Looking to get my first tortoise

[Dan 6N]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking into getting my first tortoise as a pet. I don't really know a great deal about them so I thought I'd ask you guys a few questions to see if I would be a suitable owner and whether I'd be able to look after a tortoise to the necessary standard.

Firstly, I would be interested in a breed that stays relatively small. I think I've heard that a horsefield is a relatively common, small breed?

Also, I'm wondering how much room they need. Obviously this depends on the size of the tortoise but generally speaking how much big would the tortoise table need to be? I can buy one or alternatively my dad (who is a carpenter) would be able to build me one. If we build one ourselves, how would the lighting situation work?

I gather that they will need time outside as well as inside. We have an old enclosure that we used to let our guinea pigs run around in outside and I assume this would be suitable?

I've heard that they can't eat fruit but I'm guessing they eat most other vegetable type food? Do you need to buy specific food for them or will they eat salads and the like that we eat?

One last thing, what happens about hibernation? I've read somewhere that they all need to hibernate and then somewhere else I read that captive tortoise don't necessarily need to hibernate?

Sorry for all the questions,
Many thanks,
Dan

 

[Fernando]

Hi! Welcome to TFO

Russian, Greek or Hermanns are what your looking for I believe. More sunshine and space the better. Stay away from fruit if at all possible. www.russiantortoise.org is a good website for diet information as well.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Dan:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know where you are?

 

[Dan 6N]

Sorry folks, forgot to mention I live in South East England...

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Dan:

I think your best bet would be a Greek or Russian. They are good beginner tortoises and are pretty forgiving of the poor care they receive while you are learning.

If you start out with a baby or very young tortoise, you can set him up in a very large plastic tote. If you get an adult, it would be better to either build a tort table or try the book case method. Find a used book case at a yard sale, take out the shelves, lay it on its back and line it with plastic. And adult Russian or Greek can spend the winter in a book case comfortably. Then you can put them outside in good weather. Depending upon its size, the guinea pig area sounds ok.

You can ask your dad to build some sort of stand over the table so that the lights can hang from the stand.

Its a good idea to allow your tortoise to graze on grasses and weeds, but supplementing with veggies and dark, leafy greens is quite alright. In England you have what is known as Rocket Salad mix. That would be ok to feed. Also, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, dandelion greens, etc.

You don't have to allow the tortoise to hibernate. They get along just fine indoors during the winter as long as you keep them warm enough and provide the UVB lighting.

 

[DesertGrandma]

Hi Dan from Southeast England. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Dan 6N]

Thanks a lot for your replies!

So what sort of size would the table need to be for a russian or greek tortoise?

 

[coreyc]

Hi Dan welcome to the TFO AS big you can make it the more room the better they will be

 

[Laura]

welcome and READ READ READ and ask lots of questions!
My russian lives outside 24/7 in about 4x8 area.
Diet varies with what type of tort you get..
cruise the threads here, look at pictures and set ups and
see what would fit best in your home or lifestyle.
There are many ways to do it and do it right..
what works for one person, might not work for you, but its still safe for the tort.

 

[DixieParadise]

Welcome to the forum. Let us know what you decide. I am sure it will all work out fine and you find the perfect Tort to fit you and your family.

 

[Dan 6N]

Having spent a while looking at photos and reading through threads on here, I'm sure I can build a decent sized enclosure. On some of the pictures I've been looking at people have 2 lights while others just have the 1.. What is the reason for this?

 

[SnakeyeZ]

Welcome to the addiction Dan.

 

[ascott]

Hi Dan...welcome to the crazy lol ...one light is for heat and one is for uv/fake sun rays...you can purchase an all inclusive bulb (there are lovers.hatred on the all inclusive) my personal opinion is if you are housing a bearded dragon or like critter an all in one is.cool...but when it comes to tortoises I personally like the two bulbs...well actually I believe in the all natural sun as much as possible...but I live in the high desert of southern california and am host to California Desert Tortoise...have fun in your journey and try try try not to make yourself psychotic ...lol

 

[Dan 6N]

Ah ok I understand the lighting now..
So how often would it be advised to put the tort outside? Here in England the weather is fairly unpredictable and even in mid summer it can be cloudy and cold...
Also, would the light on the indoor enclosure need to be on all day and night or just during the day? I guess having it on just during the day simulates night and day better...

 

[coreyc]

I would get him out as much as the weather will allow the sun is the best thing as far as the light you can get a MVB for the day and a CHE ( ceramic heat emitter ) for night they do not put out light just heat

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Hi, Dan. The Greek, Hermann, and Russian are all closely related, small tortoises that are good for beginners, and do well outdoors in northern climates. Out of those three, the Greek originates from the warmest climate and the Russian from the coldest, with the Hermann in between. However, both the Greek and the Russian come from dry, semi-arid shrub- or grasslands, while the Hermann's natural habitat includes forest, so it has the highest tolerance for moisture and humidity. For this reason, I think the best tortoise for you would be the Hermann (Testudo hermanni).

However, a word of warning about keeping tortoises outdoors in the UK. Many a person has introduced pet tortoises into his lovely English garden, only to have the animal eventually get sick and die. Apparently, this is because of Great Britain's famously cloudy and rainy weather. All vertebrates (including humans) requires some sunlight to synthesize Vitamin D3 and metabolize calcium. With their thick shells, tortoises need even more Vitamin D3 and calcium than other animals, so they need to bask in the sun to absorb UVB rays. Also, being reptiles, they need to bask in the sun to warm up; a Mediterranean tortoise needs an ambient temperature of around 70-75 Fahrenheit (20-25 Celsius), with overnight temperatures dropping a bit below that. They also need a basking area of around 90-95 Fahrenheit (30-35 Celsius). (Also, if temperatures drop below about 50 F/10 C, they they will attempt to hibernate/brumate, and if temperatures get higher than 105 F/40 C or so, then they will try to aestivate.) The thing about England and other northern European regions is, because it is so cloudy and rainy, it is difficult for the tortoise to bask and get enough heat and UVB radiation for Vitamin D3 synthesis. So, there appears to be good reason why the Hermann tortoise is found in southern Europe, but not northern Europe; the natural climate is not really suitable for them up there. Fortunately, you can compensate for this by providing an artificial basking spot, an artificial source of UVB radiation, and even a dietary source of Vitamin D3 with a dietary supplement. You might even want to provide artificial shelter.

I think the other members of the forum who live in the UK will be able to offer you some valuable advice on how they keep their tortoises. But based on my readings, those are the things to watch out for in that part of the world when it comes to keeping tortoises.

 

[Dan 6N]

Thank you all so much for your quick and informative replies.
Do the lights use much electricity seeing as they are on in one form or another almost constantly? I live at home with my parents and they pay the electricity bills so I don't want to upset them with a huge bill! haha.
Also, the little fella's indoor enclosure will be in my bedroom, I've never been a great sleeper, is there any reason to think that the lights or tort will keep me awake at night? I understand they're not nocturnal but I'm a real beginner here!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Thank you all so much for your quick and informative replies.
Do the lights use much electricity seeing as they are on in one form or another almost constantly? I live at home with my parents and they pay the electricity bills so I don't want to upset them with a huge bill! haha.
Also, the little fella's indoor enclosure will be in my bedroom, I've never been a great sleeper, is there any reason to think that the lights or tort will keep me awake at night? I understand they're not nocturnal but I'm a real beginner here!

No, the electricity use won't be very high. You (or your parents) won't have to pay much more in your monthly utility bill.

As for sleeping at night, there are two reasons why you shouldn't be kept awake. For one thing, tortoises are diurnal, so they won't need their light on at night. In fact, they benefit from the lights being turned off at night so they can keep a regular circadian rhythm.

As for heat, I always use a ceramic heat emitter (CHE), which emits no light. So, you could leave it on at night, but unless your room gets very cold (below about 60 F/15 C), you could just turn it off. I have my tortoises' overhead fluorescent light and their CHE on a timer, that automatically turns things on at about 7am every morning, and shuts things off at about 9pm every night, so I don't even have to think about it.

I've never had a turtle or tortoise regularly keep me up at night. I do remember, however, one night when my female box turtle felt like crawling around a lot and making lots of noise. To this day, I'm not sure why she did that. But that was the only night. Other than that, every turtle and tortoise I've ever kept slept more soundly than I did.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Nothing to add. All good info above.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome! As far as the noise at night, you can set their light to turn off a few hours before you go to bed so they are sure to be settled down for the night. I do lights on 12 hours a day (typical), so likely it will work just fine for you to not have their light on until you are up, and have it go off well before you are in bed. A suitable adult tort enclosure is quite large to keep in an average bedroom...but some people get really creative such as custom making an enclosure to go over a dresser or something. Another thing to point out is that I think its important to have everything they eat chemical free, or at least a type of pesticides suitable for humans. Since they eat only the greens and such, and a lot of the stuff they may get in the garden (like flowers) can have stuff that isn't good, and it can stay systemic for up to a year. For example, I wouldn't buy a flower plant at a nursery unless it was marked organic, or it was kept out of reach for a year (and nothing added to it).

Have fun reading up on torts so you can make a good life-long decision. I think some good starting criteria are you know your long term plan (interest, space, time, money for a tort), have the set-up and vet care and a potential sitter in place before you get it, and have the savings for as much emergency vet bills as you'd be willing to do (in addition to preventative visits such as check-ups and fecal tests for parasites, and supplies like the bulbs, food, etc). You can easily spend over $500 at first on a tort--buying the tort, supplies, building a table, vet check up, etc.