Which species please?

[sweet Dee]

Hello,
I am finally getting a tortoise after years of waiting!
Trouble is I am not sure what species to get.
I've been given lots of conflicting information. So the pet shop talked me into putting a deposit down on a red foot.
Friends have suggested getting a horse field for my first and another has suggested a pair of Herman's.
Very confused,will need to be kept inside mostly and I am very nervous about the hibernation process.
Any advice much appreciated

 

[daniellenc]

Red foots don’t hibernate so a good choice but need a lot of indoor and outdoor space plus closed chambers for high humidity.

 

[wellington]

A pair is never a good idea. Tortoises do best by themselves or in larg groups. Almost never do good in pairs.
Whatever you do, do not listen to the pet stores advice. They are there to sell you anything and everything they can. They don't know about proper care and a lot of the stuff they sell is either not needed or wrongly recommended.

 

[Tom]

A redfoot will be very difficult to keep in your climate. As an adult, it will need an entire room with 80+% humidity and kept above 26-27 degrees C at all times.

The russian or a single hermanni would be much easier. Tortoises should NEVER be kept in pairs. Not hatchlings. Not adults. Not any combination of sexes.

You do not have to hibernate any species. You can if you want to, and I prefer to hibernate temperate species, but you don't have to.

Check this out:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Be aware that you are going to get terrible tortoise advice from a pet shop and they will sell you all the wrong stuff. Then they all tell you how you can't believe anything on the internet… Good luck sorting through the confusing mess. I hope we can help. We aren't selling anything, and out motivation is helping tortoises and promoting the tortoise hobby through people having positive tortoise experiences. You will get direct advice from people who have been keeping the species you are interested in for years.

 

[daniellenc]

Where abouts are you living?

 

[sweet Dee]

Where abouts are you living?

Hi I live in Wales UK

 

[sweet Dee]

A pair is never a good idea. Tortoises do best by themselves or in larg groups. Almost never do good in pairs.
Whatever you do, do not listen to the pet stores advice. They are there to sell you anything and everything they can. They don't know about proper care and a lot of the stuff they sell is either not needed or wrongly recommended.

I have had advice from some friends who have tortoises and they say not to get the red foot so I phoned the pet place and explained my concerns and he said I can have anyone I want but he reckons the red foots are great!

 

[sweet Dee]

A redfoot will be very difficult to keep in your climate. As an adult, it will need an entire room with 80+% humidity and kept above 26-27 degrees C at all times.

The russian or a single hermanni would be much easier. Tortoises should NEVER be kept in pairs. Not hatchlings. Not adults. Not any combination of sexes.

You do not have to hibernate any species. You can if you want to, and I prefer to hibernate temperate species, but you don't have to.

Check this out:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Be aware that you are going to get terrible tortoise advice from a pet shop and they will sell you all the wrong stuff. Then they all tell you how you can't believe anything on the internet… Good luck sorting through the confusing mess. I hope we can help. We aren't selling anything, and out motivation is helping tortoises and promoting the tortoise hobby through people having positive tortoise experiences. You will get direct advice from people who have been keeping the species you are interested in for years.

Great thanks. I've been doing so much research and don't want to make a mistake or take on one I cannot care for correctly. Living in the UK we don't get much sun!

 

[sweet Dee]

A redfoot will be very difficult to keep in your climate. As an adult, it will need an entire room with 80+% humidity and kept above 26-27 degrees C at all times.

The russian or a single hermanni would be much easier. Tortoises should NEVER be kept in pairs. Not hatchlings. Not adults. Not any combination of sexes.

You do not have to hibernate any species. You can if you want to, and I prefer to hibernate temperate species, but you don't have to.

Check this out:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Be aware that you are going to get terrible tortoise advice from a pet shop and they will sell you all the wrong stuff. Then they all tell you how you can't believe anything on the internet… Good luck sorting through the confusing mess. I hope we can help. We aren't selling anything, and out motivation is helping tortoises and promoting the tortoise hobby through people having positive tortoise experiences. You will get direct advice from people who have been keeping the species you are interested in for years.

Living where we do there is not much choice or advice about. The place where I am getting one is well established and the owner is very good,and offers after care and also kennelling. He says I can change my mind and switch deposit to anyone,and I'm kinda leaning towards the HF as the herrman are a pair and he didn't want to split them.

 

[wellington]

Living where we do there is not much choice or advice about. The place where I am getting one is well established and the owner is very good,and offers after care and also kennelling. He says I can change my mind and switch deposit to anyone,and I'm kinda leaning towards the HF as the herrman are a pair and he didn't want to split them.

Again, tortoises should not be kept in pairs. The owner doesn't know enough to not keep tortoises in pairs. If you want to do the best for the tortoise get one. Specially if you can't provide a very big yard with lots of sight barriers for two too have a chance at a stress free life.

 

[sweet Dee]

Again, tortoises should not be kept in pairs. The owner doesn't know enough to not keep tortoises in pairs. If you want to do the best for the tortoise get one. Specially if you can't provide a very big yard with lots of sight barriers for two too have a chance at a stress free life.

Yeah,he said they are a breeding pair which put me off as I didn't want babies. Been to see a friend who has a herman,two HF's and a red foot and still none the wiser. I will not buy on a whim,I want to get it right and give it the best possible care.

 

[wellington]

Yeah,he said they are a breeding pair which put me off as I didn't want babies. Been to see a friend who has a herman,two HF's and a red foot and still none the wiser. I will not buy on a whim,I want to get it right and give it the best possible care.

They may be a breeding pair but that's even more reason they should not be housed together. He will try to breed her too illness or death. A breeding pairs is kept apart, put together too breed and then separated again.
A Russian, Hermanns or Greek is all ones that are good for you too look for.

 

[sweet Dee]

They may be a breeding pair but that's even more reason they should not be housed together. He will try to breed her too illness or death. A breeding pairs is kept apart, put together too breed and then separated again.
A Russian, Hermanns or Greek is all ones that are good for you too look for.

Thanks for advice. I think the Russian (horesefield ) is probably best for me as a beginner. Sadly he said if I took the pair I could make money if they did breed,I'm not into that (making money from animals)

 

[wellington]

Thanks for advice. I think the Russian (horesefield ) is probably best for me as a beginner. Sadly he said if I took the pair I could make money if they did breed,I'm not into that (making money from animals)

If you do it the right way you really don't make money. It costs a lot of money to hatch out tortoises and then house, heat, and feed them until they are sold. You might make some but unless you do it in big quantities and not really in the best way you won't make much. It's not bad to breed and sell but not that easy or a big money maker for most.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome !

Maybe you can get some ideas from this thread that you can find in our Frequently Asked Questions section:

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/what-species-should-i-get.123008/

 

[Unique Username]

If you aren't going to buy a hatchling from a breeder I would recommend adopting a rescue. Sometimes they take a little more work, but most rescues are perfectly healthy and are just looking for a good home. I believe that Hermanns and russians are very popular in the UK and would be the mojority of what's availible for adoption. Some other UK members might have more information on availible rescues in your area, but you could always just look up reptile/tortoise sanctuarys in your area.

 

[katieandiggy]

Hi I’m in the UK too!
Have you looked at the Tortoise Trust website, they have sooooo many tortoises up for adoption.
If I get another, it will be an adoption.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello from the UK.

I too will reiterate that torts don't do well as pairs. They're very territorial and don't want or need friends. Bullying is common and can resukt in the death of the subordinate tortoise.

In our climate, one of the Mediterranean testudo species will do much better. Horsfield (aka Russian), Hermann's and Greek are all commonly available and cope well with our climate. You are likely to get a very young tortoise as wild caught torts cannot be sold in the UK. Make sure you get the papers to prove it is captive bred.

Do read the threads linked to earlier. They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vet stores too.

Do ask us before you buy anything. We will save you a small fortune in inappropriate equipment pushed by pet shops that don't actually know as much about torts as they claim

 

[sweet Dee]

Hello from the UK.

I too will reiterate that torts don't do well as pairs. They're very territorial and don't want or need friends. Bullying is common and can resukt in the death of the subordinate tortoise.

In our climate, one of the Mediterranean testudo species will do much better. Horsfield (aka Russian), Hermann's and Greek are all commonly available and cope well with our climate. You are likely to get a very young tortoise as wild caught torts cannot be sold in the UK. Make sure you get the papers to prove it is captive bred.

Do read the threads linked to earlier. They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and, sadly, from some breeders and vet stores too.

Do ask us before you buy anything. We will save you a small fortune in inappropriate equipment pushed by pet shops that don't actually know as much about torts as they claim

Great thank you. I am going to speak to a reptile specialist tomorrow to get a better idea of what species is best. I have a viv already from a friend,it's 3 foot and has a heat pad,timer and temp cage so that's a start!

 

[sweet Dee]

Hi I’m in the UK too!
Have you looked at the Tortoise Trust website, they have sooooo many tortoises up for adoption.
If I get another, it will be an adoption.

My friend just told me about that site! Omg they do adoption? I didn't know that! Being so far from everything I doubt there would be anything round here though! What species so you have?