Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

My 10 year old would like to own a tortoise. We are having a difficult time finding which one will be best suited to our area. We live in Central New York. The winters are of coarse very snowy(we live in the snow belt)and below zero temperatures. The summer/spring can be very humid at times. We would like one that can live inside for most of the year due to our weather conditions although there is lots of room outdoors to have a pen where the tortoise could safely spend time outdoors. Also, are there any species that don't need hybernation? Winters here are long and the tortoise would help pass time. He is the kind of child that doesn't need a cuddly pet (we already have a dog) he needs a pet that he can watch and talk to and feed and love.

I'm really glad I found this website. Please help.

Thank you all for your time,

Jim P, Central NY

i cannot think of any tortoises that would do good outside all year round in newyork. i lived in jersey for a few years a long time ago and i remember the winters being pretty bruital. you might want to look at a north american wood turtle. they can handle some coldness.

sorry i miss read. there are lots of them that donot hibernate if you are planning to house him indoors for most of the year there are lots of choices. i think anything over about a foot gets hard to manage indoors. cage cleanings are frequient at that size and they require a bit of space. red foots yellow foots burmese browns lepard torts (pardallas babcocki) are a few off the top of my head. all donot hibernate and if you get them small will take many many years to become large. good luck and hope you and your son enjoy!

Standard CAPTIVE BRED russian. Don't do the PetCo special. Look for a breeder or even hatchlings in the classified here.

I live in New York also and have a little Cherry head Redfoot. They need lots of humidity and do not hibernate. In the summer I will put him outside in a little pen, but in the winter I have him in a 75 gal. vivarium. Most people will tell you not to keep him in a glass vivarium, but while he is still small it is fine because he needs lots of humidity, and it is ideal for holding in the humidity. I have it set up with a heat emitter on one end and a long tube UVB 10.0 on the other end. I planted moss and some plants in there to keep in the humidity. He doesn't need to hibernate, and when he gets bigger, you can keep him in a rubbermade storage bin that costs very little. Here are some pictures of him.

If you want to see more of his set up just e-mail me.

Thanks for the relys. Terry email has been sent to you. Thanks.