Tortoises!

[carpondro17]

Hey all
I was wondering who has tortoises on this forum? Ive recently been doing research on differnt torts and maybe just maybe I will be buying one in the near future. Some of the torts I like are Sulcata Tortoises,and Red Foot Tortoises. Any one have experience with these?
Pics are welcome! ( all torts of course! )

Thanks

[lorenmps]

I've had a bunch of sucatas and cali. desert tortoises here at the house, and redfoots in the store. All are easy to care for with the proper knowledge of the species and correct setup. Really do your homework. I guess you need to ask yourself if you want a tortoise that is gonna get around 200 lbs and take dumps that require a shovel to pick up. My big guy used to get under the patio table and carry it across the yard and was going through about 3-6 heads of various lettuces and other greens a day and once ate a 15 lb pumpkin. Just weigh everyting out. Both are great.
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[The Snake Guru]

Used to keep some awhile back, the Sulcs, and the redfoots.

Sulcs are neat as hell, but you really have to have a lot of room to properly house them, outdoor pens would probably be best. Very personable torts though...they'll follow you around looking for food..LOL

~B~

[lorenmps]

Used to keep some awhile back, the Sulcs, and the redfoots.

Sulcs are neat as hell. Very personable torts though...they'll follow you around looking for food..LOL

~B~

That's so true. So much that it almost got annoying!!!... But I do miss it.
If I ever had a project to take care of in the yard they were always in the way... Like really slow, heavy dogs LOL!!! Very cool and fun tortoises, definately me favorites, and recomendation of you have the space and the means to keep their bellies content.

[The Snake Guru]

and the means to keep their bellies content.


HA! I don't even know if that's possible! LOL If you had a small hobby farm growing vegetables they would have it mowed down in a day! LOL

~B~

[carpondro17]

LMAO
They really eat that much? WOW!
Thats a great pic of that baby sulcata!
Well right now I have a 10X6X7 outdoor pen that free and will be free for a LONG time!
Just how fast do they grow? I know it takes red foots at least like 9 years to be full grown but how long does it take for the sulcatas?
Do they eat everyday? I heard some people feed once every 3 days ( not sure witch torts though ) If they do eat each day how much do they eat everyday?
I was thinking maybe 2 Red foots ( one black red foot and one normal ) or 1 sulcata.
Thanks !

[lorenmps]

mine would eat ALL day if you let them, and I fed them everyday. The big guy in the pictures is 18 years old and they grow reasonably fast for a tortoise. At his size he eats a box (about the size of a 10-15 gallon aquarium) full of greens a day. I usually recomend keeping them indoors for the 1st 5 years under the right temperatures. Taking them outside in the summer is ok if the weather permits. You have to be really careful too about leaving them outside too because thay are really good diggers and even though a 10' pen seems big, if they see somewhere they want to go, a wall or fence isn't going to stop them. The sides of the enclosure should be burried into the ground far enough that they wont dig underneath them, unless the floor of the enclosure is concrete.

[carpondro17]

Oh wow! Must get very expensive after a while!
Well my plan was to keep him inside for a couple of years but take him out at least 30 min a day ( I dont wanna buy uv, or uvb lights all the time ) cuz I heard 30 min of natural sun beats any of the best lighting in the world!
I would like to start him off in like a 10-20 gal then eventually give him like a 40 gal untill he gets big enought to go outside by his own... The pen I have outside needs some work but eventually I will have it how I want it if not then ill just build a new outside enclousre for him!
But if I get the red foots depending on my situation in the future I might want to breed them soo I prolly will start with 2 and get some more...
But sulcatas dont have much intent of breeding them I think ill be busy enought with one lol... Maybe on a breeding loan but dont wanna have 2-3 of thoes roaming around! Prolly will leave me broke too XD
Well I live in Miami Florida allways sunny in the summer and not all that cold in winter lol

Oh I love how your backyard is set up!
I would like to have a little area like that for the monitors and lizards one day!

[lorenmps]

if you plan on taking them outside for UVB give them at least 3 hours. For these guys 3 hours I'd natural sunlight will equal 8 hours from a high output UVB bulb. 30 minutes won't be enough

[carpondro17]

Ohh what if I put his cage near a window?
Well im just saying ya know maybe I will buy uvb light ( prolly not )
But I would like to play with him alot... Do they stress easy?

[The Snake Guru]

Ohh what if I put his cage near a window?


Nope, glass filters out 90% of the UVA/UVB rays, and ever burn ants with a magnifying glass? Bad news for reptiles as well...LOL

~B~

[carpondro17]

Oh boy!
Fine fine ill prolly get that uvb light :X grr lol

[lorenmps]

Ya, there really isn't any way around it. As babies heat and the UVB is crucial and there isn't any way around it. The 1st few years I'd recommend having the UVB light on it at least 6 hours a day. It's not costly... the bulb itself is expensive but only needs to be replaced once a year. Even though it will stay lit up to 3 years, the UVB output dies off after about a year, and it uses very little electricity. For the sulcatas, Miami isn't a good place to keep them outside year round because of the moist climate.

[carpondro17]

Oh ok I see I dident know about the uvb wearing off after the first year....
Well I am going to move soon ( still prolly gonna stay around miami ) but in around 10 years or soo I want to move out of the state....
All depends on how things go...
Some of the places I would like to move to would be
New Guina, Australia, but thats prolly wont happen lol

[Basil]

We've got a sulcata that is a little over a year old. He's very comical. We're really happy with him.

[carpondro17]

Awsome any pics of him?

[carpondro17]

I am also looking at Burmese mountain tortoises, and Desert tortoises!

[Nate Dog]

I have 0.0.3 Red Foot Tortoises and absolutely love them. They stay relatively small and are fairly easy to care for.

[lorenmps]

I am also looking at Burmese mountain tortoises, and Desert tortoises!

Keep in mund that the burmese mtn tortoises will get almost as big as a sucata, so you will stil be providing alot of food.
As for the desert tortoises... They are endangered and aren't legal to sell in any state so you might have trouble finding one unless you know someone who has one to get rid of.

[carpondro17]

Oh ok I see... I saw something about them being endangerd in some website but couldent read all of it cuz I had to go...
How did you get yours?

[Torty]

I have 2 hermanns tortoises.
Theyre my babies! ill post pics later!

[carpondro17]

Ok cool!

[lorenmps]

Oh ok I see... I saw something about them being endangerd in some website but couldent read all of it cuz I had to go...
How did you get yours?

I started out with 2 desert tortoises that were handed down from my great grandparents. Unfortunately they both turned out to be males and started fighting so I had to get rid of one. I still have the one and I'm not sure how old he is exactly, but I know my family has had him for 72 years and looked to be around 10 years old when thhey got him so i'm saying he's somewhere around 82 years old and running strong!

[Torty]

Desert tortoises are endangered, in various states they are illegal to have as pets, but in other states of the USA you need permits to own a desert tortoise, and even then in places such as NV in the USA, you can only adopt a desert tortoise from tortoise rescues WITH a permit.

[carpondro17]

Ohhh well I dont think I will be getting a desert tortoise. Im thinking about the sulcata and its going to be pretty hard once hes 8 years old... soo Idk...

[drew]

used to own a few, star tortoises, elongated tortoises, red foots and sulcatas.

rf's and sulcatas are great torts to begin with, they are hardy.:D

[drew]

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