Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am looking for a tortoise or turtle. A Terrestrial one. A herbavore. One that to start could work in a 20 gallon enclosure. One that is good for a newbie at Turtles and tortoises. Mind you I do have a decent collection of other reptiles.

Thanks for your help.

No torts would do well in something that small for a very long time.

Aquatics would be the same deal unless you went with a stinkpot or one of the smaller mud turtle species.

Hermans tortoise
Russian tortoise
Greek tortoise

BUT.... as adults they all need something larger than a 20 gallon long tank. Only hatchlings or relatively young juveniles should be in a 20 gallon. www.sulcata-station.org has instructions for building a tortoise table, or see if your vet has Volume 6.1 of Exotic DVM magazine. There's an article in there on how to make an easy indoor box turtle enclosure that would work well for one of these tortoises as well. A box turtle won't work for you if you want a strictly herbivorous chelonian.

Katrina

Your best bet would be a Russian tortoise, if you INSIST on something strictly herbivorous, but even I, who often chide my fellows for suggesting outrageous container size requirements, feel that 20 gal is way too small for a tortise, except a small juvenile. Aquatics can exploit three dimensions of the tank, but terrestrials are limited to two. If you are not concerned about aesthetics and don't want to deal with a heavy glass tank, get a large relatively cheap translucent plastic storage container. These are very lightweight and easy to move and clean. Add a heat/light source, of course.