chosen2030, first welcome to the forum. Have you considered your natural Arizona Desert tortoise? They may get a little bigger than a Russian and will hibernate but they are native to your area and therefore would do well.
Most of the Torts you mentioned above do hibernate. Is there a particular reason you don't want them hibernating? And what do you mean by active most of the year?
PYGY, there are some torts that don't hibernate including a Greek subspecies I believe.
If your weather gets down below 40 degrees in the winter time, there isn't a tortoise alive that would stay active. They need the sun to keep them active. However, if you provide heat for them, rather than letting nature take its course, you can keep any tortoise active during the winter. I think you would have a hard time finding any Chaco tortoises. They are very scarce in captivity and I never see them for sale. Russians are very personable and a great first tortoise. However, they do hibernate, so you would have to provide them with an artificial sun to fool them into thinking it really isn't winter, afterall!
Yvonne
Leopards and Sulcatas don't hibernate, but get much too big (in case it does get cold and they have to come in side) and live way too long (don't want to worry about who will care for them when I die).
chosen2030, first welcome to the forum. Have you considered your natural Arizona Desert tortoise? They may get a little bigger than a Russian and will hibernate but they are native to your area and therefore would do well.
Most of the Torts you mentioned above do hibernate. Is there a particular reason you don't want them hibernating? And what do you mean by active most of the year?
What I mean is that the joy of any hobbyist/pet owner is being able to interact or observe their animals. Looking at the top of a shell in its den isn't very interesting.
PYGY, there are some torts that don't hibernate including a Greek subspecies I believe.
Can you find out what subspecies that might be please?
If your weather gets down below 40 degrees in the winter time, there isn't a tortoise alive that would stay active. They need the sun to keep them active. However, if you provide heat for them, rather than letting nature take its course, you can keep any tortoise active during the winter. I think you would have a hard time finding any Chaco tortoises. They are very scarce in captivity and I never see them for sale. Russians are very personable and a great first tortoise. However, they do hibernate, so you would have to provide them with an artificial sun to fool them into thinking it really isn't winter, afterall!
Yvonne
The temperature in AZ rarely if ever get that cold. Here in the valley of the sun, I worry more about it getting too hot (it gets up to 115 Farenheit during the summer, but its a dry heat, very low humidity)
Chosen2030, any tort you get will have the chance to more than likely out live you. Most live about 75-100 years if properly taken care of. If you are concerned about them living too long or do not have the ability to give them a proper habitat, I suggest another animal as a pet. Each of us chooses our pets for different reasons. Most domesticated pets fit into our lifestyles. It seems torts are a little different we fit into theirs. We set up their habitats to suite them. We actually try and mimic their natural habitats to make them happy, safe and secure. I am not trying to discourage you but, these are long living animals with special needs. I would strongly suggest you search the web and read everything you can about Greeks, Russians and Hermanns. If these are the species you are thinking about getting. Please do your research before you acquire your tort to give it the best care you can. Oh yes and something a lot of people do not think about do you have a Reptile vet near you, one that specializes in Torts and the specific species you may want?.
Here are a few sites to start with;
http://www.chelonia.org/testudo_gallery.htm
http://www.chelonia.org/
http://www.tortoise.org/archives/herman.html
http://www.russiantortoise.org/
http://www.phoenixherp.com/content/index...&Itemid=93