• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Tortoise Pet Question

C

Cam5

New member
To my favorite experts, on much more than corn snakes:dancer:

Can anyone offer their personnal opinion, advice on aquiring and keeping a tortoise as a pet. I was looking at the Herman's Tortoise or the Russion Tortoise.

I am open to those who adore and those who dislike. It seems more difficult to find great resources on tortoises like there is on corns.

Anyone know who the Kathy Love equivalent is in the tortoise world?

Thank you!

I have only experience with dogs, cats, fat tailed geckos, rankin dragons, and corn snakes, and several happy community and semi aggressive fish.
 
space
you need A LOT of space, even for a Russian. We use and suggest 150+gallon rubbermaid tubs for small torts.
you'll also need heat and UVB
and a lot of greens
 
I don't know anything, well much, about Testudo tortoises. (You might also consider a Greek). They are generally small. All like arid climates. The best diet is natural grazing. They should be housed outside. The minimum pen size for an adult is 4x6 feet. All will hibernate if conditions allow. You probably want to buy from a breeder to ensure the tortoise has been captive bred and isn't an imported WC adult.

There is a Russian Tortoise yahoo group, and the owner is Joe, and he is reputedly very helpful. [email protected]

If you just want something turtle-y, box turtles are way easier than tortoises. Tortoises are really, really easy to screw up by improper diet, improper lighting, improper humidity and lack of access to a microclimate, which is then evidenced for the rest of the tort's life by shell deformities on the outside and bladder stones and metabolic bone disorders on the inside.

Box turtles, though, are generally wild caught if adult, which means they have been ripped out of their habitat and the local native population is dwindling. So if you can find a captive-bred hatchling, that would be best. Box turtles are also governed by all kinds of regulations depending on which state you live in. Box turtles should also be kept outside. I have mine in a 4x8 pen, but want to build something more elaborate someday. They are very easy to house. They also hibernate.

But if you are prepared to provide the correct conditions for a tortoise, they are great pets.

Nanci
 
You know what else- my boxies are _way_ more interactive. They come running when I go to feed them. One can even stand on her hind legs and beg! The torts, OTOH, are ALWAYS in their burrows. I'm amazed when I find one out grazing. I thought they'd be much more active in the cooler parts of the day, but I can go weeks without seeing either one of them. I'm happy I'm providing them a natural healthy habitat, but it'd be more fun for me if I got to see them every day.

Nanci
 
There is also the very helpful Russian Tortoise Resource. I was using it as the main focus of my own research, until I was made aware that possession of chelonians is illegal in Tennessee. Its also run by an expert on theri captive husbandry, Dr. Joe Heinen.
 
Joe Heinen- who owns Carolina Pet Supply? I wonder if that is the "Joe" from the Russian list?? He's on the hoggy list, too. He sent me a bunch of cool feeder insects for my dragon to try, and some Total Nutrition For Tortoises supplement, too. Interesting. If that's him- he's an excellent resource!

Nanci
 
Hi
I have a very good resource but it's a U.K. site. It is the tortoise trust just type it in google it should come up.
You should find out everything you need there.
Also don't use a viv use a tortoise table, these are really good, there will be info on a tortoise table on the tortoise trust website :D
MIKE
 
snakewispera snr said:
Hi
I have a very good resource but it's a U.K. site. It is the tortoise trust just type it in google it should come up.
You should find out everything you need there.
Also don't use a viv use a tortoise table, these are really good, there will be info on a tortoise table on the tortoise trust website :D
MIKE
Click to expand...

The guy from Tortoise Trust, Andy, is also very helpful.

Nanci
 
Yeah Joe is a great guy, but he is also the one that told me I couldn't have a russian tortoise so frowns abound. Stupid Tennessee.
 
You can't have _any_ chelonians in TN? That's crazy. You should move to FL where you can have (but not buy or sell) two FL native boxies, no RES, no Gophers, but as many of anything else you want! Well, except Indigos.

Nanci
 
And let me add, I am freaking scared of Fish and Wildlife, or whatever they call it. I'd never violate any of their animal rules. Well, for long. I did remove a Gopher from my neighbor's yard where her kids and dogs were molesting it, and put it back across two fences where it belonged.

Nanci
 
THANK YOU

WOW! Thank you everyone!

I knew I came to the right place. I initially thought they would be "easier" than a turtle due to the absence of need for a swimming environment. But I can't wait to dig in this week to the resources you all have provided:)

It sounds like there are "experts" out there woth resources that will help me decide where to go from here...

Thanks again!

I will keep you all updated:)
 
Tort Pet Update

Thank you to everyone!

We have our little Calvin (after Calvin and Hobbes).
He is a 7 year old Greek Tort...sold to us by Petsmart as a 6 month old Russian....I know I know....I never go there for any other critters...and now I will never go there for anything but bulbs and food. But htanks to the great guidance of Joe H. and the members on the tortoise forum he is doing great and we think he's a load of fun:)

Thank yo uall again!


CalvinCloseupShots004.jpg


CalvinCloseupShots003.jpg
 
What a beauty! Do you think he was WC? It sure wouldn't hurt to get a fecal to the vet- torts can be LOADED with parasites. Easy to fix. I'm so glad Joe could help you out- he's the best!
 
I am 99.9% sure he's WC. But he is unusually tame for what I thought a WC tort should be...ie he doesn't ppe on us or pull his head in when we hold him...and he suere knows how to beg for more greens.

We took him to the vet (got him on 11-1-07) and treated him for internal critters. They thought he would have a bigger load and a bigger variety if he were WC but who knows?

I have to say though, these herbivores sure are a lot to clean up after:eek1:

But we love him:)
 
I'm so happy mine are outside now! It takes a lot of low-calorie/high-roughage veg to power a tortoise! Glad you are taking such excellent care of him. They catch on pretty quickly to who is feeding them and seem to lose all fear.
 
Cam5 said:
I am 99.9% sure he's WC. But he is unusually tame for what I thought a WC tort should be...ie he doesn't ppe on us or pull his head in when we hold him...and he suere knows how to beg for more greens.

We took him to the vet (got him on 11-1-07) and treated him for internal critters. They thought he would have a bigger load and a bigger variety if he were WC but who knows?

I have to say though, these herbivores sure are a lot to clean up after:eek1:

But we love him:)
Click to expand...

Glad the wee guy is doing good. :)
I know a few people who have torts here in MN and they keep them outside during the summer. They need a yard and need to Graze all day.

good luck to your wee guy. :D
 
tricksterpup said:
Glad the wee guy is doing good. :)
I know a few people who have torts here in MN and they keep them outside during the summer. They need a yard and need to Graze all day.

good luck to your wee guy. :D
Click to expand...

We have birds of prey, coyote, fox and opossum, raccoons, plus stray dogs and cats....I would be a wreck to have him outside...:uhoh:
 
Cam5 said:
We have birds of prey, coyote, fox and opossum, raccoons, plus stray dogs and cats....I would be a wreck to have him outside...:uhoh:
Click to expand...

Oh, you can do something like what Nancy has for her torts, like a garden area, let the guy roam around during the day and at night bring him inside.

I think the math goes like this
10 minutes outside = 1 hour UV bulb
60 minutes outside = 8 hours uv bulb.

I know its something like this. These guys need tons of natural sun light.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top