First Tortoise Help

[NinjaTortoises]

lol good to know its easy to spot, and i do remember tom from earlier in the post, he told me to look into south african leopards for personality

Actually i was finishing reading the thread, well sulcatas ans leopards are both great and leopards get almost as big as sulcata but not that big, but either one you choose its still an awesome choice but hard work so choose wisely lol, google images of sulcata adults or leopard tortoise adults and look at the images theyre both pretty big lol and if you end up getting either, make sure to ask questions here, the people on here helped me get through all obstacles easily and correctly as opposed as to if i had followed the breeders advice which was wrong somewhat, and make sure you read up on pyramiding because thats something you dont want your tortoises to have, it makes a tortoise look unhealthy and it pretty much is if someone lets it pyramid, but most important, dont forget to ask questions if your concerned about the tortoises well being

 

[Ethan D]

if i were to choose a sulcata or leopard, my concern is outdoor enclosure, lol i'm not going to lie, i'm 15 won't get the tortoise until i am almost 16 and have a job, depending on the growth rate, i might have enough money to build and outdoor enclosure, but i don't know how much it would cost or even how to build a fence lol, those are my only problems, along with winters outdoors, only thing i could think for that is a green house with a heater, but then again, i am a " noob" at tortoise keeping

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Ok they do grow fast but its gonna be like 5 years until you have to worry about outdoor enclosure for sulcata, by 5 years old they are about 12-18 inches long and big, but if your parents are helping you you can buy food heating and UVB bulb(not the twisted bulbs) and cuttlebone etc

And btw i am also a noob at this but i am learning and what better way to learn than with hands on experience haha

 

[Ethan D]

they will be paying for the whole indoor inclosure, and then when i get a job in the next 12 months, it will be up to me lol, but hopefully i can build a fence before he goes outside, so he has a less chance of wandering off or getting stolen, which is my biggest fear :/

 

[NinjaTortoises]

they will be paying for the whole indoor inclosure, and then when i get a job in the next 12 months, it will be up to me lol, but hopefully i can build a fence before he goes outside, so he has a less chance of wandering off or getting stolen, which is my biggest fear :/

I would personally never leave them alone for long (longer than 30 minutes) without checking on them, but what i use to keep them from getting lost is 2x4's as a pen and they walk around in there grazing and sunning, theres also some shade area too, but if its still a baby it will be hard to eat grass, but it can eat soft mazuri with chopped up grass on it

 

[Ethan D]

nice man, my plan is a 20' X 20" enclosue and the 96 cubic feet rubbermaid bike storage with a heater in it, and a wooden gate built into the fence, but that still doesn't help me for winter lol

 

[NinjaTortoises]

nice man, my plan is a 20' X 20" enclosue and the 96 cubic feet rubbermaid bike storage with a heater in it, and a wooden gate built into the fence, but that still doesn't help me for winter lol

Cool and Remember the bigger the better lol, i have a 60 gallon tank theyre outgrowing so i am extending it, its made of wood so its easy to extend, also its very hot outside right now so i am going to wait take them outside for an hour.but yea im not a pro at this but your set up sounds good to me, i keep thinking as if you had 4 sulcatas

 

[Ethan D]

nice man, my plan is a 20' X 20" enclosue and the 96 cubic feet rubbermaid bike storage with a heater in it, and a wooden gate built into the fence, but that still doesn't help me for winter lol

Cool and Remember the bigger the better lol, i have a 60 gallon tank theyre outgrowing so i am extending it, its made of wood so its easy to extend, also its very hot outside right now so i am going to wait take them outside for an hour.but yea im not a pro at this but your set up sounds good to me, i keep thinking as if you had 4 sulcatas

lol, i would love to have a sulcata, i hear they are very rewarding, and it will live long enough for him to be around my family, possibly after i die too, lol, i just wonder how i would move a 22" 130 LB tortoise to a kiddie pool every week for a good soak lol

 

[NinjaTortoises]

lol, i would love to have a sulcata, i hear they are very rewarding, and it will live long enough for him to be around my family, possibly after i die too, lol, i just wonder how i would move a 22" 130 LB tortoise to a kiddie pool every week for a good soak lol

Haha yea true and yea i wonder how im going to do that, well only time will tell hah, keep us posted on your tortoise status

 

[Ethan D]

yes it will, i also hear that if they are in a burrow backwards, its almost impossible to get them out by human means lol

 

[NinjaTortoises]

yes it will, i also hear that if they are in a burrow backwards, its almost impossible to get them out by human means lol

Actually they burrow forwards and with the huge spikes on their arms they hold onto the walls of the burrow which is pretty cool

 

[Ethan D]

well, that i know, but i heard that from some dude at a reptile expo lol, but hey, if i were to build a fence, since they do burrow, how deep should the posts be, i don't want him to get out lol

 

[Laura]

if they have a place to hide, most don't burrow.. solid fence so he cant see thru, and they shouldn't dig out.
and once they get that big... you don't soak them, they soak themselves! you provide it, they will do it..
its the heating and providing for them in the winter that gets tricky..

 

[Ethan D]

if they have a place to hide, most don't burrow.. solid fence so he cant see thru, and they shouldn't dig out.
and once they get that big... you don't soak them, they soak themselves! you provide it, they will do it..
its the heating and providing for them in the winter that gets tricky..

exactly, since i have a few years after i get him to plan the enclosure, i'm sure i could figure something out, but i don't know what to do if we ever get snow, cause last year we didn't more then 2" all winter, and the year before we had 12" at a time, so its a gamble i guess, no one ever really knows what to expect for weather lol, it was in the 80's here last summer too, and now its triple digits and 80's maybe 90's at night. Weird weather patterns.

 

[Laura]

you are 15? do you have plans for college? are you going to live in Nebraska forever? think short term and Long term.. and are your parents going to care for it when you are away?

 

[NinjaTortoises]

What laura said is pretty much correct, yea and if they can see through a wall, they will try to get past it and theyre pretty persistent and i emphasize on persistent, well im not sure the guy was probably right about them digging backwards but like laura said, if they have a place to to go to they wont burrow

 

[Ethan D]

you are 15? do you have plans for college? are you going to live in Nebraska forever? think short term and Long term.. and are your parents going to care for it when you are away?

i do have plans for college in california, and i have a friend of my moms to stay with there, and she has no problems with any of my animals being there lol, and to top it off, she has a huge back yard, which he would probably enjoy.

 

[Nixxy]

I'd recommend either Red Foot or Greek, for first tort.

If you have the room, and time..Sulcata. Sulcata's are not that hard to take care of, if you give them adequate space, comparatively to some other torts.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

i do have plans for college in california, and i have a friend of my moms to stay with there, and she has no problems with any of my animals being there lol, and to top it off, she has a huge back yard, which he would probably enjoy.

Oh so moving to california will be a big change so think twice lol on which tortoise you decide to get

 

[Ethan D]

I'd recommend either Red Foot or Greek, for first tort.

If you have the room, and time..Sulcata. Sulcata's are not that hard to take care of, if you give them adequate space, comparatively to some other torts.

yup, lol i held my first tortoise today, and it was a red foot, and he wasn't really shy, even though most are, but he was a strong little guy lol