New and looking for advice

[MrsShellington]

Hello! I am new here. My husband and I are looking into getting our first tortoise. We live in Florida so the weather here is almost always warm enough for him to stay outside most of the time. So far we are looking at getting either a Hermanns or a redfoot. We love the personality of a sulcata but I'm afraid they just get too big. What are your favorite tortoise species and why? Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

I like one of the Testudo species (Russian, Greek) for a first time tortoise-keeper. Even a box turtle. These are pretty forgiving of new-keeper mistakes.

 

[JoesMum]

Hi

Start by reading our Beginner Mistakes guide
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

In the humidity of Florida, Red Foot is a good choice.

How much space do you have both indoors and out? This is a pet who will be with you for the next 50+ years so you need to consider carefully

 

[MrsShellington]

As soon as we narrow down which tortoise species we will begin to build a big tortoise table for inside and also an enclosure for outside. We have a large screened in porch, would it be ok to section off one side and build a nice large enclosure or would the screen block out too much of the uv?

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. I think either of your two first choices will suit you well.

 

[JoesMum]

Without seeing the screen it's hard to say, but many screens do cut out too much UV

 

[MrsShellington]

We did consider a box turtle at first but read that they eat crickets and worms and while I don't mind worms I never want to have to deal with crickets ever again. Here is a picture of the screen, I don't know if this helps or not. When reading information about the Hermanns we had read that they need to hibernate. Any advice for hibernating?

 

[Rue]

I am new to tortoises too, and have a Hermann's. You don't have to hibernate them, but when ours is old enough I'm game to give it a go. If we do, I'll be buying her a little fridge.

 

[JoesMum]

Red foot need protein in their diet, but it seems to be eggs and chicken not crickets although I'm sure they wouldn't refuse them. I am NOT a red foot keeper, but I do know that they do not hibernate- you must not attempt it with them.

Greeks and Russians can hibernate if they are healthy and temperatures are consistently below 10C/50F. However you don't have to hibernate them and they can be overwintered indoors

 

[MrsShellington]

No no I would never hibernate a red foot, I was only referring to Hermanns. Do you think the type of screen in the picture I attached would block out too much uv?

 

[Tom]

We did consider a box turtle at first but read that they eat crickets and worms and while I don't mind worms I never want to have to deal with crickets ever again. Here is a picture of the screen, I don't know if this helps or not. When reading information about the Hermanns we had read that they need to hibernate. Any advice for hibernating?

You can use a wide assortment of non-cricket protein sources for a box turtle. You would never have to deal with crickets or any other insect of you don't want to. Dog and cat food, ground turkey, chicken, eggs, earth worms, little fish, pinkie mice, snails… are just a few things that come to mind. These things mixed in with fruits, greens, flowers, veggies and other good stuff, will suit them fine.

The subject of hibernation is very debatable and controversial. Many keepers never hibernate and claim their temperate species of tortoise are fine with no hibernation for decades. Others claim it is unnatural and unhealthy, and temperate species "need" to be hibernated every winter. Some people have done both extensively and they seem to think it doesn't matter much either way. Personally, I have done both, and it makes more sense to me to give them something closer to what they would receive in the wild, but with some artificial human help in our foreign and artificial enclosures. If you don't want to hibernate a hermanni, you don't have to. If you want to, we will be glad to help when the time comes.

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome !

 

[MrsShellington]

I think we have decided to get a redfoot since it is very humid where we live. When my tortoise is inside what would be the best way to keep up the humidity? Should I keep the entire enclosure humid or just have a humid hide?

 

[Speedy-1]

I think we have decided to get a redfoot since it is very humid where we live. When my tortoise is inside what would be the best way to keep up the humidity? Should I keep the entire enclosure humid or just have a humid hide?

Cover it with foil , plastic , plexi glass etc. !

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome there are lots of good ideas and examples in the Enclosures thread and if you find the caresheets for the species you are considering it will you decide which bets suits your circumstances.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello

 

[MrsShellington]

Thanks everyone! We have been looking at a ton of care sheets but I have found some information that is contradicting and have also been told information that I believe is now wrong by vendors at conventions we have recently been to so I was directed to this forum because there are a lot of knowledgeable people on here that can help me get the correct information so that I can get everything set up and perfect before bringing a tortoise home.

 

[dmmj]

not trying to sway your decision but I and many other box turtle keepers have kept them for decades never fed one cricket. but a red foot is a very good choice I have one myself

 

[Lindsay79]

Have you thought about adopting one of the kinds of tortoises that you choose? I just adopted a Russian Tortoise, and after a few months he has been such a joy and a pleasure to be around.

I would also research a great exotic vet in your area. I made sure to get mine checked out, just to be sure all was well with the little guy.

I wish you all the best. This is my first tortoise and I would have never guessed how much I love him.