Help!

[Keoho Smith]

I'm 22 and I've made the decision to purchase a tortoise and hopefully gain a life long friend but I'm completely new at this and beside some random websites and YouTube I don't know very much. I've been leaning towards a leopard tortoise since I want one that gets kind of big. I live in Los Angeles about ten minutes away from the beach and need to know if that would be a good fit. Any suggestions on the best type of tortoise for my location would be helpful

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome to the forum - a great place for up to date information from experienced keepers who thankfully share their methods with us just for the love of torts. A lot of info on the internet is out of date so if you find contradictory advice I would always go with what your read here.
You are very wise to research first as there is a lot more to tort keeping that meets the eye - I had a very steep learning curve when I took in a rescue leopard, and luckily had the financial resources to buy everything I needed quickly.
Proximity to the beach is irrelevant really, as sand is not good for torts - hard to walk on and can cause the gut to become impacted if ingested.
There is a good caresheet for sulcatas and leopards under Species Specific which will give you an idea of the care needed for them. The bigger the tort the more space you are going to need,and Leopards don't hibernate, so if you have cooler winters, indoor housing is required - my leopard has a whole adapted room to himself but he will outgrow that eventually and need an even bigger room one day.
The Beginners Mistakes thread is also good to help avoid the same mistakes as others and the Enclosures thread is full of great ideas.
So have a look at all the caresheets to see which species is best suited to your circumstances and ask as many questions as you like there is always someone around to help, and check your equipment list here before buying anything we could save you money!!