thinking of getting a Tortoise

toxick

Hey all,

i recently have been thinking of getting a Tortoise as a pet, i have researched into them, and know that i would need to buy some equipment and they are a pet that needs maintaince(ie feed them, soak them, clean the tank ect ect)

I went to the local pet store and looked at what diffrent speices they have, and it seems they have a set of tierpins(spelling? ) and a horsefield Tortoise. Now i was reading up on the horsefiled and it shows he can witstand ranges of tempature, ie extreme heat and extreme cold. Does that mean that i need to buy a speical heat light for him? Also what type of housing wound require him to be at his best? can you leave him wander around in the house, i know that they are prone to pneumonia if in a damp condition so leaving him outside in Ireland would'nt be the best idea.

For when he hibernaties(spelling agian? ) what would i need to do? leave him in the housing or put him in a special box/place ect ect?

i know that a lot of people have said that Tortoise's stink. Do they smell extremly bad, or is it only there droppings in the tank, and would the smell go after i clean the tank?

Also where would the best place to aqquire a tortoise be? as in the pet store, it is 260 euro. is this the regular price for tortoise's? as i noticed the tairpins were roughly 30 euro.

Also please write your expeirance with the horsefield tortoise if you have any, would love to hear diffrent stories as them as pets and are they really worth it. Since i always had a passion to have a pet tortoise, since im fasianated(spelling?) with turtles/tortoise's/tairpins.

Thanks for everything

Storm_rages

Hi,

First thing to do is to get your butt down to reptile heaven (near the civic offices) and talk to Ben.. this man knows every thing..(well not everything i'm sure there is some stuff he does not know but everything about tortoises!)

You know tairpins live in water right, and as far as i know have to be fed on meat! (*as far as i know!)

where as tortoises are vegetarian. We keep one and i have to say he i a little dude! He has his own tortoise table (about the size of a desk) and he has a day and a night light (different temperatures) and a UV light.. (he also has an out run but poor light thing has not been out much this year). There is a fair amount of work in regards cleaning.

He is still quite young and has yet to hibernate, so i can't help you much there. but he loves bath time (we use a paint tray) and also enjoys a good game of hide and seek (he is better at the hiding then the seeking)

I have never noticed a smell.. mind you i grow up around animal and tend not to notice these things.

toxick

cheers for the reply, aye i know that tairpins live on water, i dunno why i added them in the post, as i mainly want a toirtoise :P

Im from Galway, so doubt i can get down to reptile heaven is it in dublin or were abouts? so i know next time im around the own i could pop in if i dont have the pet by then.

The toirtoise table, can they be home maed, as i seen pcitures ect ect, and its just a basic living pen for them. Or should i go off and buy one. And he needs 3 lights is that correct? day/night/UV? is the day/night just diffrent tempatures? and do they need to be set at a certain hieght ect ect? and for the toirtoise table would i need speicfic zone? ie i know i need one for him to eat/drinka dna a small little house for him but does he need fake leaves and stuff to go under or a rock to sit on ect ect.

Do they mind being touched and picked up? and bathing him in a paint try is a cleaver idea

tallus

toxick wrote: »

Hey all,

i recently have been thinking of getting a Tortoise as a pet, i have researched into them, and know that i would need to buy some equipment and they are a pet that needs maintaince(ie feed them, soak them, clean the tank ect ect)

I went to the local pet store and looked at what diffrent speices they have, and it seems they have a set of tierpins(spelling? ) and a horsefield Tortoise. Now i was reading up on the horsefiled and it shows he can witstand ranges of tempature, ie extreme heat and extreme cold. Does that mean that i need to buy a speical heat light for him? Also what type of housing wound require him to be at his best? can you leave him wander around in the house, i know that they are prone to pneumonia if in a damp condition so leaving him outside in Ireland would'nt be the best idea.

For when he hibernaties(spelling agian? ) what would i need to do? leave him in the housing or put him in a special box/place ect ect?

i know that a lot of people have said that Tortoise's stink. Do they smell extremly bad, or is it only there droppings in the tank, and would the smell go after i clean the tank?

Also where would the best place to aqquire a tortoise be? as in the pet store, it is 260 euro. is this the regular price for tortoise's? as i noticed the tairpins were roughly 30 euro.

Also please write your expeirance with the horsefield tortoise if you have any, would love to hear diffrent stories as them as pets and are they really worth it. Since i always had a passion to have a pet tortoise, since im fasianated(spelling?) with turtles/tortoise's/tairpins.

Thanks for everything

I'd think long and hard before getting one to be honest.
They require a lot of committment as pets, and certainly need a lot of tlc.
Diet is a very important consideration, but you'll know that having done your research of course . Secondly, you will need a UVB full spectrum lamp for indoor basking/Vitamin D3 conversion. I wouldn't use a tank for housing either, a tortoise tabletop would more than likely be more suitable.
Also, they need to be outside as much as possible as natural sunlight is really good for them. Horsefields can burrow too as far as I know so that's a consideration if you're going to let the critter outside. They don't smell, or at least the ones I kept didn't.
Go to the tortoise trust site http://www.tortoisetrust.org/ and look up the species there. The more research you do the better, and as another poster said, go see Ben in Reptile Haven, he's pretty knowledgable on all things Herp.
I haven't kept Terrapins but there are several threads here with details on their husbandry. I'm too lazy to type tooo much but why don't you take a look at the Stickied thread http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055063572 there's a care sheet there for Tortoise upkeep.

My two cents

toxick

Hey cheers the for the reply. ya i had a look at tortoise trust website and got the care sheets and have read up on there articles and what not.

I know they have a strict diet, and are a high maintaince pet. Aye the horsefield(and also the russian i think) toirotise can burrow, and from what i read at a fast pace.. some suggest building a pen in the garden with a wire mesh.. underneath it ect. Since im doing my garden up at the moment it would be quite easy.

I know that they need Vitemen D, and in their table, the hotest spot should not excede 40 degrees and the lowest shouldnt go under 20. What would be the best way in making them recieve Vietnmen D by the light? and what range would the light cost?

For cleaning the cage, some people suggest cleaning it 2/3 times a week. would this be enough to do so or should i do it 3/4 times a week?

Diet wise, i know they need a calcium intake, so would i need to buy speical food to place over the leaqves ect when feeding them ?

Also reptile heven. is that a pet shop in dublin?

Thanks for all the help

Sigma Force

If you do get one, be prepared for unexpected vet bills and ensure you have an experienced exotics vet in your area.

They live a long time and you have to be every so careful with hibernating.
Make a will no matter what age you are so that they have somewhere to go should summit happen to you.

AngelicRaindrop

toxick wrote: »

The toirtoise table, can they be home maed, as i seen pcitures ect ect, and its just a basic living pen for them. Or should i go off and buy one. And he needs 3 lights is that correct? day/night/UV? is the day/night just diffrent tempatures? and do they need to be set at a certain hieght ect ect? and for the toirtoise table would i need speicfic zone? ie i know i need one for him to eat/drinka dna a small little house for him but does he need fake leaves and stuff to go under or a rock to sit on ect ect.

Do they mind being touched and picked up? and bathing him in a paint try is a cleaver idea

if you get a tort dont put it in a tank, the poor air circulation etc. can play havoc with their health and shorten their life span, a tortoise table or some kind of open air pen, also bare in mind Horsefield torts are actually pretty good climbers, better than you might think so the sides have to be high enough to keep them in.

as for an outdoor enclosure, yes you need wire underneath but really I wouldnt put ours out unless there is very fine weather

this is the outdoor place we have for ours with tortoise friendly plants.

you can see our tort just left of the white bag. and just above the white pansy.

tallus

Looks like an excellent outdoor setup Angelic.

Septico

AngelicRaindrop wrote: »

this is the outdoor place we have for ours with tortoise friendly plants.

That is fantastic!

AngelicRaindrop

thanks lads, I'm just lucky I had the room to have an outdoor enclosure for our guy. but with the irish weather and the risk of predators hes never in it past 7pm,

i forgot to say as for hibernation, i put darwin in a fridge set at 5degrees it keeps it constant for him, i tried hibernating him in a cold room before be because the temp wasnt constant he kept waking up.

a thermostat is a must, they can be expensive but they are needed to gradually cool him down before he gos into hibernation, you also have to cut down on his food intake before you hibernate him and give him plenty of baths the week before.

they are get pets but they are hard work!

tallus

I starved mine for 3 weeks before hibernation every year, and the obligatory baths came every day too ... they crapped in the water right up to the last day.
Used a "drinks cabinet" type fridge for the hibernation myself. It worked perfectly.
They are really high maintenance pets tho.

jen_23

You could try this website for info www.turtletimes.com.
Its a forum based site but with loads of info on food, general care, enclosures etc etc....
I always run to it when I get into bother with my turt:)