Is there any cheaper options?

[lighthiker2]

What happens when you get busy in high school--& go off to college? You won't be able to take it with you. I agree that the time is not right but someday it will be!

 

[ArcT]

I have wanted a a tortoise since I was 18 and in college, just a few years older than yourself. They have fascinated me all my life.

I thought at 22 I had a good education and job, could provide for an exotic animal, got a small tortoise and learned the hard way what not to do...

I have always planned to have a sulcata one day, even after losing Dozer. I planned to be better prepared and ready to provide whatever the tortoise needed for a habitat before the tortoise came home.
I began researching what i would need.
And researched more...
And more...
Then found this forum, and researched again what I had done and learned before as well as new information found here.

Just recently, I finally felt ready to be able to provide for the lifespan of a sulcata. I just set up a juvenile sully cage 3 weeks ago, knowing in a year I may have to do it again just larger. I made it and it cost 300.00 even at discount prices for all the electronics, just fyi.

I just got my juvenile sulcata for Christmas from my wife. We had been discussing for awhile when we would get our tortoise as we were now able to provide for it's full life cycle. She decided to suprise me earlier than we had decided on (but still able to provide for).

I will turn 38 this year.

I also have a much better job, adequate space, as well as now realize how little I really do know.

I believe in people having their eyes wide open before making decisions and am only trying to share so you can see what you are considering.

If a tortoise is a dream, research a smaller breed. Read everything you can here. Start there. Live a littler dream for awhile.

If a sulcata is something you dream of as well and it is a lifelong dream, YOU WILL acheive it and become a caretaker for a lucky sully. When the time is right.

I wish you the best in your discussions with your parents and see you have taken a lot of great steps to being a good handler. Just please remember: keeping and animal is not about you. It is about providing the best habitat and care for your animal so it lives a long and healthy life.

Cheers and best wishes.

 

[sibi]

If anyone even questions how expensive it is to properly house and feed these exotic animals (sulcatas), then you really need to forget getting a sulcata, period. There are many beautiful tortoises you can love and care for. It would be cruel to get one only to give it up years later. These animals are aware of their keepers, they respond to them and suffer if not properly cared for. Think of them as if it were your child. How will it effect your child if after 6 or 10 years down the road, he finds himself in a different environment with different parents? Worse yet, what if he was mistreated after years of loving care? Think first about where he'll be in 30-50 years. And, after thinking long and hard, if you think you can handle one and made some arrangements for future care since he may outlive you, then sulcatas can make a great, big pet. IF, you can't honestly answer these concerns, then buy another tortoise. It's the right thing to do.

 

[ccc.hloe]

It is pretty expensive to own a tortoise. The tortoise itself isn't cheap. Then you have to make an enclosure. You can start out with a plastic tub, which isn't too expensive. You'll have to buy lights, substrate, a thermometer... Somewhere on here there is a thread where someone posted a shopping list of everything they would need for an enclosure. If you have a yard, you can collect weeds and grass, as long as it hasn't been sprayed, for food, so you can save money there. Sulcatas don't stay small for very long. Once your sulcata is big enough, you'll have to give it a secure outdoor enclosure with shelter and heat. Unless you have tools and knowledge of building, you might have to hire someone to help you.

2 years later and i'm finally going to get one..

 

[ccc.hloe]

I don't know why but I'm going to help you . This is how you can get your parents on board with you . You have to prove to them you can care for one . By doing a lot of research and taking notes . Show them you're willing to work for it . By doing house work or mowing the lawn . Start getting plants that tortoises can eat . Get your mother into hibiscus flowers and cactus gardens . Show them by studying in school . Show them how passionate you are about it . Have a plan for when you go to college in place because your tortoise will be around till you are old and gray . They aren't a ten year pet . They are a life long passion . I know if my sons prove to me on how passionate they are about something I'll break my back to make it happen . Good luck its not going to be easy .

you are one of the few people who actually tried to help my 13 year old self. In about two months i'm moving into a new house and am finally getting the sulcata I wanted. Now that i'm 15 I work summers at a veterinary hospital near my house, this will definitly help me pay for it. Thanks!

 

[ccc.hloe]

I have wanted a a tortoise since I was 18 and in college, just a few years older than yourself. They have fascinated me all my life.

I thought at 22 I had a good education and job, could provide for an exotic animal, got a small tortoise and learned the hard way what not to do...

I have always planned to have a sulcata one day, even after losing Dozer. I planned to be better prepared and ready to provide whatever the tortoise needed for a habitat before the tortoise came home.
I began researching what i would need.
And researched more...
And more...
Then found this forum, and researched again what I had done and learned before as well as new information found here.

Just recently, I finally felt ready to be able to provide for the lifespan of a sulcata. I just set up a juvenile sully cage 3 weeks ago, knowing in a year I may have to do it again just larger. I made it and it cost 300.00 even at discount prices for all the electronics, just fyi.

I just got my juvenile sulcata for Christmas from my wife. We had been discussing for awhile when we would get our tortoise as we were now able to provide for it's full life cycle. She decided to suprise me earlier than we had decided on (but still able to provide for).

I will turn 38 this year.

I also have a much better job, adequate space, as well as now realize how little I really do know.

I believe in people having their eyes wide open before making decisions and am only trying to share so you can see what you are considering.

If a tortoise is a dream, research a smaller breed. Read everything you can here. Start there. Live a littler dream for awhile.

If a sulcata is something you dream of as well and it is a lifelong dream, YOU WILL acheive it and become a caretaker for a lucky sully. When the time is right.

I wish you the best in your discussions with your parents and see you have taken a lot of great steps to being a good handler. Just please remember: keeping and animal is not about you. It is about providing the best habitat and care for your animal so it lives a long and healthy life.

Cheers and best wishes.

Almost two years later and my "life long" dream is being fufilled. Thanks so much! Btw how's your tortoise?

 

[Yvonne G]

Be sure to share lots of pictures with us.