Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had box turtles for just under 10 years now. I would love to get my hubby a tort but he prefears smallish torts. So my question is what is the smallest tort and where can i get a young or hatchling. Thanks

Egyptians are the smallest breed that's readily available. They're not cheap; check the Kingsnake classifieds regularly because they do turn up from time to time.

If your experience is with Boxies and you need a "small" tort a good bet might be Testudo Hermanii (Herman's tortoise). Males only get to be around 6-7" long and they are very hardy.

Egyptian's require husbandry that is totally different than a box turtle and aren't as hardy as Herman's, in particular Egyptian's need a very dry - 15-25% humidity, environment. Herman's can take up to 70-90% humidity on occasion and are perfectly suited to 35-50% on a daily basis. They are also quite a bit cheaper and hatchlings and juveniles are readily available on the Kingsnake boards and through long time experienced breeders like George Ulman (www.turtleworldusa.com).

FWIW, the smallest tortoise is homopus signatus (Speckled Cape Tortoise) at 3" for males. However, if you ever see one for sale it'll be the first I've ever seen in 30 years of tort keeping.

Good luck on the search!

I am 19 and I have owned Testudo kleinmanni(Egyptian Tortoise) since 1997. Now I have an adult pair and they are not hard to take care of. People say they need special care and special tempretures and what not... but in reality they do fine if you supply theym with their needs and keep the tempreture just right. The humidity thing hasn't really been an issue with my tortoises at all. They are really neat pets and would recommend them over any "common" tortoises.