The Process has Begun

[shehick]

The supplies have been ordered, the tortoise has been paid for....
Now we wait.

I don't know how I am going to contain myself while I wait. Gumbo (the tortoise) is going to be held for me for two more weeks so I have time to get the temps and humidity properly set up but even just waiting for my supplies to come so I have an enclosure to look at is going to drive me insane! Amazon assures me nothing will be here later than the 10th but how am I supposed to wait 11 more days to start putting it together?! I have some major tortoise fever.

So, while we wait, how did you come into tortoise enslavement?
Any tips to a newcomer are welcome as well!

 

[dmmj]

I got my very first turtle at 8 for a birthday gift red ear slider had it for 30 years. of course I loved Turtles and tortoises long before then. one of my favorite books as a child (which I'm looking for) was I have a turtle in my mommy's hat box. A horrible story now that I look back on it but still

 

[Yvonne G]

I wrote this article many years ago for our club's newsletter:

"Mom, Will You Take My Turtles?

By Yvonne M. Gomez


Many years ago, my son bought a home of his own and started to accumulate his own pets. First of all he “rescued” (read bought) a female box turtle with puffy eyes that was being kept in the water turtle enclosure in a local pet store. Then another such box turtle, then a Gopherus agassizi that a co-worker’s father had run over with the disc in his vineyard….well, you get the idea.


Things went along smoothly for months. He built separate pens for each kind of turtle he had. He nursed them all back to health and he had a happy, healthy family of turtles and tortoises.


But then came the desire to get a rottweiller puppy. Big mistake! The puppy decided that all these little crawly, wiggly things in “his” backyard were just wonderful to chew on.


I doubt my son gave a second thought to which came first, the turtle or the pup. He had fallen in love with the pup, and the turtles just had to go! “Mom, will you take my turtles?”


I had a couple tortoises when I was first married, forty or fifty years ago, but I never really had an affinity for them. It was just something you had out in the backyard. But I had become a more sensitive person in my old age, and decided if I were to start caring for these animals, I needed to do some research and find out how they should be cared for…do it the right way. This was before computers…you know, the olden days! I bought every book I could find on the subject, some good – some bad – some in between. I was one of the first subscribers to Reptiles magazine. I started a turtle club in my city. And guess what? I discovered you can’t just have one or two turtles.


When people find out you like turtles, they bring you more. Or when you go to the pet store for cat food and see a different kind of turtle, you just have to buy it!


I’ve been in the “turtle business” for about 35 years now. I have reached the point where I realize I have to say “no” occasionally. I have stopped diversifying and have settled into keeping only a few different species. My whole property is covered with turtle and tortoise pens. There is no “front yard,” only tortoise pens. There is no “back yard,” only tortoise pens.


I recognized quite early on that there was a need for a turtle rescue in my city. At first I operated the rescue through the local turtle club, but now I’m totally on my own. I have a long list of people waiting to adopt, and I receive turtles and tortoises weekly. I keep them for a period of two weeks just to make sure there isn’t a previous owner."

So, good luck on your journey. There will be mistakes along the way, but nothing you can't overcome. There will also be many, many good times - times when your new pet make you laugh at his antics.

Did you ever tell us what kind of tortoise you're getting?

This is a very good read - a MUST for beginner tortoise keepers:

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[shehick]

I love the stories! My mom has been keeping sulcatas for some time now. I have always admired them but was never particularly thrilled because hers were so stand-offish when it came to "affection" that wasn't just plopping food on their slate. I started really wanting a red foot when I was pregnant with my daughter but I never really had the funds and I was admittedly going to short-cut because of it. Ended up holding off and here we are, three years later and I have a deposit on a tortoise! The breeder I was following ever since I first wanted a tortoise actually denied me sale because of where I live now, so I took to the web for a new breeder. I came across a member here on faunaclassifieds and after a little back and forth and her telling me I was about to mess up, she referred me here. I couldn't be happier with having chosen her as my breeder and recommending me here before I unknowingly killed my baby due to outdated care sheets across the web. Now I'm two weeks out from having my little one home and I cannot wait to start bonding with him!

Yvonne, I will be getting a baby leopard tortoise!

 

[Big Charlie]

I went crazy about getting pets as an adult because I have always been an animal lover but my parents wouldn't let me have any pets. When my kids were little, we went to the pet store nearly every week just to look, and sometimes to buy. I almost bought a box turtle once but it pooped in my hand, so I decided it wouldn't be very much fun. Then one day, they had these teeny tiny sulcatas. They were so cute and tiny, and it was amazing that they would grow into humongous beasts! So I bought one and with just a one page care sheet, I took him home. I did a lot of things wrong in the beginning because there wasn't a lot of correct information out there, but he is now 17 years old (a teenager!) and still going strong. He is the only pet I have now; he outlived them all and will outlive me, baring any unforeseen circumstances.

 

[wellington]

Congrats. While you wait, read, read and read again so all the correct info is implanted in your head. You could also start growing foods from seeds if that's possible for you. Maybe even start planning the outdoor enclosure for when it's bigger. These things should help with the wait.
When your little one arrives, give it a good warm soak for 20-30 minutes, then place in enclosure with food and water and leave alone until the next day. Long hard trip, so for the first day let him be able to rest or explore without being bothered.
Is this one a RF and you want to eventually get a leopard? You do know they can not share the same home, right?
Good luck, hope the time goes quickly.

 

[shehick]

@Big Charlie I did, too! Due to my moves I had to rehome most of my herps but I currently own a common (red tail) boa, a fish (hobbiest) and my service dog. My husband if he counts haha. I look forward to sharing my years with him and my daughter. I'm pretty young so I like to think I'll be around for most of his but he will more than likely outlive me.

@wellington this baby is a leopard tortoise and he will be indoors only with the exception of the sparse outdoor days it'll actually be warm enough to venture outside. He will have his own room when he gets bigger but he is starting off in a 6x3 closed chamber. I will keep him in a bin within the enclosure for a month or so while I get the entire bottom of it sealed in and can get a seed mix planted and established. He will then have free range of that until he outgrows it and moves either to a larger home-made enclosure or a room. He will be my only tort. Thank you for the advice on what to do when he gets here! That's something that hasn't been covered yet!

 

[Jodie]

I am so glad you're so excited. Time will fly by. Even though you will only be able to put him out for short periods, it would be a good idea to have an enclosure. Bricks work really well for a secure space. This way you don't have to worry about losing him.