New here!

[Coley54]

Hello there! My name is Nicole and I'm new here. I've been looking into getting a tortoise but felt I would do better with my research hearing from actual people and not solely reading articles and 'fact sheets'. I hope to get to know you all better and I look forward to learning!

 

[xMario]

Hello and welcome
Definitely a good idea to get ur information before getting a tortoise [emoji16] Do u have a species ur already intrested in?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome!

 

[Coley54]

Thanks for the welcome guys! I've honestly gone back and forth on what species I'm interested in. I'm big on 'when you bring a pet into your home its for life' which is how I ended up with a million dogs (though slowly dwindling down as a few have passed from old age.) I was drawn most the red-footed tortoise. They don't get too insanely huge and their markings are quite pretty but not sure I could keep up with their protein needs. I've read that they like pinkies and such and I know its the circle of life and all but I don't necessarily want to send baby mice off to be eaten. lol, I'm a sissy. Any suggestions on a 'starter' tortoise?

 

[Yvonne G]

There are other things you can offer in the way of animal protein. I don't feed my RF tortoises pinkys. I use cooked chicken, night crawlers, scrambled eggs, the occasional moistened Purina Pro Plan dry cat food.

 

[Coley54]

There are other things you can offer in the way of animal protein. I don't feed my RF tortoises pinkys. I use cooked chicken, night crawlers, scrambled eggs, the occasional moistened Purina Pro Plan dry cat food.

Oooh! Thats good to know! Thank you!! What kind of habitat to you have for them?

 

[jsheffield]

I went through the same selection process last summer, and landed on Redfoot ... Darwin has been living with me since last September, and I enjoy watching him grow as we get to know each other.

The protein required to keep a redfoot thriving is pretty minimal, and doesn't have to come in the form of pinkies ... Darwin gets his from insects, hard-boiled egg, and salmon.

I mix the egg with the shell to boost his calcium intake, and serve the salmon raw with its skin still on ... the insects are freeze-dried, either crickets or silkworm pupae, and I sometimes rehydrate them, although he's fine simply crunching them.

There are lots of knowledgeable tortoise keepers here on TFO, and I think all of the careguides here were written by members ... I hope you find the right tortoise for yourself and your home, and will be sharing pics of them in the near future.

Jamie

 

[Yvonne G]

Oooh! Thats good to know! Thank you!! What kind of habitat to you have for them?

They live outside year round and have a heated shed to go into on cold days. I have their yard set up like a rain forest, with many trees and shrubs and an overhead misting system.

 

[MPappagallo]

Welcome to the forum. I am in a similar situation as you...trying to decide what type of tortoise I should get. There is so much great info on this site, I am sure we will both make a great choice! best of luck to you.