Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi All,
I need some experts help in this forum. I've been following this forum for about 2 months. I read people's posts regarding getting new tortoise.From there I got quite a bit of knowledge about some well-know tortoises. I live in Northern California, Oakland, and I'm thinking of getting a tortoise. I prefer smaller size, hardy, have personality and not too much difficult to take care of. I narrow down my options to Dwarf cherry head red foot or Egyptian tortoise ( I opt out Greek, Hermann, or Russian, actually I like Leopard, they're pretty, but unfortunately it will get real big and a bit shy,so I have to opt it out too ). So from those two, I need your expertise on them, to help me choosing the "one". All your advice and suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for your time.

hummer

Cherry Heads are my favorite! I have a trio of adults and would not trade them for anything. They have a great personality! In fact they will probably be mad at me because I usually feed them in the AM and got called into work today early and they will not get fed till 2 pm instead of 6 am. Oh well they will get over it. Go with the Cherry heads and you will be pleased!

Well in your post you said your looking for a easy tort. to care for. The 2 you listed wont be easy to care for unless you have the right things for it but still need time and effort. I think the red foots need high humidity. So if you do go eith the reds make sure you know what you getting into first. Lots of planing and keeping it moist and stuff. Go with the reds though will be good for you. Think before you act though dont want you to get it and in a year sell it. Good luck tell us what you choose and we will help you.

Dear hummer, you have choses two varieties that offer some challenges regarding temps/humidities. It can be done, but you have a fairly long winter and you need to convince those cherry heads they are still in the tropics... I like the 3 you rejected, "Greeks", Herrmann's and Russians, because they adapt well to our Northern California climate. I allow mine to hibernate, which gives me a break from husbandry during the already too hectic Holiday season... Good luck and have fun. P.S. If you should ever want horsefieldii I can recomend good sources.

I have a 4 year old Egyptian & he is probably my favorite of the 6 I keep. He's a little tank, loves to have his head & shell rubbed, & is great company in the winter when the others are hibernating. These guys aren't cheap & are sometimes hard to come by, but well worth it in my opinion. He sleeps in some very strange positions sometimes!

-----

since you live in california, adopt a desert tortoise!! they're the best! smaller size, dry conditions, good personalities, easy to take care of. plus they hibernate in the winter.

Thanks, Smeese, Boxielover, VICtort, DaviDC, and Bovox for your input. I am glad you guys give your time for replying. I am tempted with Smeese suggestion but Boxielover and VICtort have their points regarding the temp and humidity. I will consider carefully before I make any decision. Thanks again for the advice. I greatly appreciate it.

Hummer

Hi there.
I live in SoCal and, faced with similar (but not identical) issues went with an Egyptian several months ago. Issues that helped steer me toward choosing the lil' Egyptian were:

1. I loved that they live indoors for their entire life/stay small their entire lives (less than 6" - great for apartment renting situation/small house or no yard/keeping tort safe

2. Small, relatively-dry, pellet-type poops - so incredibly easy-to-clean cage with minimal effort (I have a heat lamp & UV/fluorescent bulb on a timer)

3. Personality: Lil' Hef is practically eating out of my hand already; at age 4 months

4. Pretty low effort: I wake up and give him some greens; then he gets a 10 minute soak daily (I play lifeguard b/c he likes to get in adventures and flip himself over)

5. Fun: He loves climbing/rambling over the piled-up, flattish rock set-up I have for him in his enclosure.

I wish I could comment on the other type of tort you are considering, but I did an exhaustive search when I chose Egyptians and can't remember why I ruled out the Cherrys. (Size & Indoor/Outdoor were big factors; I also favored true herbivores)

Good luck!
-----
"What a brave, corporate logo!"

I know what the person before was talking about with indoors and stuff but you lose my when you say "true herbivores" most torts. are "ture herbivores" so thats not a problem. Also i think it is best for any tort. and box turts. no matter what size, to have outside natural sun. But i do know what she is trying to say because smaller would make it easier then bigger for indoor setup. Also i think outdoor setup would be eaiser to keep up and have less expensive. When having indoor set up you have all the light fixtures, light bulbs, and electricity in general that will coast money. But if you are going to keep a tort. indoors all the time then smaller would be better. I think you should get a greek or russian tort. They are easier to keep in both indoor/outdoor enclosure. Also another option would be a hermans tort. look into those.