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Turtles and Tortoises - Pet Advice

Safe Plants for Tortoises to Eat

March 2nd 2010 19:25
If you have pet tortoises, you know that they love to eat and graze, well most do, and whether you house your tortoises inside the house or outside, it's a good idea that you know which plants, flowers, and grasses, your tortoise can eat.

If you're creating an outdoor tortoise enclosure, it's especially important that your set up an area that has plenty of edible plants and grasses. When it comes to tortoises that spend most of their time inside, it's a good idea to have an area outside where you can grow fresh grasses and plants for them to have in addition to their greens.

You will find variety is a good key to a happy, healthy tortoise, so knowing plants that they can eat will help provide that varied diet.


Don't assume, "Well, he wouldn't eat it, if it wasn't safe for him" because sometimes tortoises like to test things. My baby red foot tortoises like to try anything that looks edible when they're outside, and sometimes that includes dead leaves, but that doesn't mean that the dead leaves are good for them.

Know what is safe for your tortoise to eat and what isn't. This will help you design your outdoor enclosure or just help you vary your tortoise's diet.

Edible Plants for Tortoises




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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Turtles and Tortoises
   


Leopard Tortoises As Pets

February 25th 2010 18:58
If you're looking for a large tortoise to keep in your backyard and you don't want a Sulcata tortoise, you may want to consider a leopard tortoise. These tortoises have a little more color than sulcatas, but they can be just as big. Although, in some cases they may only average around 30 pounds, leopard tortoises have the potential to be over 100 pounds.


You can house babies and juvenile tortoises in indoor enclosures, but as the tortoise grows, you'll need to put him outside. You will need to set up a secure fence so that the tortoise doesn't knock the current fence down. These guys can be quite destructive, especially if they don't have enough room.

Some people set up an outdoor dog kennel or run with a base so that the tortoise can't see out and want to bulldoze through. Sometimes these just aren't big enough for full-grown adults though, and it's just best to secure your entire yard.

So, as you can see, leopard tortoises just aren't a pet that you can expect to care for easily. They really do need housing considerations taken into thought before you bring one home.

And because the species grows fast, you'll need to make sure that you offer plenty of calcium and cuttlebones.

But other than that if you think that you can house and feed a leopard tortoise, they can make good pets. Just make sure that you let the tortoise come to you versus you go to them. You can't force a relationship with the tortoise.

On average, the species is not as outgoing, especially when compared to Sulcata tortoises, but that doesn't mean that with time your tortoise won't follow you around the yard to get your attention.




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Posted By: Whitney - Category: Turtles and Tortoises
   


Adopt a Sulcata Tortoise

February 20th 2010 16:57
If you're thinking about getting a big tortoise, don't go out and buy a baby Sulcata just because they're cheap. Sulcata tortoises are one of the most thrown away pets, not literally, but they're bought and tossed away like nearly none other.

In a way, green iguanas and sulcatas are about the same. People buy them when they're small and cute, but the second they start to grow and become large, they are no longer wanted. That's not the way to be a pet owner by any means. When you bring a pet home, you are under the understanding of size, diet, husbandry, and overall care and health. You aren't supposed to just drop off the pet at a shelter because you don't want to deal with it anymore.

There are so many sulcata tortoises for adoption and needing loving homes that there's no need to go and buy a baby tortoise or breed your current tortoise.

As for breeding sulcata tortoises, there are so many breeders as it is selling babies, that the market has tons of them. They're already priced super low at $50 to $75 a baby. There are some people who purchase the baby to decide later one to breed. This creates more supply, less demand, more tortoises on the market, more being put up for adoption, and more never getting a permanent home.

These tortoises are big. They're huge in comparison to Russian tortoises and other small species tortoises. I'll admit, they're cute babies when they can fit in your hand, but a 100 pound tortoise just isn't everyone's cup of tea. They need large outdoor enclosures that they can't dig out of or break down, and yes it's possible that the tortoise will try to break through the barriers.

If you have the room and you're looking at getting a sulcata or large tortoise, adopt a juvenile or adult tortoise that needs a permanent home.

Check petfinder.com for available sulcatas. You'll find many in the northern states that would love a warm Southern home.

You may see them called African Spur Tortoises as well, so don't be alarmed if you see something that looks like a sulcata but has a different name because it's probably a sulcatta.





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Health Problems with Red Foot Tortoises

February 20th 2010 16:36
Red Foot tortoises are usually pretty hardy tortoises. They're considered more hardy than their yellow footed cousins, but if they're not being houses properly or fed the right diet, then the species is going to get sick.

Not every species is going to be prone to the same illnesses. In a way, it's like how dog breeds are each prone to different illnesses. Tortoises are the same way.

Red foot tortoises can easily succumb respiratory problems, shell rot, swollen eyes, dehydration, parasites, abscesses, parasites, and pyramiding. Granted, these are pretty common illnesses that tortoises can get, it's very important that you are aware of what causes them and what the signs are so that you can either prevent your tortoise from getting sick or treat him as soon as you notice any signs.

Common Health Problems with Red Foot Tortoises

Red Foot Tortoise with Slight Pyramiding



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Caring for a Red Foot Tortoise

February 15th 2010 15:37
Red foot tortoises are a little larger than your Russian and Hermann's tortoises, but this species is very rewarding to have as a pet. I have two baby redfoot tortoises that are the cutest things on the planet, but just because they're cute doesn't mean that they're a good choice for everyone. This species gets a little larger than most people have the accommodations for. They can average anywhere from 10" to 15" and weigh up to 20 pounds, which is pretty substantial if you live in an apartment or have a small yard.

Red foot tortoises have pretty basic care but the main and nearly most important aspect is going to be humidity! You want to remember that the species is native to rain forest type areas. They need high humidity levels or you'll see detrimental health problems.

They don't really need a basking area, but you want to make sure that the temperatures are around 85 on the warmer side of the enclosure. And, yes, you can house young and juvenile tortoises in indoor enclosures, but you'll need a rather large enclosure to properly house an adult. For adults, indoor enclosures are fine for winter months and bad weather, but it's not the ideal situation for year round housing.

To get proper humidity inside, you'll want to spray down the enclosure several times a day. I use a reptile fogger to help get moisture and humidity within my enclosure. I also use a plastic cover so that the moisture stays within the enclosure versus drying out quickly.

Use substrate that will hold in the moisture, such as sphagnum moss and coconut coir (compressed brick such as Bed-A-Beast). I use a mix of the two, but some people prefer just one or the other. Some will say that hatchlings and young tortoises should be housed on moss only because of moisture, but I never found that to work for me.

It's also a good idea to soak the tortoise. Don't completely submerge it in water, but give it enough to soak and drink, which means it needs to be a little deep, but not over their carapace by any means.

As for the temperature, try to keep the warm side around 85F. Ceramic heat emitters are great. You don't want to use a bright light though, which is why the ceramic ones work wonders. They just emit heat and no light. It's been thought that bright lights can damage the eyes of young tortoises, and you probably don't want to fry your redfoot's eyes out.

As for UV lighting, that's probably going to be a never ending debate. Some believe it's necessary, whereas others do not. You can try it for yourself, but use a ReptiSun 5.0 UV tube. This will provide minimal UV, but enough to offer some rays. Others feel that because red foot tortoises are native to thickly forested areas, they really don't see much sun anyway, so they don't really benefit from the UV rays.

I wouldn't recommend buying a T-Rex Active bulb and have bright lighting in the enclosure just to get the UV, but I don't see why a UV tube, that actually emits just a faint light wouldn't hurt. I don't use it, so I'm not saying it's necessary, but if you feel like the tortoise needs UV, then that's what I would use.

When it comes to providing proper diet, it's my favorite part. Unlike some tortoises species who only eat greens, grasses, and weeds, red foot tortoises can eat just about any fruit or vegetable. It's good to provide a varied diet to keep it balanced, but you can try just about everything.

Red foots need mostly vegetables and fruits, but after they're about a year old, it's good to introduce a little proteins, such as insects or a high protein dog or cat food. (I prefer using EVO dog food, as it's high in proteins, no fillers, and I have it around the house).

Otherwise, when trying to choose vegetables, consider various greens, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, endive, escarole, turnip greens, collards, squash, zucchini, etc. As for fruits, try strawberries, blackberries, mango, kiwi, pineapple, papaya, melons, etc.

Just try to keep bananas, tomatoes, kale, and spinach to a minimum if not at all.

You can also offer various flowers such as hibiscus leaves and flowers, grape leaves, and dandelions.

Don't rush your red foot's growth, as it can cause physical damage, especially to the shell. Many suggest that you have the following feeding schedule:

Day 1, 2: Veggies
Day 3: Fruits
Day 4, 5: Veggies
Day 6: Fruit (typically something other than what you normally offer, such as like a treat)
Day 7: Protein (crickets, mealworms, silkworms, feeder roaches, butterworms, high protein dog or cat foot)

Red foot tortoises can be very personable, you just have to give them time. This species is known to like head and neck rubs, but it's best to let them come to you versus impose yourself onto them.


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Caring for a Hermann Tortoise

February 10th 2010 14:44
Another small tortoise species, that I've considered getting as a pet, but decided against only because space is really a concern when you have pet tortoises. Even if you only have one small species tortoise and you're thinking about getting another small species, you still need another enclosure. You can't house them together.

Hermann's Tortoises originate from Tugoslavia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Hungary, and the southern Italy region. This species is about 5" to 10" as an adult, and is native to Mediterranean oak forest areas, arid, rocky hillslopes with scrubby vegetation, which is fairly easy to achieve in captivity


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Caring for a Greek Tortoise

February 5th 2010 20:59
Greek tortoises are another small tortoise species that are pretty popular pets. They come in a few general colors, that are dependent on their location. For the most part though, you'll find the Golden Greek tortoise and the Iberia Greek tortoise. Both are are shades of mustard yellow, but the Iberia Greek is generally going to have much more brown coloring on the scutes, whereas the Golden is a more solid gold-mustard color.

Greek tortoises average about 6" to 10" in length as an adult


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Horsfield Tortoise Care

February 1st 2010 16:43
Horsfield Tortoises are more commonly known as Russian Tortoises. I personally have two of these buggers and love them to death! If I had the space, I wouldn't mind a few more.

Russian Tortoises are one of the smaller species of pet tortoises, which makes them more popular as pets. But, just because they're a little smaller, ranging from about 6" to 10" as an adult length, that doesn't mean that they can live happily and healthily in a small aquarium


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