- Joined
- Aug 9, 2012
- Messages
- 37
My fiance wants a sulcata. He was initially attracted to them due to their size, but after watching numerous videos he likes their "personality". I have been urging him to consider a smaller species, but he really wants one of these giants. All I can think of is it being a "guy thing"...like how they "need" a huge pickup truck despite living in the city, or "needing" a whole cabinet full of guns despite only being able to use one at a time.
I agreed to the sulcata despite that voice saying, "this is a BAD idea!" and when we ask ourselves the necessary questions we find ourselves going, "we'll figure something out."
Here are my hangups and the lies I told myself/he said to pacify that nagging voice.
1.) We live in 900 sq. ft. apartment with a 3x8 balcony...where are we going to fit a 150 lb tortoise? "Oh, we plan on moving in a year, so if we get a hatchling and keep it on the cooler end/not feed it a ton it won't be a problem. When we move we'll just have to find a place with a yard"
2.) We live in Wisconsin; even with a yard where are we going to go with it when it's 30 below zero? Hint: not inside! "Well, we can get a small shed, even a chicken coop or something to house it. There are lots of plans for heated sheds out there, and maybe even a farm store will sell them premade. Plus, we're not going to need one until it gets too big to keep indoors."
3.) Hey, remember when you ate oatmeal and rice a roni for a week straight because you didn't have enough money to pay for real groceries? Yea, how are you going to feed 150 lbs of tortoise? "Well, we can just plant all the grasses we'll need for right now, and when we move it can graze outside."
4.) What are we going to do once it becomes destructive? "the ones on the internet aren't destructive, they're too adorable!" <--- seriously? That's the best defense?
So those are just a few of my inner worries, how do I bring them up to him without it sounding like, "You have horrible ideas, and you will never be able to get what you want! I will take everything manly about you and break it down into cute and adorable!" But seriously, does anyone have recommendations for:
1.) Beginner friendly (tolerant to learning mistakes)
2.) Relatively small (can be housed indoors their entire life)
3.) Personable
4.) Relatively cheap (under 200 average market value)
5.) Relatively inexpensive to feed (food can easily be grown indoors/not eat 50 lbs a day)
I want a Hermanns, but I am open to other suggestions (except Russian...for some reason they rub me the wrong way)
I agreed to the sulcata despite that voice saying, "this is a BAD idea!" and when we ask ourselves the necessary questions we find ourselves going, "we'll figure something out."
Here are my hangups and the lies I told myself/he said to pacify that nagging voice.
1.) We live in 900 sq. ft. apartment with a 3x8 balcony...where are we going to fit a 150 lb tortoise? "Oh, we plan on moving in a year, so if we get a hatchling and keep it on the cooler end/not feed it a ton it won't be a problem. When we move we'll just have to find a place with a yard"
2.) We live in Wisconsin; even with a yard where are we going to go with it when it's 30 below zero? Hint: not inside! "Well, we can get a small shed, even a chicken coop or something to house it. There are lots of plans for heated sheds out there, and maybe even a farm store will sell them premade. Plus, we're not going to need one until it gets too big to keep indoors."
3.) Hey, remember when you ate oatmeal and rice a roni for a week straight because you didn't have enough money to pay for real groceries? Yea, how are you going to feed 150 lbs of tortoise? "Well, we can just plant all the grasses we'll need for right now, and when we move it can graze outside."
4.) What are we going to do once it becomes destructive? "the ones on the internet aren't destructive, they're too adorable!" <--- seriously? That's the best defense?
So those are just a few of my inner worries, how do I bring them up to him without it sounding like, "You have horrible ideas, and you will never be able to get what you want! I will take everything manly about you and break it down into cute and adorable!" But seriously, does anyone have recommendations for:
1.) Beginner friendly (tolerant to learning mistakes)
2.) Relatively small (can be housed indoors their entire life)
3.) Personable
4.) Relatively cheap (under 200 average market value)
5.) Relatively inexpensive to feed (food can easily be grown indoors/not eat 50 lbs a day)
I want a Hermanns, but I am open to other suggestions (except Russian...for some reason they rub me the wrong way)