species suggestions please

[aalur]

Hi all
I need your suggestions and comments on which tortoise species i should consider being owned by.
I have never owned a tortoise before, so i would like one that would be good for beginners and I live in the Uk. The tortoise will be living indoors and i have a reasonable sized garden, so have plenty of space.
I would like a tortoise that i can interact a lot with, doesn't grow too big, and doesn't hibernate.

Thanks, Laura

 

[tortoisenerd]

You can choose to not hibernate any species so that doesn't need to be an issue. What breeds can you get near you? I typically hear of Hermanns and Greeks in the UK. Russians are more popular here in the U.S. All three are good choices and are friendly and good beginner torts. Take the time and do the research for months on care, health, where you can obtain one, if you want captive bred or wild caught, age (I recommend over a year old), etc. As much as you can get it outside the better, over 23 C or so is good for it to go outside. I would build a large wood tort table for the indoor enclosure, and if you get a young tort, block off part of it so the enclosure can grow with the tort. You can even start now growing chemical-free food for it.

 

[Madkins007]

There is a strong contingent of tortoise keepers in the UK- shelledwarriors.co.uk and tortoisetrust.org, for example. I think from what I have read that I would agree with tortoisenerd's advice overall- Hermann's or Greek, with Russian as a back-up.

You would probably get better local advice from people who actually live near you.

 

[aalur]

Thankyou for your advice, i have found different opinions on hibernation, theres so much information about. I already grow my own food for my guinea pigs, so i am ready from that respect. I will definitely be doing lots of research before taking the plunge.
Thanks

 

[bikerchicspain]

I have Greeks and a russian and my greeks are the best as the russian is always buried somewhere or other, my greeks only bury at night so i see them quite alot especially when they chase the cats LOL..

 

[-ryan-]

I have Greeks and a russian and my greeks are the best as the russian is always buried somewhere or other, my greeks only bury at night so i see them quite alot especially when they chase the cats LOL..

Every tortoise is an individual. My experience with Russians has been that they are always eager for food and active, but that's because I leave them to their own devices and they are well-adjusted to their environment. On the other hand, the experiences I have had with greeks was similar, but I wouldn't say they were nearly as active as my russians. However, since they were not under my care, it could be a temperature thing. Within my group of Russians I find that they each have individual personalities and some are goofier than others, so that's always something to keep in mind when getting a tortoise.

 

[moswen]

My Greek tula chases cats too! I love her, she is a very hardy, very personable girl! She wanders around the house and if I stay too long in one place she'll come find me looking for treats. She also loves my 2 year old, because every morning for breakfast she will lay under the pool table and hand feed tula one piece of food at a time. Needless to say tula associates her with food! And anytime you walk past tula's hide and she isn't sleeping she'll stick her head and one leg out, as if to see if you've got anything of interest for her that she will need to run out quickly and intercept you to inspect it (which she has done before!) I'm a big fan of the greeks.