I'm thinking of buying a tortoise

[carreauchompeur]

I'm shell shocked at the replies on here.

[campermanj]

Backseatdriver said:

I would decide on what kind of tortoise you want before anyone can advise you regarding housing etc. Some tortoises hibernate, some species must never hibernate. Some tropical tortoises need a vivarium but most tortoises do much better on a tortoise table as there is more airflow and the opportunity for different heat gradients. Some tortoises stay small and manageable and some grow to be huge. Please do some serious investigations before you decide. None of them are easy to look after. Have a look on the Shelled Warriors website for some good advice.

This is the best advice you've had, I've had a spur thigh for 4 years a weekly bath helps with hydration the right food helps cuttlefish for there beak a tortoise table is a no brainer and 2 is better than one in some respects ie will make each other eat etc.
Get one and enjoy it

[S11Steve]

I've had a pair of Hermann torts for about 12 years now, Linford and Button. I made a torty table out of an old book case, took the shelves out, and sealed it all with an epoxy type of paint. I use a wooden cat litter and wood shaving substrate, have a UV lamp at one end, and an angle-poise heat lamp at the other.

They will eat most leafy greens, but love dandelions, plantains, clovers and a lot of garden weeds. As a rule of thumb, anything that grows from a bulb is to be avoided, they don't deal well with protein (meat and pulses) and they love to have a cuttlebone to chew on.

Best information for keeping them is here - http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/Site/Welcome.html

I've overwintered mine for a few years, but the key to hibernation is a slow wind down, feed them less, reduce the amount of light they get and make sure their gut is empty before they go down. Most hibernation fatalities are a result of rotting food in the stomach.

[steevp]

Heat mats are bad for tortoises, they like to regulate their temperature by being in shade, mine has been leaving a leg out in the sun at the hottest part of the day recently whilst hiding the rest of his massive 55 year old bulk in his house..

Welcome to the dandelion lovers club.

[Jakarta]

My parents had a Spur Thighed Tortoise passed to them about 20 years ago, I guess he is now around 50+ years old.
He just trots around the garden doing his thing and gets fed whatever salad type stuff they have lying around.
Each winter, he used to get put in an old tin travel case with some bedding in the shed, these days with him being fairly robust he just tends to bury himself as the nights start to cool. Once buried Dad will place a 'kennel' over him to keep the worst of the weather out.
As spring starts to come around and the frosts stop he gets excavated and life carries on.
Cracking chap and always a treat for my young neice's, they're the first thing they go looking for when they visit (aged 2&3).
In the summer he loves to have a watering can poured over him to help him cool down, and a good scratch of his head.
You kind of forget he's there most of the time though, probably one of the least intensive pets to have.

[tvr wife]

Genuine thanks to everyone for your advice. We have made a purchase and we have welcomed Pebbles to the household.

S/he is approx. a year old.

I've never paid so much attention to weeds in my life!!

Edited by tvr wife on Wednesday 29th April 19:34

[z4RRSchris]

she's upside down?

this is Maggie. I know not much about tortoises but she's survived 8 years so far,

[tvr wife]

I can't get the pic up the right way! I have taken it off now :-)

Maggie is a good looking tortoise, you are obviously doing something right!

[z4RRSchris]

tvr wife said:

I can't get the pic up the right way! I have taken it off now :-)

Maggie is a good looking tortoise, you are obviously doing something right!

she cost me a quid too!

[tvr wife]

Sounds like a story to be told?

[z4RRSchris]

tvr wife said:

Sounds like a story to be told?

for legal reasons will not be told. She may or may not have been on a plane

[DannyScene]

My dad has just caved in and is letting my mum get a tortoise, 2 things about it are really annoying me

1. She is giving it a name, christ knows why anyone would name a tortoise as she is very unlikely to ever have to recall it!! It's almost as pointless as naming fish!
2. It WILL out live her and no doubt she expects me to look after the bloody thing when she's gone

[S11Steve]

The tortoise trust will accept them if they are stated in a will.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

DannyScene said:

2. It WILL out live her and no doubt she expects me to look after the bloody thing when she's gone

Who will look after it when you're gone?

[DannyScene]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

DannyScene said:

2. It WILL out live her and no doubt she expects me to look after the bloody thing when she's gone

Who will look after it when you're gone?

If I ever have kids, then whichever one I dislike the most I imagine

[NordicCrankShaft]

Would absolutely LOVE to get a turtle, however here in Norway it is illegal to buy, sell or own any reptile or amphibian........Strange government people

Edited by NordicCrankShaft on Friday 1st May 22:04

[manic47]

I've got about 20 of the buggers - leopards and pancakes.
The sized difference between the baby leopards and adults is quite something.

Having my electric bill makes me wish we'd gone for breeds that hibernate rather than keep having to run UV heat lamps all year in the shed.