can you keep a tortoise inside for its entire life?

[tortoisefreak21]

I was thinking about keeping a red foot or cherry head tortoise and I want to know can you keep them indoors for their entire life I was thinking about making a big enclosure for him to live can they live indoors for their whole life and live up to 50+ years.

 

[wellington]

Yes they can but they shouldn't have too. Imagine if you could never go outside! Sometimes we just don't have what we need to have what we want.

 

[Tom]

I was thinking about keeping a red foot or cherry head tortoise and I want to know can you keep them indoors for their entire life I was thinking about making a big enclosure for him to live can they live indoors for their whole life and live up to 50+ years.

Yes you can with the right set up and equipment. They need a large space, like a whole room, and you will have to modify the room heavily to deal with the extremely high humidity and moisture that tis species needs, but it CAN be done.

 

[tortoisefreak21]

Yes you can with the right set up and equipment. They need a large space, like a whole room, and you will have to modify the room heavily to deal with the extremely high humidity and moisture that tis species needs, but it CAN be done.

well, I was thinking about building a long enclosed enclosure because i know they need a lot of space with sliding doors. pictures

 

[Tom]

well, I was thinking about building a long enclosed enclosure because i know they need a lot of space with sliding doors. pictures

View attachment 341729

Something like that can work, but for a red foot, it will need to be enormous. Red foots get 12" and can weigh 20 pounds. They need a large enclosure to walk around in. You need 4x8 for a 6 inch Russian that weighs 500 grams. A full grown RF can weigh 9000 grams.

Tortoises require much larger enclosures than most other reptiles. This is one reason that most tortoise keepers recommend that adult tortoises be kept outside, in large enclosures, whenever possible. It can be done inside, but its not cheap or easy.

 

[tortoisefreak21]

Something like that can work, but for a red foot, it will need to be enormous. Red foots get 12" and can weigh 20 pounds. They need a large enclosure to walk around in. You need 4x8 for a 6 inch Russian that weighs 500 grams. A full grown RF can weigh 9000 grams.

Tortoises require much larger enclosures than most other reptiles. This is one reason that most tortoise keepers recommend that adult tortoises be kept outside, in large enclosures, whenever possible. It can be done inside, but its not cheap or easy.

what about cherry heads

 

[Tom]

what about cherry heads

Cherry heads do average just a little smaller, but some of them get just as big as a normal RF.

 

[tortoisefreak21]

Cherry heads do average just a little smaller, but some of them get just as big as a normal RF.

would they live 50+ years in this enclosure

 

[Tom]

would they live 50+ years in this enclosure

No one knows the lifespan of any tortoise species. Anyone who gives you a number either made that number up, or is repeating someone else's made up number. We know that a few individual turtles and tortoises have been verified to live over 100 years, but those few cases don't necessarily represent the whole species, or any other species.

To answer your question: If the enclosure is large, conditions in it are correct, and the tortoise is fed and hydrated properly, I see no reason why a RF wouldn't live out its normal lifespan just fine in an indoor enclosure. I don't know if that would be 20 years or 200 years.

 

[wellington]

would they live 50+ years in this enclosure

Not the ones you posted. A russian could if it's at least 4x8 feet and all right conditions