Need Help Deciding on Right Species for My Location

[Besonderein]

Hi yall!

We are in the process of buying our first house and since my wife will not let me get a Capybara (yet) and a Pig is too large (for now), I would like to give a tortoise a home. We are buying a house in Moreno Valley CA, which is just 3 hours from the Mojave Desert. I want to keep a tortoise int the back yard where it would be free to wander and dig and hang out.

I am having a hard time choosing between adopting a CDT or a Sulcata. I think it would be great to rescue a CDT, as it would be fairly close to a native habitat, but I worry about perpetuating any nefarious activity with an endangered species.

As for the Sulcata, I like that they will live long and grow large, and they have personality. I also read that larger Sulcatas have a hard time finding new homes, so giving one a good home would be nice. I just worry that the climate we have may not be the most Comfortable for it.

Any info you can provide to help me clear things up would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[wellington]

@Tom is in CA and may know your weather better.
However either one will do good. DT can hibernate if you get that cold where a sulcata doesnt.

 

[Tom]

Hi yall!

We are in the process of buying our first house and since my wife will not let me get a Capybara (yet) and a Pig is too large (for now), I would like to give a tortoise a home. We are buying a house in Moreno Valley CA, which is just 3 hours from the Mojave Desert. I want to keep a tortoise int the back yard where it would be free to wander and dig and hang out.

I am having a hard time choosing between adopting a CDT or a Sulcata. I think it would be great to rescue a CDT, as it would be fairly close to a native habitat, but I worry about perpetuating any nefarious activity with an endangered species.

As for the Sulcata, I like that they will live long and grow large, and they have personality. I also read that larger Sulcatas have a hard time finding new homes, so giving one a good home would be nice. I just worry that the climate we have may not be the most Comfortable for it.

Any info you can provide to help me clear things up would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Either one will work. Either one will need a large enclosure and a temperature controlled night box. A sulcata will heave to be kept warm year round, while a DT can hibernate. Both have great personalities. Both are suited to your climate. Both are easy to feed. Both species are readily available and in need of homes. Rescuing a DT does not perpetuate anything nefarious. Do you want a giant that will wreck your yard, or a smaller one that won't wreck your yard as much?

 

[Tom]

Hi Tom, thank you for the reply. I think I read in another thread that you recommend 100x100 feet for an adult sulcata, and I don't think my yard is quite that large. I will contact my local CTTC and apply for CDT adoption. Thanks!

A sulcata can survive in a smaller area, but bigger is better.

Most of the care info you find for DTs will be wrong and will lead to their slow death. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.