How to convince your parents into a new tortoise!!!

[Tortus]

All the animals he or she listed could be family pets. When I was a kid, most pets in the house belong to everyone. Turtles, iguanas, etc. They were in the living room in aquariums. The only thing I remember keeping in my bedroom was mice. 2 mice, that turned into many. lol

I don't know much about cherry heads, but I would think they'd need something larger than 4x2. At least eventually. As others said space will be an issue.

 

[Eloise's mommy]

CourtneyG if you get a new animal someone has to go??? how can you do that? I would be so sad to send one of my critters away!! and how do you choose???

Parents are a funny breed of people....we tend to know what's right and what's wrong and keep very little detail about why it's right or wrong from our kids...I like the volunteering Idea it would give you some practice at caring for torts and then when you have your own place (or maybe with more experience your parents will say yes?) then you will know that whatever lucky tort you get will have experienced care! Good luck to you can't wait to see how this plays out.

I guess I should have mentioned I breed Leo's, so I trade them into our local pet store for food or other such things for my pets that I do keep. I have permanent babies that I will never give up for the world. Also it prevents me from spending more money than what I have to take care of my pets. I currently have fish: 1 African upside down catfish, 1 puffer fish, 6 glass catfish, and 1 beta. I have 3 permanent Leo's and no babies , but my female is gravid. And 2 pancake tortoises. And a new tarantula to replace the one that died a few months ago.

Haha well that makes much more sense!

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

@petlover, I am sorry if we did not give you the answers you were looking for. If you stay a member of this forum you will get to see a lot of pictures of tortoises and you will get to see the different husbandry methods used on the various species in differing climates all over the world. It is a great place to be if you love tortoises! Then, if your parents say yes or if you get tortoises as an adult you will have a ton of knowledge and resources.

 

[Raeanncarr1]

Omg so many pets I would love to live with u I have 1 beta 2 dogs. And one boxie and trying to get my mom let me bring inside the cat I found lol she said no and the cat would never make it in the Shelter. Because she's biting and everything but not to me everyone ect she loves me it take so long to get her to come to me and for me to pet her but now she comes up and sits on my lap but she hates everyone ;( I found out that the. People that live there before us left her there ;( and when we move in she keep coming to our door ;( and I feed her but feel bad that I can't do much for her

---

I got my mom to let me have a box turtle by saying she does. Not have no responsible for it that and my moms new boyfriend was trying to get close to my mom by making me happy he keep kissing her then she said yes and told me to get out of her room

 

[CourtneyG]

CourtneyG if you get a new animal someone has to go??? how can you do that? I would be so sad to send one of my critters away!! and how do you choose???

Parents are a funny breed of people....we tend to know what's right and what's wrong and keep very little detail about why it's right or wrong from our kids...I like the volunteering Idea it would give you some practice at caring for torts and then when you have your own place (or maybe with more experience your parents will say yes?) then you will know that whatever lucky tort you get will have experienced care! Good luck to you can't wait to see how this plays out.

I guess I should have mentioned I breed Leo's, so I trade them into our local pet store for food or other such things for my pets that I do keep. I have permanent babies that I will never give up for the world. Also it prevents me from spending more money than what I have to take care of my pets. I currently have fish: 1 African upside down catfish, 1 puffer fish, 6 glass catfish, and 1 beta. I have 3 permanent Leo's and no babies , but my female is gravid. And 2 pancake tortoises. And a new tarantula to replace the one that died a few months ago.

Haha well that makes much more sense!

I am glad, I also forgot the dog and cat and king snake.

 

[IowaGuy28]

Keep in mind, a tortoise will live a Long time...so if you find yourself losing interest in things quickly then this is not a pet I would advise. My 2 cents....cudos on your research though

 

[Amber_123]

My mom did the same thing. I told her about them and she said it was too much of a responsibility and it took me two months but I finally showed her I could. ( I fed both of my dogs, my chickens, fish and all 8 turtles everyday and took my dogs to go to the bathroom and walked them) she was going to surprise me for my birthday but we went shopping one day and saw a little sulcata in the oetstore and the lady let me hold it because I fell in love. Right then and there I knew I had to get him. I told me mom to hold him while I got my grandma and when I came back she was talking to the lady bout him. She said there was no way she could say no to him! My advice for you is to keep talking about it but don't annoy. Take them to a pet store and let them hold one, its very very very hard to say no.

 

[wiccan_chicken]

I got my girl by talking to my parents about her, and when they said getting one would be too much money, I did yard work and housework for friends and earned enough money to buy everything, including my Russian girl with my own money.
I still live in he house for them right now, but since my choice in work doesn't require me to live on campus, I am able to give my tort all the time she needs.
I was the person who grew up with a lot of pets, if it wasn't for me, I honestly might have grown up petless... I seem to be the only pet lover in my family. But sometimes, too much is too much. I think it's a good thing you want a tortoise, they are fun and cool, but with so many pets you already have to focus on, and with the amount of money a tortoise costs, I would recommend waiting until you have a little bit more time to devote to this animal.

Like it was previously said, caring for a tortoise is like growing a cactus in the north pole. There are so many things you can do wrong, that it seems like to do everything right you have to have money. This animal will probably outlive you if you care for it right. Are you prepared for this animal to be in your will?

All I'm trying to say is, good luck, but as I have learned, wanting something and being truly dedicated to it are different things. It could make a big difference in your tortoises life.

 

[N2TORTS]

ask for a bother or sister .......

That should really trip them out !
<grin>

 

[TortLass]

okay, I'm not sure I can give you the best advice, because my mum loves my tortoise and calls him "her baby".
My family is a very "animally" family. We have a small farm and love animals.
My first tortoise was a Sulcata, and I had wanted a tortoise for years, but I had let it drop for a couple of years. Then, I researched them, found one for sale, and asked my parents.
It took me about a month to get him, and I had to get rid of one of my other animals. This was a goose that was getting kinda mean, so I was okay with letting him go.
I paid for my tortoise with my own money, and I also paid for all the setup.
I named him Dexter. He lived for about a year and a half, and then my sister's horrible puppy used him as a chew toy, and we had to put him down. I wasn't thinking of getting a new one at the time, but my mum was really sorry and she thought it was her fault he died (really it was the dog), so she got me a new one named Pumpkin. He recently turned a year old!
so, bottom line: before you ask your parents, think of answers for all of the questions that they might ask. Be prepared to pay for the tortoise and his/her setup. That could cost, if you buy the cheapest things, $200. That would be cheap. Once you've set it all up, though, tortoises are relatively low care.
I'm a pretty good one to give advice, because I have a tortoise, 2 turtles, a baby goat, a dog, and 4 friendly chickens.

 

[Aussiegirl225]

I know how you feel, as I used to feel the same way about certain pets that I dreamed of when I lived in my parents house. I had a variety of frogs (tree and others), My tortoise now, and foster turtles as well as our dog that has passed now. They knew how passionate I was about my pets and all animals, so they trusted me and knew that I could handle my "Rainforest Room" on my own.

Owning tortoises, and herps in general, can be pretty pricey and requires a long-term responsible caretaker. As everyone said, you have to be financially and mentally prepared for super long-term responsibilities.

There are many creative and inexpensive set-ups that you and your family could build yourselves, depending on what species of tortoise that you are aiming for. I will show you some if you'd like, just PM me

Hope my opinion helped a little bit, and everyone here, they are looking out for turtles/tortoises because there are so many people that buy/adopt one, and change their minds within a couple months, years etc.

Corinne