions and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!
Dr. Pritchard recommended going to the Daytona Reptile Convention they will be holding in late August so I am trying to make some decisions before hand!
1. What age would be good to start with? and if we get little guys how long before they are old (big) enough to live in the courtyard?
2. I'd like to get a pair, but from the sounds of what I've read the males can be pretty aggressive during mating season and even hurt the females, so should I consider 2 females? I'm really not interested in breeding them, so I'm OK with not having babies one day, but I just don't want them to be lonely ; )
3. Are Hermans too small to live outside in a courtyard year round even when fully grown?
4. We originally thought we wanted a Russian but from my research it seems they are not good for FL humidity, so is there another variety/species, besides the Herman and Red Foots I should consider?
5. Will I need to have a "pool" of water for them to soak in through out the day, or will it be sufficient if I just put one out occasionally, like maybe once a week?
These are few of the questions I've been pondering. Thank you in advance for any help/suggestions you may have!
Kim