Hello :) soon to be tortoise owner...

[chelslpn]

Hi

I've wanted a tortoise for as long as I can remember... I just graduated nursing school & I don't start round 2 until November, so I figured this would be the perfect time to get one.

As much as I'd love one of the bigger tortoises (like a Sulcata), I think they're more comfortable roaming around outdoors where they have a lot of room... and I live in south Florida where it is HOT... not just a few months out of the year, but all year... and I think it's just too hot to live outside 24/7 comfortably. So, I'm focusing on something smaller, that can spend the majority of the time inside my house (even though I will take them outside to play and exercise as well)... maybe a Russian?

I checked craigslist and there's not much in my area. I'm a little worried about Petsmart or somewhere like that... I read something about parasites. Does anyone know of any reputable places to find a tortoise in good condition? I'm happy as long as the tortoise is happy, friendly, and healthy ..willing to take any and all suggestions

Thanks for reading!

 

[lismar79]

Good luck in your search. You may want to consider a hermann or redfoot too!

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello And welcome to the TFO from AZ . I've been raising torts sense1999 and you see I live in a hot place "Phx , AZ ". And my biggest is a leopard tort . But a lot of people in AZ
Have Sulcatas . But have a great tort day!


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

And please check out the breeders listed here on the TFO .


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum

 

[pam]

Welcome Russians are awesome

 

[Hix2008]

I bought mine form petco and it seems to be doing just great.

 

[tortdad]

We have lots of breeders here. Florida is the perfect place for a Redfoot. They like it hot and humid

 

[chelslpn]

Thank you all! I'll check out some of the breeders listed.. I guess I hadn't gotten there yet when I posted, ha I'll definitely look into a Redfoot as well.. are they generally friendly?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi and welcome to the Forum!

You've got the totally wrong idea about Florida and tortoises. Florida is a great environment for tortoises of all species to live outside. No tortoise deserves to be kept in the house all the time. It just isn't natural. It would be like buying a cow or a horse and keeping it in your bedroom...regardless of size. They need the sunshine to make their bones and shell healthy.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Air conditioning creates a problem for tortoise health. You'd want your tortoise to live outdoors. Really.

 

[chelslpn]

I didn't mean I was going to keep one locked inside the house, I don't think I worded that the way I intended to.. of course I'm going to have some sort of outside set up that is secure enough for a tortoise to stay in for extended periods of time and be comfortable. I wouldn't keep one inside a cold house all the time with no natural sunlight.. but I also live in a wooded area and I'd like him to be small enough to keep inside at night away from my other pets so I wouldn't have to worry about predators ..even with an enclosed area. That's all lol but thank you all for the advice, I'm always up for learning something new

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome to TFO!

 

[Abdulla6169]

Welcome

 

[Kaitlynn]

Welcome!! Just be careful getting one from Petco. If you do get one from there, take it to the vet upon arrival. Also, I just got my hatchling a couple weeks ago from a lady from this forum! Her name is Carol S. My baby is healthy and happy, if your interested in a baby you might wanna ask her if she still has any available.

 

[smarch]

Russians are great! Ive had mine for 2 years. I got him from petco and he's great, but I tell people to find breeders on here since I found this forum after I adopted him and was very lucky he was healthy. You're very lucky you live in florida its a much more tortoise friendly environment than MA!

 

[chelslpn]

I'm currently talking to Carol, thank you for the suggestion! I'm worried about getting a baby because I've never had one before.. but I'd love to have one and watch it grow up

What do you do with your tortoise during the winter in MA? We don't get much cold weather here (obviously, ha) but we have the craziest, unpredictable weather... thunderstorms every day during the summer.. aaaand hurricanes lol but I hope my future tortoise is happy here!

 

[Kaitlynn]

My hatchling is my first! Ha but it's up to you really. I did LOTS of research and talked to a lot of people with experience. A big help has been this forum! I live in mn and with the nice weather I let him outside often because once winter comes he won't get to :/ I was informed that he will attempt to hibernate in winter so I will just make him as comfy as possible till winters over and he can enjoy sunny weather again he is truly amazing and adorable being as small as he is.

 

[Tyanna]

I got my Russian from PetCo and took him straight to a specialized exotic vet. Taz (my Russian) is healthy, friendly, & happy! I don't advise buying from places like that but there weren't many places close to me in WI that I could get one the proper way, and shipping to me wasn't something I really wanted to put one through.

 

[tortadise]

Welcome

 

[Abdulla6169]

Hope everything works out well