Help me pick a tort to adopt?

[turtlewurx]

Greetings all!

I was hoping for some suggestions from folks more experienced than I.

Here's my situation:
I was in process of doing some barter work with a pet shop for some Baby Sulcatas. The deal sorta fell apart, but not before I'd already begun work on making a habitat. After talking with some folks on the forum, I came to the conclusion that maybe a Sulcata isn't my best choice at the moment anyway. But now I need to figure out what sort of tort to get for the homes I'm building.

Here's what I have:
A 10'x10' exterior habitat (So the tort can get some sun & stretch his/her legs while I'm at work) & a 1/2 finished interior habitat. that'll be 2'x4' when complete. Temps outside range from lows of 40 (in winter) & highs of 120 (in summer) Average is about 80 or 90. It's fairly humid around here. We keep our house at about 75 (for the hedgehog), the habitat will average about 80-85, with a hot spot of 100 or so. Substrate will be topsoil, growing grasses & clover. It'll have a UVA/UVB bulb, heat lamp, & grow light. (Just for full disclosure, the habitat is actually 4'x4' but it will be partitioned into 2 sections, with Mel's Hedgie getting one half & my tort getting the other.)

Here's what I'm looking for:
A tort that is suited to my environment (temps & humidity wise), & is preferably a grass/greens eater. It's okay if he'll eventually outgrow a 2'x4' habitat. I don't mind making a new one later on.

I've already had some suggestions on a different thread, but thought I would start a new post & getter a larger range of opinions, so I can make the best, informed decision possible.

Thanks guys!

 

[Yvonne G]

Have you considered box turtles? They are so personable. They get VERY tame and are a lot of fun to keep. They can live outside year-round, they hibernate and they eat everything! They don't get very big either.

 

[Kasper2reds]

You will need to put some thought into the habitat requirements as all torts are pretty hardy, they are particular to specific parts of the world. I have 2 redfoots who are relatively easy to take care of. The hard part is their enclosure. they are from south America so keep them around 85 degrees with 40-80 percent humidity on a daily basis.. The hard part is keeping the habitat proper with the species requirements. Box turtles are a good alternate as well because they don't get quite so large.

The real question at hand is how much time per day do u want to spend taking care of them?

My 2 reds require about 40-60 minutes of my direct attention daily for food, water, cage cleaning and bathing.

Hope this helps

Duke on the left, Dutch on the right

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

If you can legally obtain a captive bred Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri), that would be the natural choice, since they are native to southern Texas. You live about 150 miles north of their natural range, so there must be something about that part of your state that is not optimal for them; not sure if it's temperature, humidity, available forage, or if they used to live there but got hunted out. However, I'm sure you could easily provide whatever your environment is missing.

You could also get a Testudo species (Hermann, Greek, or Russian tortoise), which are native to Eurasia, and can therefore tolerate conditions similar to what you'd find in Texas. The Russian is from Central Asia (like around Afghanistan and surrounding countries), so Texas is probably a bit too humid, and the winters probably a bit too mild for what they'd prefer. Greek and Hermann tortoises are from the Mediterranean basin, so when it comes to comparable habitats in the USA, California is probably a closer match. However, both can range pretty far north (into Eastern Europe), so should be able to tolerate Texas winters pretty well. The Greek tortoise comes from chaparral-type environments, but the Hermann's distribution includes woodland environments. Cold-tolerance often depends not only on species, but also which subspecies you have, since different parts of the native range have different conditions to adapt to. However, since you're in eastern Texas, you probably have more moisture than parts west of you. In that case, I would think the Hermann would be more suitable there. Again, you'll need to provide them with a nice habitat, but you might be able to keep them outdoors year round.

I keep Russians, however, not Hermanns. Hopefully some Hermann-keepers will chime in and let us know if they think keeping Hermanns exclusively outdoors in Texas is safe.

 

[Zamric]

Sorry, you CANNOT legally own a Texas Desert Tortoise in Texas.

If you have given up on Sulcatas (please don't! tho your outdoor encloser is not nearly big enought for an adult Sulcata, you still have enought to maintain him for the next 6-7 years before he would need bigger digs.) then maybe a redfoot or 3 (never 2). With what you have now, you could maintain a redfoot for most of its life unless it got abnormaly large. there is a Tortoise in between these two sizes called a Leopard and you could probably house one of these guys for quite some time but he would need a little bit of a larger area as an adult.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Sorry, you CANNOT legally own a Texas Desert Tortoise in Texas.

Interesting. California allows people to keep California tortoises if they have a permit. Why doesn't Texas do the same with their native Gopherus species?

 

[ShadowRancher]

That sucks about the job falling through but I'm glad you're hooked now! I think every one has made great suggestions so far but I'm going to second a box turtle, sounds like you have a great outdoor enclosure and a boxer would be able to utilize the most (really all year, I've been researching them as something I may want to get into next year ). If you want an actual tortoise Greeks and Hermanns are are cute little guys.

Also, I keep my hedgie adjacent to my tort too, keeps them both toasty with minimal effort.

---

Ohh thought you'd tossed out the larger species as options, they're my faves...in that case Zamric has good options.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

That sucks about the job falling through but I'm glad you're hooked now! I think every one has made great suggestions so far but I'm going to second a box turtle, sounds like you have a great outdoor enclosure and a boxer would be able to utilize the most (really all year, I've been researching them as something I may want to get into next year ). If you want an actual tortoise Greeks and Hermanns are are cute little guys.

Also, I keep my hedgie adjacent to my tort too, keeps them both toasty with minimal effort.

Oh yeah, I forgot to comment on boxies. I also think they would be a great choice. In fact, three-toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis) are even native where you live, so they will do great. Don't collect one from the wild, of course. You can buy them at prices comparable to tortoises (about $100-$200).

Like tortoises, boxies live on land. However, being terrestrial members of the pond turtle family, they are not herbivorous, but omnivorous. Most tortoise species feed almost exclusively on greens, but box turtles feed on greens, fruits, mushrooms, invertebrates, and even occasionally meat.

I used to keep boxies, and I loved them.

 

[Zamric]

whats really funny is you can own a Texas Desert Tortoise almost anywhere in the U.S. (some places need permits) but not in Texas. it has somthing to do with the fact that for a long time they where being snatched up for the pet market and it almost decimated the natural wild population. Even tho the species has recover quite abit, it is still illigal to own a WB or a CB TDT in Texas.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

whats really funny is you can own a Texas Desert Tortoise almost anywhere in the U.S. (some places need permits) but not in Texas. it has somthing to do with the fact that for a long time they where being snatched up for the pet market and it almost decimated the natural wild population. Even tho the species has recover quite abit, it is still illigal to own a WB or a CB TDT in Texas.

Well, I'm glad conservation is a priority. However, it would be great if there could be a legal captive breeding program in their home state.

 

[turtlewurx]

emysemys, I've had box turtles before, & they were great. I wouldn't mind getting another, but I was thinking about something a bit more exotic. You can't swing a stick in these parts without hitting either a box turtle or a red eared slider. (It's on par with living in the city & having a pet pigeon. lol)

Kasper2reds, Actually, that's a good point. I work about 12 hours a day, & when I get home, we have other animals that need attention, plus all your ususal house hold "To Do"s. I have no problem spending the time the tort would need to take care of it, but a fairly low maintenance animal would be nice.

GeoTerraTestudo, Yeah, I'm actually closer to Louisiana than West Texas. I wouldn't say I live in a SWAMP, per se'.... It's more like forested hill country, but it's humid enough in the summer that I think long time locals are developing gills.

---

Zamric, I haven't given up on a Sulcata, I just need more time to make a good environment for one. (The deal was for a set of babies, so the 10'x10' was just a place to keep them until they outgrew it.) Eventually, I plan to fence my entire back yard, & build a tool shed where I can dedicate a portion of it to a heated hide for me (eventual) Sulcata. ...out of curiosity, why never 3 redfeet?

This may sound a bit odd, but I'm shooting for an indoor/outdoor arangement. What I was thinking was putting the tort in the outdoor enclosure when I head to work so he/she can have lots o' room to run around, get sun, etc., & in the evenings when I get home, bring the tort inside to a vivarium, so we can enjoy its company

Eventual size isn't a concern for me. We own our home, & I've got a decent back yard, but I'd like to get at least a couple of years use from the habitats I've built/am building.

 

[cmosuna]

You will need to put some thought into the habitat requirements as all torts are pretty hardy, they are particular to specific parts of the world. I have 2 redfoots who are relatively easy to take care of. The hard part is their enclosure. they are from south America so keep them around 85 degrees with 40-80 percent humidity on a daily basis.. The hard part is keeping the habitat proper with the species requirements. Box turtles are a good alternate as well because they don't get quite so large.

The real question at hand is how much time per day do u want to spend taking care of them?

My 2 reds require about 40-60 minutes of my direct attention daily for food, water, cage cleaning and bathing.

Hope this helps

Duke on the left, Dutch on the right

Why do your redfoots require that much time? I have 4 and they require like 5 mins a day to care for other than interaction.

 

[Zamric]

The "Never 2" rule applies to most Tortoise. 2 male or 2 females tend to bullie one another, 1 male and 1 female- upon maturity the male will hound the female constantly. 3 or more gives them a community and its only good if its 3 females or 1 male and 2 females (the girls get to take turns with "Hounding"). Males will almost always fight when in groups and should be seperated from the herd when the fighting get to violent (in the wild, they will fight to the death if one doesn't run away and they cant do that well in an enclosure.)

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

...out of curiosity, why never 3 redfeet?

No, Zamric said that you can have 1 or 3, but not 2. This is because redfoots can do fine alone, although they appear to be one of the more social tortoises, along with Manouria spp., which is kind of unique in the reptile world. Thus, you can have a small group of 3, or even more than 3 redfoots as well. However, if you have only 2, then one could end up bullying the other. So, they can be kept by themselves or in groups, but not in pairs.

For the record, I only had 1 redfoot, so I don't have much firsthand experience of how they behave in groups. However, Zamric's advice does seem to jive with my experience of Russians, which likewise can be kept alone or in groups, but not in pairs. This is true for other tortoise species, and even many other haremic animals in general. However, I should mention that I did successfully keep 1 male and 1 female three-toed box turtle together for years without problems. This is probably because box turtles occupy smaller home ranges, are less territorial, and are perhaps more communal than most tortoise species. It may also have had something to do with the fact that, at least for a long time, I did not hibernate them, so their libido was probably rather low as a result. Once I let the male hibernate, he was much more eager to mate.

EDIT: Oh, looks like Zamric already addressed this above while I was typing.

This may sound a bit odd, but I'm shooting for an indoor/outdoor arangement. What I was thinking was putting the tort in the outdoor enclosure when I head to work so he/she can have lots o' room to run around, get sun, etc., & in the evenings when I get home, bring the tort inside to a vivarium, so we can enjoy its company

Doesn't sound odd at all.

 

[Kasper2reds]

Why do your redfoots require that much time? I have 4 and they require like 5 mins a day to care for other than interaction.

I still have babies so aside from changing the pool water, the 2 humidifiers and food dishes everyday, they each get a 20 minute soak so I suppose by the end of it, yeah it takes about 30-45 minutes.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

I still have babies so aside from changing the pool water, the 2 humidifiers and food dishes everyday, they each get a 20 minute soak so I suppose by the end of it, yeah it takes about 30-45 minutes.

How old are your babies? My tortoises and box turtles have always had a shallow dish to soak in if they've wanted to, but I've never bathed any of them more frequently than once a week - even the baby redfoot, which I bought when she was 4 months old and only 2.5 inches long.

 

[Kasper2reds]

How old are your babies? My tortoises and box turtles have always had a shallow dish to soak in if they've wanted to, but I've never bathed any of them more frequently than once a week - even the baby redfoot, which I bought when she was 4 months old and only 2.5 inches long.

My hatchling is about 9 months old, my juvy about 3.5 years. They have a pool they can swim in as well.. They just looove the warm water soaks. Sure it's not necessary but they do enjoy it so I soak them probably 3-5 days a week. It also helps their skin and shell because I live in the Midwest and the air is very cold and dry up here right now.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

My hatchling is about 9 months old, my juvy about 3.5 years. They have a pool they can swim in as well.. They just looove the warm water soaks. Sure it's not necessary but they do enjoy it so I soak them probably 3-5 days a week. It also helps their skin and shell because I live in the Midwest and the air is very cold and dry up here right now.

Ah ... yes, climate is a major factor. That is why I donated my redfoot tortoise to a zoo that already had a colony of redfoots when I left Florida, and bought two Russian tortoises after I had come back here to Colorado.

 

[Kasper2reds]

Ah ... yes, climate is a major factor. That is why I donated my redfoot tortoise to a zoo that already had a colony of redfoots when I left Florida, and bought two Russian tortoises after I had come back here to Colorado.

Yes that seems to make sense... And like I said earlier it's not so much the tortoise itself that's hard to upkeep, it's keeping a Tropical environment tropical while living in the tundra lol.