- Joined
- Oct 6, 2011
- Messages
- 16
I posted in the introductions that I am planning to get a baby tortoise...hubby has given the thumbs-up, so now I just have to settle on one. I am leaning VERY heavily towards a leopard because I think they're gorgeous, but would really love to hear your thoughts on why I should choose another kind (or why leopards are the best). The only ones I won't consider are sulcatas and aldabras because of size (I do know that leopards can potentially get huge as well).
Here's my situation (warning: I tend to blather on): I live in Southern California (L.A., to be more exact). We have a small backyard but will be moving in the spring when we buy a bigger house, which will absolutely have a bigger yard. I'll be able to have an outdoor enclosure of at least 8x10.
I have an ornate box turtle, Sherlock, that I rescued in April. He's housed outside in a 50gallon Rubbermaid container (been bringing him in nights here lately because of the temps). I don't think I want another box turtle, even though I absolutely adore Sherlock, because his finicky eating habits are really stressful to me. I am in the process of fixing up a 'turtle run' for him along the side of our garage (the area I'm enclosing is 3' x 10') so he'll have a bigger area to run around; right now he gets to just roam the backyard for 15-30 minutes each day. The run goes around two sides of the garage so if disaster struck and we weren't able to buy a new house in the spring, I still have room for a decent second outdoor enclosure for a tortoise of up to 30lbs or so.
I will probably not stay in this area permanently. I have NO idea where we'll end up, but possibly close to Arkansas or in Arkansas as that's where my husband's from. We don't want our daughter (21 months) to grow up here. Most likely, we'll move in 3-5 years, but of course we could just wind up never getting around to it, especially since my older daughter (22) plans to stay here permanently. Oh, and the toddler never gets near my turtle and will never get near my tortoise, for those who see a red flag when kids are mentioned (I work in dog rescue and we usually won't adopt to families with toddlers, so I do understand people's concern).
Anyway...feel free to make suggestions! I'm actually pretty open about what sort of tortoise to get, as long as it's not a behemoth. I'd prefer one on the larger side, though, which is why I'm not as interested in Hermann's. For a while I was leaning toward red foots but I like the more traditional look of other tortoises better. I don't really know anything about Greeks and Russians.
: )
~Rose
p.s. Oh, and I won't be putting the baby tortoise in with Sherlock. He'll have his own enclosure.
Here's my situation (warning: I tend to blather on): I live in Southern California (L.A., to be more exact). We have a small backyard but will be moving in the spring when we buy a bigger house, which will absolutely have a bigger yard. I'll be able to have an outdoor enclosure of at least 8x10.
I have an ornate box turtle, Sherlock, that I rescued in April. He's housed outside in a 50gallon Rubbermaid container (been bringing him in nights here lately because of the temps). I don't think I want another box turtle, even though I absolutely adore Sherlock, because his finicky eating habits are really stressful to me. I am in the process of fixing up a 'turtle run' for him along the side of our garage (the area I'm enclosing is 3' x 10') so he'll have a bigger area to run around; right now he gets to just roam the backyard for 15-30 minutes each day. The run goes around two sides of the garage so if disaster struck and we weren't able to buy a new house in the spring, I still have room for a decent second outdoor enclosure for a tortoise of up to 30lbs or so.
I will probably not stay in this area permanently. I have NO idea where we'll end up, but possibly close to Arkansas or in Arkansas as that's where my husband's from. We don't want our daughter (21 months) to grow up here. Most likely, we'll move in 3-5 years, but of course we could just wind up never getting around to it, especially since my older daughter (22) plans to stay here permanently. Oh, and the toddler never gets near my turtle and will never get near my tortoise, for those who see a red flag when kids are mentioned (I work in dog rescue and we usually won't adopt to families with toddlers, so I do understand people's concern).
Anyway...feel free to make suggestions! I'm actually pretty open about what sort of tortoise to get, as long as it's not a behemoth. I'd prefer one on the larger side, though, which is why I'm not as interested in Hermann's. For a while I was leaning toward red foots but I like the more traditional look of other tortoises better. I don't really know anything about Greeks and Russians.
: )
~Rose
p.s. Oh, and I won't be putting the baby tortoise in with Sherlock. He'll have his own enclosure.
