Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our family is interested in a tortoise (mainly my oldest son) This would be our first, though we are an experienced reptile family. What are your guys' opinion on good first tortoises? I know that a sulcatta is a no, just because of the size they reach. But we would like to research some possibilities first as a family before we decide if a tortoise would 'fit' into our family. Do you guys also know of some good gneral care sites? Thanks for your time!

Russian Tortoises - http://www.russiantortoise.org/

Hermanns tortoises - http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/hermannstortoisecare.htm
http://www.tortoise.org/archives/herman.html

Greek Tortoises - http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/cgraeca.html

If you want to go a little bit bigger

red foot tortoise - http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/redfootcare.htm
http://www.tortoise.org/archives/carbonar.html

Thank you for the links! We will be sure to check them out. I believe we are leaning towards the Hermanns.

I have a hermanns, I love him. He is a lot of fun and has a ton of personality. He is also pretty easy to care for.

hello
hermanns are a great smaller species with lots of personality
western hermanns are my favorite out of the smaller species
chelonia.org is a great site for info
tortoise tables work well for this species when indoors and are easy to make
enjoy your new pet
read ,read ,and read some more and you will make a great tortoise owner
tortoise clubs are a great way to learn about husbandry care also
and meet fellow tortoise lovers
no fruits ever
dark leafy weeds are cherrished
i grow a garden for each type of tortoise i own
i use mazuri mixed with veggies,greens,opuntia cactus pads,and calcium supplements
i throw cuttle bone in the pens to help with calcium too
zoomed also has a new complete diet out that requires no additional greens,veggies, or hays
It is all in the pellets
just add water, whip it up , and serve
enjoy your new tort
best regards
jeff
planet reptiles

Thats important if you live in say Florida, a redfoot is a great choice, if you live in the desert southwest, not so much. Also is it going to be primarily an indoors animal or can you house it outdoors. Indoors, redfoots and greeks get fairly large maybe not a goood choice. Russians are pretty much a universal good choice as long as they are captive bred and you can properly accomodate one. If you live somewhere humid redfoots are awesome.

I live in NW Indiana. We would be able to build an outdoor pen and are more than willing to do that, but I'm guessing it would only be 'usable' for a couple months in the summer, other than that he would have to be indoors.

I would suggest russians, just because they are so easy to keep in almost any situation. If you keep them outdoors, make sure you build an impenetrable fortress, because they are great at digging and climbing (a double threat). I built my outdoor enclosure so that there's chicken wire over a foot beneath the soil, and a locking top with heavy hardware mesh. Even then I see them trying to find ways out every now and then. they aren't out there much as it is anyways (I live in upstate new york).

They are good at handling extremes, because in their natural habitat they hibernate when it gets too cold, and estivate (SP) when it gets too hot.

They are certainly a small tortoise, but there is a big variance between males and females. Some males don't get much bigger than 5", and I have a female that is about 10" (and her daughter that I hatched in november is already closing in on the 4" mark!). They have great personality too.

Also, if you go with russians, try to buy CB, and think about the possibility of eventually breeding them (fight the good fight ).

But that's just based off my personal opinions of them. They are my favorite species by far.

Other than that, the other mediterranean torts are great for your situation. Most stay small enough to be easily housed indoors. Some greeks and marginateds have been known to get pretty large (the females of the species), but you can expect them to stay relatively small. Usually under a foot in shell length, closer to 14" for the marginateds.

Happy hunting.

I live in upstate NY where my tortoise has to live indoors most of the year (actually he lives inside all of the year because I don't have a yard). From what I have read it seems that hermanns care and russian care is pretty similar.

Yeah, the Mediterraneans all have very similar care for the most part, and they all are very cold tolerate. Russians are more cold tolerant than other species, but it can be difficult to find CB Russian torts at certain points during the year. Hermanns seem more widely CB(?). I haven't kept up on that kind of stuff in a while.

hello
a friend of mine breeds all the european species you have talked about.
he has lots of c.b. babies every year
let me know if you can not find a c.b. russian baby on the east coast
most of his are hatching naturally out of the ground here in southern Ca also
best regards
jeff
planet reptiles

Hermann's are great and very beautiful too. Mine has been very easy to care for. I have her in a 55 gallon rubermaid at night and during winter, and two different outdoor pens for summer days. I keep Mazuri pellets on hand but she mostly eats weeds outside (plantain, dandelion, clover, and i grow california poppy for her too).
Good Luck with whatever you choose, remember that a tortoise is a pet you will have for a very very long time. There is no such thing as too much research.