What type of tortoise fits my situation...

[johnsonnboswell]

Yeah, I've lived here my whole life and I hate the snow and cold.
Do you have tortoises?

Yes, I have 3 russian tortoises, a hermann's tortoise, an ambo and 4 box turtles.

The tortoises prefer drought summers, but they are enjoying the bountiful local weeds & plants.

 

[BEmom]

Nice collection you have there. I'm still trying to decide if I could take on the sulcata that I found on Craigslist that is in need of some help.

 

[DDrivera]

Any species can be housed anywhere in the world with enough time money and effort. It will take a lot of time, money, effort and SPACE to keep a giant tortoise in a climate with frozen winters. Some people do it and then realize within a couple of years that it was not the best choice. Other people persist and make it work. Personally, I don't feel like being cooped up in a basement for 7 months a year is a good thing for the tortoise, but if you have the means to build a giant gymnasium sized heated enclosure, then you could do it and do it well. It will need to stay at least in the 70's all year long and have extensive power sucking lighting.

It would be far easier to keep a species like a russian or hermanns in a climate like yours.

Tom,
What type of tort is in your profile pic ?

 

[Alaskamike]

I have taken care of rescued Sulcatas in a cold climate and have some experience with the challenges.

Currently I am in South Florida - so much better.

My largest in the cold area was 20 lbs before I sent him to a keeper in Texas. I had him 2 years & he was about 5 yo.

There are 3 problems keeping a large species indoors 8 mos out of the year.

First is heat & humidity. They need 80f to digest their food properly. I had mine set up in a basement with 2 CHE's and a hide box. Covered the floor area with 2 sheets of plywood , ( cause I thought the cement floor would be too cold) and used cement blocks for 2 sides , the walls for the other two in a corner. This gave a 20 lb one just enough room ( kind of) I used orchard grass for the bedding and built a hide box on one side with CHE. Had a UV over the open area.

The basement stayed 70-72 in winter. Pretty cool. But the box was 85-90.

He continued to pyramid, probably due to very low humidity. ( I didn't know about the need for that + don't know even now how I would have provided it).

Second - it stunk. Smelled like a cow. He was hard to keep clean. I suppose there was a better substrata I could have used , but believe me , tort poop from a larger one smells. It is a daily clean up indoors.

Third food. You cannot imagine how much a Sulcata can eat. The little babies are cute and eat barely a handful. I found my 20 pounder could eat a pile the size of his shell daily. And I had to buy spring mix & greens to feed him. I was spending $60-70/ month. Plus the increased electric bill.

Even in the Summer outside he had to have a heated doghouse at night. Cause it got into the 50s & 60s sometimes.

I know if I ever moved back to a place with cold winters I would not keep the larger species - and opt for one that would never exceed what could be housed on a 4' X 8' enclosed tortoise enclosure indoors.

Good fortune to you !

 

[Tom]

Tom,
What type of tort is in your profile pic ?

Burmese star.