Hello, I am new here and could use some help choosing the right tortoise.

Jo84

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I have been searching and researching different types of tortoises for months and have reached out to many breeders in attempt to make sure that we get a healthy and well started tort. I live in Southern California between LA and Santa Barbara. My daughter has been asking for a tortoise and is interested in zoology so I thought this could be a fun experience for us and something we could do together. I have narrowed the selection down to the leopard tortoise or the Burmese Star. We would like a social tortoise(s) that isn't afraid of all the things and I want to make sure that we can provide the appropriate outdoor enclosure (once its large enough) for whichever species we go with. Thoughts on the two species?I hope that was enough to go off of.
 

OkAdiza

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Hello and welcome!
I have a leopard that we adopted over a year ago. She was shy but is now very friendly. Truly enjoy having her. Having said that, I’m also waiting for the arrival of a hatchling Burmese Star. I have read nothing but great things about the Star on this forum and currently @Tom and I believe also @Markw84 have some available right now. I love my leopard, but you can’t go wrong with a Burmese Star from one of these members.
 

Jo84

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Hello and welcome!
I have a leopard that we adopted over a year ago. She was shy but is now very friendly. Truly enjoy having her. Having said that, I’m also waiting for the arrival of a hatchling Burmese Star. I have read nothing but great things about the Star on this forum and currently @Tom and I believe also @Markw84 have some available right now. I love my leopard, but you can’t go wrong with a Burmese Star from one of these members.
Thank you for the response. I have been going through as many threads as I could and I did see the one you posted from Tom. I am wondering if I will be able to provide the appropriate temps/humidity outdoors for the Burmese after it outgrows its closed indoor enclosure. I really want to do this right.
 

Yvonne G

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You can't go wrong with a tortoise that's native to your area. . . native, that is prior to humans taking over the area.

Desert tortoises are a medium sized species that get very oriented towards their food god and can be quite friendly. They're free to adopt and you can find them through any of the chapters of the California Turtle And Tortoise Club.

They're used to the SoCal weather and do quite nicely there with no extra heat or humidity. They eat native weeds and grasses.

In my opinion one can't go wrong with a desert tortoise!
 

OkAdiza

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Thank you for the response. I have been going through as many threads as I could and I did see the one you posted from Tom. I am wondering if I will be able to provide the appropriate temps/humidity outdoors for the Burmese after it outgrows its closed indoor enclosure. I really want to do this right.
I admit I do not know much about the climate in your area ( I’m in VA), but I will say Leopards and Burmese Stars have similar care, so depending on how or where you are housing them, it would be the same. The leopard, however will get bigger, so if you would like a more medium sized tortoise, the Burmese would be the way to go. I’m sure that a more experienced member will come on and respond to your post soon though.
 

Jo84

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You can't go wrong with a tortoise that's native to your area. . . native, that is prior to humans taking over the area.

Desert tortoises are a medium sized species that get very oriented towards their food god and can be quite friendly. They're free to adopt and you can find them through any of the chapters of the California Turtle And Tortoise Club.

They're used to the SoCal weather and do quite nicely there with no extra heat or humidity. They eat native weeds and grasses.

In my opinion one can't go wrong with a desert tortoise!
Hi Yvonne, thank you for the response! My neighbor had a CDT, he was the sweetest minus the toe nibbling ;)
 

Tom

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Hi Yvonne, thank you for the response! My neighbor had a CDT, he was the sweetest minus the toe nibbling ;)
How close to the coast are you? DTs are great tortoises, but don't do well in cold clammy coastal weather. If you are more inland, then a DT would be great for you.

An SA leopard with a heated night box should do very well for you nearer to the coast, and a Burmese star should be fine with a simple heated night box too.
 

Jo84

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How close to the coast are you? DTs are great tortoises, but don't do well in cold clammy coastal weather. If you are more inland, then a DT would be great for you.

An SA leopard with a heated night box should do very well for you nearer to the coast, and a Burmese star should be fine with a simple heated night box
9 miles from the coast. Im in Ojai. CDT do well here, I would just prefer a non burrowing/non hibernating tortoise. I also dont want to offend anyone. I am comfortable with a heated night box for a leopard or burmese.
 

Tom

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My star boxes. There is an oil filled radiant heater to maintain ambient around 80 year round. Damp orchid bark and tubs of water on shelves keep humidity up. 65 watt flood bulbs allow basking on days where temps are below the mid seventies. These basking bulbs also warm ambient up to around 90 on colder days, which is perfect for stars. This is a 4x8 double box. A 4x4 would be perfect for a single or trio. About 5 adults sleep on each side of this one. I've got other threads to show how to make the boxes. They work perfectly in our climate.IMG_5597.JPGIMG_5596.JPG
IMG_5600.JPG
 

Jo84

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My star boxes. There is an oil filled radiant heater to maintain ambient around 80 year round. Damp orchid bark and tubs of water on shelves keep humidity up. 65 watt flood bulbs allow basking on days where temps are below the mid seventies. These basking bulbs also warm ambient up to around 90 on colder days, which is perfect for stars. This is a 4x8 double box. A 4x4 would be perfect for a single or trio. About 5 adults sleep on each side of this one. I've got other threads to show how to make the boxes. They work perfectly in our climate.View attachment 332217View attachment 332218
View attachment 332216
These pictures of boxes are great and very helpful, thank you. Also, I love your mallows. I did see that you have some stars available and that you also raise leopards. Do you mind if I pick your brain a little? About the major differences between the two?
 

Tom

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These pictures of boxes are great and very helpful, thank you. Also, I love your mallows. I did see that you have some stars available and that you also raise leopards. Do you mind if I pick your brain a little? About the major differences between the two?
Those plants are lavatera. They love the flowers, and will eat the leaves too.

Pick away. That's why we are all here. :)

Size is the major difference. SA leopards can get up to 40-50 pounds. If you want a big personable tortoise that won't dig up and destroy your whole yard like a sulcata, they are a great choice. They also eat grass hay as their primary diet, much like a sulcata. Makes feeding them pretty easy and cheap.

Platynota also have outgoing bold personalities, but they stay much smaller. 11 inches is normal for a big females and 9-10 inches for a large adult male. Very easy to house and feed.

Both species are personable, hardy, and easy to keep and feed. Both do well in our climate. Both can live outside year round as adults with the right housing.

Here is a difference: The platynota tend to be peaceful. You can keep groups of adults or juveniles with multiple males and there is never a problem. With the SA leopards, the males can get very aggressive toward other tortoises and sometimes have to be housed alone. Females get along fine. If you only want one tortoise, this isn't a concern. If you think you might want a group, you'll need more than one pen for SA leopards.
 

Jo84

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Those plants are lavatera. They love the flowers, and will eat the leaves too.

Pick away. That's why we are all here. :)

Size is the major difference. SA leopards can get up to 40-50 pounds. If you want a big personable tortoise that won't dig up and destroy your whole yard like a sulcata, they are a great choice. They also eat grass hay as their primary diet, much like a sulcata. Makes feeding them pretty easy and cheap.

Platynota also have outgoing bold personalities, but they stay much smaller. 11 inches is normal for a big females and 9-10 inches for a large adult male. Very easy to house and feed.

Both species are personable, hardy, and easy to keep and feed. Both do well in our climate. Both can live outside year round as adults with the right housing.

Here is a difference: The platynota tend to be peaceful. You can keep groups of adults or juveniles with multiple males and there is never a problem. With the SA leopards, the males can get very aggressive toward other tortoises and sometimes have to be housed alone. Females get along fine. If you only want one tortoise, this isn't a concern. If you think you might want a group, you'll need more than one pen for SA leopards.
Lavatera is a rose mallow correct? This one being Rose of Sharon? I had a few until the gophers got to them. I was planning on spending the next 2 years planting for a tortoise enclosure while the tort was growing indoors, these were going to be included but this time with gopher screen.
We actually just moved to a new place and I have two places I was considering building the enclosure, both spaces range in size approx 250-500 sqft respectively. So theoretically I could house both species but for the time being and until I become much much more informed would like to stick to one species, I would like at least 2 tortoises, is it ok to have 2 female or is 3 necessary? Also, are oak trees a problem? I live amongst oaks. One of the spaces is not near an oak and the other is near but not under.
If I were to go with a Burmese would I need to have a wire cover to their enclosure since they are smaller? We do have hawks, owls and other predators.
How much space does one tortoises need when full grown of each species? assuming I would double it for each extra tortoise and understanding more space is always better.
Sorry I have lots of ?s. I think I understand the indoor raising pretty well but also want to make sure when the time comes that I dont eff everything up once its time for them to go outside. thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it.
 

Tom

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Lavatera is a rose mallow correct? This one being Rose of Sharon? I had a few until the gophers got to them. I was planning on spending the next 2 years planting for a tortoise enclosure while the tort was growing indoors, these were going to be included but this time with gopher screen.
We actually just moved to a new place and I have two places I was considering building the enclosure, both spaces range in size approx 250-500 sqft respectively. So theoretically I could house both species but for the time being and until I become much much more informed would like to stick to one species, I would like at least 2 tortoises, is it ok to have 2 female or is 3 necessary? Also, are oak trees a problem? I live amongst oaks. One of the spaces is not near an oak and the other is near but not under.
If I were to go with a Burmese would I need to have a wire cover to their enclosure since they are smaller? We do have hawks, owls and other predators.
How much space does one tortoises need when full grown of each species? assuming I would double it for each extra tortoise and understanding more space is always better.
Sorry I have lots of ?s. I think I understand the indoor raising pretty well but also want to make sure when the time comes that I dont eff everything up once its time for them to go outside. thanks again for all your help, I really appreciate it.
Lavatera is in the hibiscus family, which is part of the mallow family too, right? I think? Anyhow, lavatera does well in the SoCal climate. And they loooove the flowers. I mix the flowers into my food buckets daily when they are blooming.

Tortoises should never be housed in pairs. Very bad for them. Groups are usually fine, but not pairs. Sexes don't matter as far as this goes.

Green oak leaves are toxic. Dead dry brown ones are not. Will a tort eat them? I don't know. Never tried. I have oaks too, but no tort pens near them. I do put dead dry oak leaves in my roach bins.

No wire cover needed for adults. They will be inside their boxes at night with the dogs securely latched. Nothing bothers them in the day time, and I live out in the country with predators of all types every where.

You could keep a single platynota in 250 sq feet. 500 would be even better. A 40 pound SA leopard will need at least 50x50' or something close to it.

The transition to outdoors is a very gradual one. Plenty of time to learn and make adjustments before the first time they actually sleep outside in their night box.
 

Jo84

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Lavatera is in the hibiscus family, which is part of the mallow family too, right? I think? Anyhow, lavatera does well in the SoCal climate. And they loooove the flowers. I mix the flowers into my food buckets daily when they are blooming.

Tortoises should never be housed in pairs. Very bad for them. Groups are usually fine, but not pairs. Sexes don't matter as far as this goes.

Green oak leaves are toxic. Dead dry brown ones are not. Will a tort eat them? I don't know. Never tried. I have oaks too, but no tort pens near them. I do put dead dry oak leaves in my roach bins.

No wire cover needed for adults. They will be inside their boxes at night with the dogs securely latched. Nothing bothers them in the day time, and I live out in the country with predators of all types every where.

You could keep a single platynota in 250 sq feet. 500 would be even better. A 40 pound SA leopard will need at least 50x50' or something close to it.

The transition to outdoors is a very gradual one. Plenty of time to learn and make adjustments before the first time they actually sleep outside in their night box.
It is in the hibiscus/mallow family. I have a thing for mallows. I fortunately love all the plants that these tortoises like to eat so am happy to plant them to provide them to eat.
This was all very very helpful. So it looks like I will either need to get one leopard, or 1 or 3+ Burmese? What # constitutes a group?
Oh and also one last ? which species would be best for my daughter to help care for? I am aware that I will be the primary care taker but she is going to want to participate and we wanted to do this together. She is almost 7.
Also I think I noticed that you mentioned you are in Santa Clarita is that right? I am out that way often, as my sister and my doctor are there! I searched and searched for breeders close to me and found none (that seemed to do the high humidity thing) near me. I was considering going to the Anaheim Reptile expo to find a tortoise but wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Any who do you mind if we message/email etc to discuss your prices for stars and how you go about getting them to their new homes?
 
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