new tortoise help :D (starter tortoise?)

[zman7590]

ok so im new to all of this and i got a lot of questions before i invest in this subject. first off i want to share a little bit of my background. i am an avid herp lover and have had many pets. right now i am slowly downsizing my leopard gecko collection...i had over 40 breeders at one point in time. i have had hundreds of healthy babies hatch and im always looking for new types of pets. i have had lots of kinds... turtles geckos frogs salamanders birds ferrets cats dogs bunnies squirrels ect. i have endless amounts of supplies (lights, heating, cages, tanks, supplements, ect).
OK now to the questions. my girlfriend and i have been discussing it for a while and i have decided to buy a tortoise! i want to breed them so when i buy them i would like to get a male and female together so they grow up knowing each other. we want a pair that will grow a nice size, not anything tiny or huge. sulcata and leopard looked to be a good size but i want to hear everyone's impute. what would be a nice starter breed that is easy to take care of, very curious (friendly and fun), grows to a nice size but not to big (30 to 60 pounds?) and is affordable!!!? and where can i buy them knowing for sure they will be male and female...i have a friend that bought a "male" and "female" and found out later that they were both males haha....that doesn't work. babies i would love to start with rather then adults..mainly because i want to learn there habits rather then previous owner telling me there habits. please give me input on your experience with tortoises! anything will help!

 

[JoesMum]

Re: new tortoise help

The first thing to tell you is that there is no such thing as a breeding pair of torts. They are solitary creatures and don't take well to company especially in the form of pairs.

In the wild, they roam for miles; they meet up to mate and move on. They are very territorial and they don't need or want company. If you get two tortoises they need to be kept separately and introduced to mate before being separated again.

Groups of three or more may work in large outdoor enclosures with plenty of sight barriers where they have the opportunity to get out of the way of the attention of a male under full testosterone control. Pairs, even same sex pairs, usually end in mental or physical bullying and if they aren't separated this results in illness and possible death.

A happy tort is a solitary tort.

 

[zman7590]

RE: new tortoise help

The first thing to tell you is that there is no such thing as a breeding pair of torts. They are solitary creatures and don't take well to company especially in the form of pairs.

In the wild, they roam for miles; they meet up to mate and move on. They are very territorial and they don't need or want company. If you get two tortoises they need to be kept separately and introduced to mate before being separated again.

Groups of three or more may work in large outdoor enclosures with plenty of sight barriers where they have the opportunity to get out of the way of the attention of a male under full testosterone control. Pairs, even same sex pairs, usually end in mental or physical bullying and if they aren't separated this results in illness and possible death.

A happy tort is a solitary tort.

so what would be the best type to purchase?! im confused..i have been reading alot and lots of people say yes to (for example) a sulcata and then someone else says no... i need a solid list of types that would be good for my requirments!!!

 

[tiff3grl]

Re: new tortoise help

Also, if you are looking for a tortoise that doesn't get very large a sulcata is not what you are looking for. They can easily reach 150+ lbs. When it comes to wanting a hatchling rather than an adult, you will not be able to choose the sex. This comes with age. This forum has a lot of great information....I would suggest reading about the different species prior to purchasing a tortoise so you know what you are getting

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[zman7590]

RE: new tortoise help

Also, if you are looking for a tortoise that doesn't get very large a sulcata is not what you are looking for. They can easily reach 150+ lbs. When it comes to wanting a hatchling rather than an adult, you will not be able to choose the sex. This comes with age. This forum has a lot of great information....I would suggest reading about the different species prior to purchasing a tortoise so you know what you are getting

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does anyone know alot about red foot tortoises?! they dont seem to get to big and seem temp.

 

[7oasty23]

new tortoise help

Also, if you are looking for a tortoise that doesn't get very large a sulcata is not what you are looking for. They can easily reach 150+ lbs. When it comes to wanting a hatchling rather than an adult, you will not be able to choose the sex. This comes with age. This forum has a lot of great information....I would suggest reading about the different species prior to purchasing a tortoise so you know what you are getting

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does anyone know alot about red foot tortoises?! they dont seem to get to big and seem temp.

PM N2TORTS. He's a master of all things redfoot related.

 

[zman7590]

RE: new tortoise help

Also, if you are looking for a tortoise that doesn't get very large a sulcata is not what you are looking for. They can easily reach 150+ lbs. When it comes to wanting a hatchling rather than an adult, you will not be able to choose the sex. This comes with age. This forum has a lot of great information....I would suggest reading about the different species prior to purchasing a tortoise so you know what you are getting

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using TortForum mobile app

does anyone know alot about red foot tortoises?! they dont seem to get to big and seem temp.

PM N2TORTS. He's a master of all things redfoot related.

ok thank you

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: new tortoise help

Hi zman, and welcome to the Forum!!

Joesmum said it exactly as I would have.

 

[Jlant85]

new tortoise help

Yeah man, sulcatas is definitely does not fall in your favor. They get huge. I mean huge! From my understanding, to even start breeding you'll want 2 females and 1 male. Having a proper enclosure is a must! Like what most people already said, you'll want them living comfortably before they can even breed. Just to add on to that, if your going to buy them separately, you have to keep them separated for at least 6 months! One could be sick and you don't know it yet! They can easily be catch it and can cause major problems to even fatality.

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Oh welcome to the forums! Hope you find what your looking for!

 

[zman7590]

RE: new tortoise help

thank you everyone! i have taken in all of your thoughts! so for sure the sulcata is out of the picture... i need more opinions on what type! once i narrow it down to that then i can do more research specifically on them can someone tell me a good list of breeds and there pros and cons? hermz redfoots russians ect?!!? oh nd i just wan2 tell everyone here YOU ARE ALL HELPFUL AND KIND! love the forum

 

[Instinct]

RE: new tortoise help

Welcome to the forum!

The members who posted before me have given you some great advice and things to know so far.

I would continue to research the different types of tortoises as they do range in care. I'm only really familiar with the Greek and Russian tortoises (both great starters) however, they do not get that big.

 

[kanalomele]

RE: new tortoise help

Welcome to tfo. There is mountains of informations on this site. Enjoy many hours of reading. So far you have not asked a single question that we have never seen before. I appreciate however that you are asking them! That is excellent and we love seeing that kind of curiosity in new potential owners. Beginner tortoises are definitely in the range of Russians and Greeks. Redfoots have some specialized needs that are. Morechallenging to provide but not impossible. I generally recommend a tort that will be happiest in your location as it is often far easier to keep them when you do not have to fight with Mother Nature. For example keeping a humidity loving species in the desert is more challenging. I definitely do not recommend looking at this pet as a future breeding prospect. Breeding is an entirely different ballgame. It requires very specific knowledge of your species and what they need to be successfully mated. Again, not impossible (I do it myself) but an entirely different challenge. I find it best first to find success in keeping your species happy and healthy for at least a few years.

 

[zman7590]

RE: new tortoise help

Welcome to tfo. There is mountains of informations on this site. Enjoy many hours of reading. So far you have not asked a single question that we have never seen before. I appreciate however that you are asking them! That is excellent and we love seeing that kind of curiosity in new potential owners. Beginner tortoises are definitely in the range of Russians and Greeks. Redfoots have some specialized needs that are. Morechallenging to provide but not impossible. I generally recommend a tort that will be happiest in your location as it is often far easier to keep them when you do not have to fight with Mother Nature. For example keeping a humidity loving species in the desert is more challenging. I definitely do not recommend looking at this pet as a future breeding prospect. Breeding is an entirely different ballgame. It requires very specific knowledge of your species and what they need to be successfully mated. Again, not impossible (I do it myself) but an entirely different challenge. I find it best first to find success in keeping your species happy and healthy for at least a few years.

thats why im going to get younger ones so i have some time to get to know them and there habits and research a @#$@ton of info on the specific breed before they are even old enough to multiply. i have some knowledge of breeding reptiles, my specialty is in leopard geckos. but im not one to say i know something when i dont.... torts are going to be a whole new ballpark and im extremely excited to get into it! if you have any recomm. of a certain seller/breeder you know of lemme know!!! and an overall good breed of tort!

 

[jjsull33]

Russians are a hardy starter tort, they don't get too big though, my female is only about 7.5-8 inches long and she is my biggest russian. I love their personality too.
They definitely cannot be housed together, when they are younger they will follow each other around and may seem like friends but one day one of them will reach maturity and will most likely change perspective and will injure its "friend" possibly even killing it.

I am still new with redfoots, but they have a lot of personality too. They get decent sized, my largest is almost a foot long and still growing. I have 3 females living together and they are alright but there is some mild bullying going on between them and I am actually building new enclosures so they can all live alone, as said before a solitary tort is a happy tort. The redfoot has a more complicated husbandry than the russians though. They need a constantly high humidity level and a larger variety of foods plus they get bigger.

I honestly think that anyone can house any type of tortoise given enough research, time, money, and space dedicated to the tortoise.

 

[immayo]

I don't know if I missed it but where are you located?

I like Redfoots because they seem to be the only ones that do well in herds. Although, you still have to watch for bullying like any other tortoise. They are friendly and get to a decent size but not too big. The only thing about redfoots is they need a more humid environment so you will need to be able to provide a warm/ humid environment year long. If you are looking at buying hatchlings you will not be able to tell the sex at all. If you are for sure looking to breed them you would need to buy adults or buy hatchlings and wait a minimum of 8 years before they may be mature enough for breeding. You may also be able to find some that are in between (juveniles) so you still get to watch them grow for a bit but their sex may be determined.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask, or like said before N2TORTS is a great resource, I have bought 3 hatchlings from him!

 

[apromann4]

I agree with immayo , redfoots, the best thing is check temps and humidity in your location, so you can choose what type of tort that you can give the proper humidity and temp, JD is really a nice guy, Pm him, N2torts is he' s username like whitney( immayo) said, check also his website, tortoisecove.com

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[zman7590]

I don't know if I missed it but where are you located?

I like Redfoots because they seem to be the only ones that do well in herds. Although, you still have to watch for bullying like any other tortoise. They are friendly and get to a decent size but not too big. The only thing about redfoots is they need a more humid environment so you will need to be able to provide a warm/ humid environment year long. If you are looking at buying hatchlings you will not be able to tell the sex at all. If you are for sure looking to breed them you would need to buy adults or buy hatchlings and wait a minimum of 8 years before they may be mature enough for breeding. You may also be able to find some that are in between (juveniles) so you still get to watch them grow for a bit but their sex may be determined.

If you have any more questions feel free to ask, or like said before N2TORTS is a great resource, I have bought 3 hatchlings from him!

im from minnesota. does n2torts sell juvz?!

 

[apromann4]

Yap he does, and he can give you advices, master of redfoots, he has different kinds if red foots

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http://www.tortoisecove.com/

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Check he hypo red foots, really pretty, and also he cherry heads how i wish i can buy from him, unfortunately am from Asia

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[immayo]

I don't believe he has any juveniles for sale. At least I didn't see any when I was at his beautiful Cove last month. He usually sells his hatchlings pretty fast so there's no reason to keep extras around unless they are hold backs for himself. He should be able to point you in the right direction though, that is if Redfoots are what you are interested in. I would still recommend looking into other species and see what you like best but know they would have to be housed separately.

 

[zman7590]

ok i dont wan2 sound dumb but can someone make a simple list of types of torts that fit in these categoryzzz...

Can do well in minnesota..
grows a good size but not not huge (150+lbs)
friendly curious and can possibly be with other torts
good breeder once old enough
good starter tort