Questions... lots of questions haha

[KiKi54]

Hahaha ok so I have no idea if I am doing this right... Newbie so bare with me lol. I was told this was a great site to get information I live in Alberta and am hoping to get a Tortoise at the 2nd annual reptile show at the end of August. I want to be prepared before I do this so any helpful information would be to much apprieciated.... So a bit about me I have managed a health food store for pets for over 5 years after all the research I have done I am trying to decide between the Hermmans tortoise or a Russians tortoise. I have many companies avalible to me for pet supplies what all should I buy? I already picked a tortoise house.. which bedding is the best? aspen? moss?? something else? I also want to only feed all natural... being in the animal health business im not a fan of anything processed so was going to grow dandelions and other weed in a green house... anything they like more then others? I was hoping to do a rescue or an older tortoise but my boyfriend wants a baby.. any suggestions on why we would lean towards a baby or older tortoise? also we have 2 girls age 5 & 6 and no other pets. Hope I didn't go over board on questions ha.

 

[dmmj]

Welcome
hermanns and russian are similar so the choice would probably come down to a personal one. I like russians over hermanns myself I have 3 russians. If this is your first tortoise in all honesty I would try and get one at least a year old, older if possible. They are established and can withstand mistakes made better than a baby one.

 

[KiKi54]

Thank you Ya thats kinda why I was hoping to get a n older one ... Might end up going to the reptile store and just do some more browsing and asking questions might make my desicion a bit easier lol.

 

[Tortoise]

Welcome K, glad you found us!
ask away on here, the people on this forum are so helpful.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[wrmitchell22]

Welcome to TFO I don't have either, but I had a russian years ago. She had a great personality and was not shy at all. She wasn't even afraid of our 3 dogs!

 

[laramie]

I was hoping to do a rescue or an older tortoise but my boyfriend wants a baby.. any suggestions on why we would lean towards a baby or older tortoise?

Nice to make you acquaintence
I have a sulcata myself, his name is Wilbur and on Saturday he will be 8 weeks old. I got a baby because I will be the one to raise him from a hatchling and I am excited about documenting all of his new adventures and how he grows. But, I believe that when you rescue any animal, they know that you are their angel. Happy hunting and again, welcome to the site.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Kiki54:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

May we know your name?

 

[KiKi54]

Thank you everyone and Louise thank you for directing me to this site. My name is Karmon. Im also wondering if anyone can explain to me the difference between a UV and a UVB light?? and what watt should I get. This supplier has so many to choose from and I dont know where to start lol[

Also should i get calcium with or without vit d

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Both of those species are great. What a hard choice you have. I think the hermanni are prettier, but the russians are usually fearless. Its all personal choice and every tortoise is an individual.

The best lights to buy are Mercury Vapor Bulbs. Don't let the pet store people talk you into anything else. It gives you heat, light and the right balance of all the UV types that you need. Do NOT buy one of those coil type compact florescents. They sometimes damage tortoise eyes.

Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

 

[Laura]

if you dont have your tort outdoors.. it will need vitD. Otherwise it cant absorb the calcium you give.
Outdoors is best.. when you can.
What kind of tortoise house? Most of those for sale and way too small. you should looke at building your own table or using a bookcase and lay it on its back...
And since you have young kids and this is your first.. Id got with a older tort as well. Babies are so fragile....

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[KiKi54]

I plan on having him outdoors alot but the summer we have had so far has been gloomy rainy days ugg good ole alberta weather NOT lol. maybe I will by the calcium with vit d and the plain calcium and give according to the weather???
The tortoise house I was going to get is called ATASUKI half open style tortoise House (I have decided to go with the Hermanns tortoise because I have been told a couple times now the russians r escape artists) its 24"x14.2"x14.2" the Suggested retail price is $74.99 but since i get everything at cost its $44.90 minus 25% promo they have right now// does that sound worth it? or should i still just build something? i thought the glass might be easier to clean the a wood one?? i dunno lol.
Im not sure if we will get a baby or an older one but like I said I am leaning more towards an older one for sure.

 

[dmmj]

I hate to see people overspend on tortoise houses. I think a cement mixing tub from a home improvement type store would be a much cheaper option. Also an old bookcase can make a very nice tortoise enclosure and they are usually cheap and or free. But since it is your first tortoise if you want to spend a little on a nice house there is no problem with it.

 

[Turtle Guru]

welcome to the forum

 

[Kristina]

Welcome to the forum

Here is an article that I wrote that may help answer a lot of your questions.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ive-or-Beginner-Tortoise-Owners#axzz1TS04E8za

 

[KiKi54]

Thank you that is VERY helpul