Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I am looking into getting a tortoise fairly soon, and I am looking for one that will not hibernate and one that is fairly easy to maintain. If someone could help me out which which species i should be looking into I would be very thankful.

Thanks!

I'm of the opinion that all tortoises don't need to hibernate so that's the beginning of the list.
Now, for ease of care... I'd suggest getting a snake because just about every tortoise should get daily care and special attention to diet and such because of the uniqueness of the animal.
Some of the less delicate species which are good for beginners are the Redfoots, Russians, Greeks, Marginateds and of course the sulcata (which, btw, becomes the size of a small elephant over a short period of time).
Ed

I asked this same question recently, and was given info on Hermanns, which sound petty cool! Look into them, too.
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1.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 corn snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.0.2 fish
1.2 cats
3.1 kids
1.0 husband

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It seems as though i worded my post wrong...

I can easily care for it daily... What i ment to say was that I want a tortoise that will be good for a beginner... Caring for it daily is not a big deal, but Id rather not get something that i will have to closely monitor humidity or things like that (im NOT talking about tempurature... i will be monitoring that of course.)

I am also looking into affordability, and size, id rather not have anything like leopards, sulcattas, and bigger... I would like to have one that is a good size which i could keep in a large indoor enclosure as well as an outdoor enclosure... Im not sure if this rules out redfoots and yellowfoots, hopefully someone can tell me more about their housing requirements. I was looking into greeks before but i was told that they needed to hibernate to stay healthy, and I also noticed most of them were WC, and i would like a CB. I was wondering if anyone knows how much egyptians usually cost. Thanks for all of your replies.

I will be attending the Raleigh animal show the 30th and 31st, and I am hoping there will be a few breeders there. If anyone is going, or has gone in the past... would you think there to be many tortoises availible there?

thanks.

Hibernation is definately a subjective topic. There is no evidence to support the idea that hibernation is required for increased longevity of tortoises that would normally hibernate in the wild. If conditions are such that the animal is not inclined to hibernate there is no reason for you to induce it although a cool down period is sometimes associated with breeding ques.
So, a marginated, russian, hermans etc would be a good first tortoise that is readily available as CB.
Ed

I just got done looking through the tortoise books i purchased a few weeks ago... I think the marginated tortoise attracts my attention the most out of the ones you mentioned EJ. You said these are readily availible... so do you think they will be availible at the expo im going to the end of this month? And which online store has these availible? Thanks a lot for your info, I will be looking up info on acclimating this species after this post. Here is a link to the show i will be attending...

http://www.reptileandexoticanimalshow.com/nc/index.html
Reptile and Exotic Animal Show

an egyptian can run you $300-$400 but thet are just the cutest little things. They are very rare and its hard to get one because of that 4 inch rule thing