new to this... do I need all the gear?
- Thread starter suzejay
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- Nov 17, 2013
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The short answer is, yes, you do need all the gear. Tortoise keeping IS costly at the outset if you hope to keep your tortoise in good health for a long period of time.
PollyAda
Active Member
Link to a helpful care sheet for Egyptian tortoises: https://www.hermannihaven.com/egyptian-tortoise-care-sheet
Also, you may find this thread useful: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/tortoise-basics-for-prospective-or-beginner-tortoise-owners.22635/
Just don't take the pet shop's word for it. Read that care sheet to learn what you need.
The reality is, you either pay on the front end, or on the back end. Not setting up a tortoise properly may not seem like a big deal at first, but you eventually end up with issues that stress out both you and your tortoise. Often times, the money you “saved” ends up going to expensive vet bills, many times to vets that are not truly knowledgeable about tortoises. Unfortunately, we have seen here on TF that it too often ends in heartbreak...
Do your future tort and yourself a favor—save-up and/or spend the money so you don’t end up with stress and possible heartbreak.
Hi Suze,
I have found that tortoise supplies in pet stores are not only expensive, but also not exactly suitable either. Garden centers and hardware stores carry many of the supplies that are more useful while also being more affordable.
Read through that link above to get an idea of what you actually need. Then, create your shopping list.
It is amazing how much money we spend on a pet that doesn't love us back...lol. But alas, that's the choice we make when we want to keep a pet tortoise
A vivarium compared to what? What else would you try and house an Egyptian tortoise in?
If you are handy with tools, you can make a tortoise table or vivarium style enclosure for much cheaper than you would spend on one at the store.
Reflector lamp? Do you mean the heat bulb? UV bulb? the dome for the bulb? I'm sorry I'm not following your question better.
They do need artificial heat indoors. YES. I never liked using artificial UV though and have always provided outdoor enclosures so that I didn't need to. Saved me $ that way, too!
Also a vivarium is good for young ones around 3 years and under. Once its bigger it will need bigger, minimum of a 4x8 enclosure and hopefully an outdoor enclosure too.
