Tortoise species 12 inch and under?

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anm1221

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Looking to buy my first tortoise soon and I am trying to narrow down the breeds to choose from. I know I cant keep anything really big so I know types like Sulcata's aren't for me. Once I have a breed picked out I plan to start working on the beggining parts such as my enclosure and types of foods to get so i can have everything set up and prepared before i even go ahead and purchase the little fella. I'm probably going to purchase online hopefully from a good breeder on here. I have heard good things about TortoiseSupply, so i might look into that. but first things first is deciding a breed. I Live in Maryland if weather makes a difference for any breeds referred.
 

wellington

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

Russian and hermanns and Greeks are the smaller that I know. I just don't know what their adult sizes are. They are the smaller ones though.
 

anm1221

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

Thanks for responding! Yes they are the only ones I have heard about that are the smaller kinds. If I remember right from my research, Greeks and Russians get about 6 to 8 inches. I don't know how big the hermans get.
 

Eweezyfosheezy

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

I would look into Russians, Marginateds, Hermanns, and Ibera Greeks. All are extremely cold hardy and all will stay under 12".
 

anm1221

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

Thanks! I'm looking to start out with one of these little guys until I get my own place and can get bigger guys to play with lol
 

Pokeymeg

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

anm1221 said:
Thanks! I'm looking to start out with one of these little guys until I get my own place and can get bigger guys to play with lol

I have a similar game plan :) I have a Hermann now, but once I get out of apartment living and have my own house/yard I plan on getting some bigger friends!

I have an adult male Dalmatian Hermann and he is only 5-5.5". Nice and small!
 

anm1221

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

A Dalmation Herman? aww sounds cute. And see it's all about the planss
 

Moozillion

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My Elsa is an Eastern Hermann's. She's 5.5 inches long now and will get up to 8-10 inches once she's full grown. I wanted my first tortoise experience to be as easy and low stress as possible, so I did NOT get a hatchling. Elsa was 4 inches long when I got her, 4 months ago. Although that means she's probably about 3 years old, she comes to me when I reach in her enclosure (looking for food, no doubt!) and eats from my hand. When I stroke her head with my finger, she sticks her head out farther, as if she enjoys it. I'm VERY happy with her- she was the perfect tort for me! Good luck in deciding on your new buddy!:)
 

anm1221

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I heard its not good to get a hatchling. Some people have told me to start out with something maybe a couple months old.
 

Levi the Leopard

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If you go with a Russian or Greek (maybe Herman too) you can find wild caught adults for sale locally relatively easy. They would be the easiest to care for.

Getting a tortoise that is a "couple of months old" IS getting a hatchling.

If you don't feel up to the challenges of raising a hatchling, you can get a yearling or juvenile. 1 to 3 or so years old.

Good luck :)
 

Terry Allan Hall

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RE: Tortoise breeds 12 inch and under?

anm1221 said:
Thanks for responding! Yes they are the only ones I have heard about that are the smaller kinds. If I remember right from my research, Greeks and Russians get about 6 to 8 inches. I don't know how big the hermans get.

Greeks and Hermann's get up to 11" or so (females), Russians top out at about 8" (again, females).

Males Greeks and Hermann's top out a little smaller, around 6-7", and Russian males are equally smaller than the females, perhaps 5-6".

Maginateds get somewhat longer, with a really big female sometimes reaching 14", males topping out at 11" or so. OTOH, many marginateds never go beyond 11-12".

Hope this helps.
 
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