Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I live in sw florida and the wife and I have just purchased 2.5 acres and I am planning on some tort enclosures. As of right now I've already started picking up some sulcata's as they are one of my favorite torts out there. I was thinking of redfoots but not quite sure. I also love the marginated torts but was wondering how they would do this far south during the summer? If anyone can help me out here I would greatly appreciate it. Also if you can think of some other tort species that would do good here I would love to do some research on them as well.

thanks in advance,
Josh
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

Any forest or desert Tortoises do well. Avoid the Mediteranean species, they will not tolerate constant high humidity or moisture.

Think about consulting a good book on climatological data. compare the local weather on your new land to that from the known range of the species you are considering. See any similarities or if different, easy to adjust/overcome? That should narrow your selection. I live in a very hostile desert enviroment, and I am doing fine with my Mediterranean and desert adapted species. I always wanted to try Emmys or red-foots, but I don't think I can offer them what they need, but you might do well with those humidity tolerant species. Both are said to have great personalities and there are successful breeders of both in your neighborhood. Shop around, as there are a lot of variants in size and color of red-foots. Good luck and let us know what works or doesn't. vic

thanks for the info guys. I really wanted marginated but it looks like they would have to be indoor torts (which I was afraid of) and they do get a little to big to be confined to a table their entire life. I know the red/yellow foots, sulcatas, burmese mountains (browns are great and I'm not sure if it stays humid enough for the blacks year round here), and for some people, leopards do really well here. I have several friends that breed sulcatas and redfoots very successfully locally and I can get cb animals from different bloodlines easily.

Now with that being said, I've been told by several different people that the brazilian cherry-heads are the least hardy of the locallity specific red-foots. Is this still true or was that just with the original imports?
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

Redfoot and Manouria care is about the same, no matter what species/sub-species your working with. Indivduals will vary, but you can't compare that with the species as a whole. They will dry out in the winter, and all I do is rub them down with lubriderm every few days to help them keep thier body mouisture in. Those were Burmese Blacks pictured, and they are doing fine with the Florida humidity. It's too bad I like working with Boas more, as they are interesting and personable little guys.

I have both regular and cherryhead redfoots. I haven't noticed any difference between the two in terms of heartiness and health.

Both ssp of Manouria (Browns /Blacks)need high humitidy. They are the same animal in every way other than Browns are smaller as adults in most but not all cases.In captivity they are known to live inspite of sub-normal humitidy levels as adults but the young will have trubble.Humidity is easy to make with misting systems,sprinkler systems,damp mulch,moss,etc.It is very humid in both ssp range.If they hold their head just slighty out and are not active they are suffering from low humidity.If they hold their head high and have a pulsating neck after misting/foging/raining,they are content.Moments after hatching a baby mt. tort. if misted, will want to eat or drink whatever they are standing on.Long periods of low humidity will cause eyes to remain shut,lack of desire to eat,possable respratory infection,dehydration,immune system crash and the big dirt nap.We do not know how the extreem northern phayrei live in the wild in places like Napul,Bangladesh,Thimphu,and all along the Himalyan Mts.There could be another whole enviromental strategy for survival.

Josh,

I forgot to add in the other message that I am in S. Florida on the east side. I have mostly cherryheads and the THRIVE in our heat and humidity! I keep them outside almost all year round except for the few times it dips below 60F. Then they come inside to sit for a spell in thier kiddie pool inside. The next morning they go right back out. Enjoy!

Allegra

wow that last pic of the adult is soaked in red. Thanks for the great advice folks. I know for a fact that I plan on building a 15 animal sulcata herd and at least a 20 animal redfoot herd divided into locality specific pens. I am also considering some burmese blacks as the ones I've seen were awesome and I am also thinking about building a 4' x 16' tort table in my living room for a small group of Marginated or some other greek/mediteranean species (I really really love Marginated torts, lol).
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

One you might look into are gopher tortoises which are native to florida.
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1.1 Rosy Boa
0.1 Mexican Rosy Boa
1.0 Coastal Carpet Python
1.0 Miniature Daschund

Oops! I meant to add a picture!

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1.1 Rosy Boa
0.1 Mexican Rosy Boa
1.0 Coastal Carpet Python
1.0 Miniature Daschund