Thank You and Questions re Best Species for my Location

NovasArk

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Sep 18, 2020
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24
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Tucson, Az
Hi there - been stalking you for at least a year and finally joined. Thank you for providing amazing info, education, experience and respectful support.

After 30 yrs of wanting a tort and knowing I didn't have the space or knowledge to care for one properly, we now have the space and ability, but will still never have the knowledge. There's just so much...

Here's the open ended qs:
We live in Benson, Az southeast corner of the state) at 4k ft. We have 4.5 acres with a large fenced area, approx 130 ft x 100 ft and we will be enlarging that greatly over the next yr. We are currently building a smaller area 100 ft x 75 x 30, dedicated to a Sonoran desert tortoise that we plan on adopting next yr thru Fish and Game. Plans include landscaping with all native plants, 2 burrows as required, and a small shallow pond with pump, filters, etc for absolutely most natural supervised care possible.

We would like to add another tortoise, different species either in another dedicated tortoise yard or into the larger fenced area. Type and size make no matter to me. We have ABSOLUTELY NO PLANS TO LET THEM "PLAY" TOGETHER OR BREED. Just like dog rescue, there are too many that need experienced homes and we want to be responsible stewards of a couple lucky torts.

The questions are:
** easiest species to care for given our climate and humidity and access to foods? We will be building gardens and a greenhouse, as well, and plan to grow or budget resources to purchase any supplemental items as needed

** can Russians (or any other tort) live in a community setting of all female (2-3) peacefully given a large space and access to foods and will they do ok given our climate? What would they need food-wise or would this type or others not be ideal for our area without a large amount of supplemental care (humidity, specialty foods) heat boxes and indoor hibernation is all possible.

** we can, and are willing, to make all accommodations for a large sully, and many need homes. Is this the only other type that might be appropriate or do you think a leopard may be a possibility? And for a large sully, what is a reasonable sub-grade barrier depth? Will 16" with daily supervision be sufficient? Are males worse diggers than females?

***juveniles of all species seem to be more difficult due to humidity and food requirements vs adopting an adult 10" or larger - is this accurate and fair to say?

I literally have read multiple care sheets until my brain hurts, over the last 3 yrs. Primarily on Sonoran, Russian, Leopard, Sully. A starting point and narrowing of possibles will SOOOOO help me out.

Apologies for the long post but thank you in advance!
 

RussianTortoise219

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Aug 20, 2020
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11
Location (City and/or State)
California
I'm not sure about the other questions however I can answer the second question don't put the tortoises together Russian tortoises do not like to be together and they can fight if they are.
 

NovasArk

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Joined
Sep 18, 2020
Messages
24
Location (City and/or State)
Tucson, Az
I thought the groups was a NO across species but wasn't sure, so thank you so much. I've frequently seen that Russians could be kept in groups but wasn't sure if that was correct or not.
 

Golden Greek Tortoise 567

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Dec 30, 2019
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1,756
Location (City and/or State)
Colorado Springs,CO
I thought the groups was a NO across species but wasn't sure, so thank you so much. I've frequently seen that Russians could be kept in groups but wasn't sure if that was correct or not.
Russians can be kept in groups with a 3 female to 1 male ratio. But never in pairs, there will always be a dominant one who will bully the other.
 

NovasArk

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Sep 18, 2020
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
Tucson, Az
Could we potentially do 3 females and no males? And we would only do that if they had already been together for yrs. Not sure how often 3 female come up for adoption together anyway. I absolutely do not want to breed.
And is it even feasible/fair to keep Russians given our climate? Don't they need more leafy diets / humidity? I think we average 30%
 

Golden Greek Tortoise 567

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Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Messages
1,756
Location (City and/or State)
Colorado Springs,CO
Could we potentially do 3 females and no males? And we would only do that if they had already been together for yrs. Not sure how often 3 female come up for adoption together anyway. I absolutely do not want to breed.
And is it even feasible/fair to keep Russians given our climate? Don't they need more leafy diets / humidity? I think we average 30%
3 females would also work, humidity is only needed as hatchlings as russians are one of the species that doesn’t need high humidity as adults. This is our russian care sheet, it will explain everything...
 

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