Animal Stories - People Talking About Tortoises



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Latest Animal Stories on Tortoises (155)

Animal lover - 2011-07-21
I am getting a red footed tortoise and by the way Everybody describes them I am glad I am getting one. She is sick so she has to stay at the vets for awhile. :(

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Charlie Roche - 2011-07-23
Congratulations and let us know about her. I am sorry she is ill but glad you are getting her. Is it a her????

Katie Whittington - 2010-08-27
I've recently acquired a redfoot.. and many websites say to feed him different things. any suggestions as some say meat - some say greens - some say banana etc, and some say these are bad for him?

x

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Editor's Note - 2010-08-27
Red footed tortoises are omnivorous and should be fed salads like every other day and meat once or twice a week. Guidelines are given here Red-footed Tortoise As far as bananas and other exotic foods; I don't know what the answer is, if you just stick with what is known to be good for them you'll have a healthy pet!
Kellee - 2010-12-30
I have had a redfoot for 28 years. He is about 16 inches in the shell - head to tail. Redfoots need 80 % greens - they love dandelion greens, most hate spinach and love collard greens - dark greens are best like herb mix you get in the organic section of your local grocerer. If you pick dandelions out of your yard - make sure no chemicals have been used. 10 percent veggies - carrots- cut up small, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, tomatoes, and mushrooms - mine loves mushrooms. and 10 percent fruit - red fruit is the best - strawberries, raspberries, black berries, apples (again cut small) watermelon, other melon. Bananas are good - but fattening - save for a once in awhile treat. NO onion, peppers, cucumbers, celery - to gassy and hard to digest. Give your redfoot some carion - catfood or dog food or better yet - tortiose food from the local reputable pet store. Lastly, my tortoise love Nasturiums flowers or Hibiscus flowers in the summer.
amanda - 2011-01-01
Minimal banana and spinach, it causes constipation. As far as meat goes, I feed mine meal worms just about twice a month and they come in a can at the pet store and keep them in the fridge. Just sprinkle a few on his food. But grapes, carrots, kale, dandilion, a little avacado, apples, kiwi, I also feed mixed mescilan greens. Really anything in small amounts and observe how he reacts to it, such as if it blocks it up or gives the runs. I hope that helps.
Jim Moss - 2011-06-22
A red-foot needs lots of greens but can have up to 20% of his diet in friuts. No spinach but collards, beet tops are great. 5% of the diet needs to be protein. Dried cat or dog food soaked before feeding.

nicole - 2010-10-04
Hi I live in Southern LA, and have fell in love with a Sulcata Tortoise. I have spent a week now talking with my husband to decide if one would be a fit for us. I have always been in love with turtles and have several red ear sliders and soft shells. Last week at a local pet shop I got to pet and feed a Sulcata who was about 20 lbs. We are now considering adopting a baby.
My question is since I am thinking long terms since they can live a very long time is how will they get along with a small dog once they are big? I have a shitzu poodle and I am just curious if others have had their tortoise around other pets?
Also my 2nd question is, since vegetarian they would be likely to eat your flowers in the garden.. hmm I love gardening too.
3rd. Can anyone give me an idea of what it costs to feed them?

Thank you! Trying to make the best decision.. nicole

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colten comer - 2010-11-18
Nicole
I have had a sulcata for 7 years.
When I got him he fit in my palm,
I was 11 then.
If you get one he will do fine around pets and really doesn't like flowers much but he will eat almost any vegi
and not too many fruits.
They are not cheap to feed the best thing that I have figured out is to buy pure alfalfa seed and grow it.
You said LA?
They cannot be in weather below 70 degrees.
I have built a small dog house like home that has a heater but I do not keep him out in his field once the temperature reaches 60 or below.
If you do grow alfalfa you can cut and dry it in the summer and keep it in paper bags to keep it dry.
That is his main source of nutrients during the winter.
They will not eat grass regularly and they sleep a lot.
But they are very cute.
And they get large fast.
Youu can email or text me anytime for info
1-573-489-1224
coltenmcomer@hotmail.com
april - 2011-01-15
We have our 2 carine terriers, 3 bunnies, and 2 torties all hang out it the backyard. Our dogs chase cats, birds, anything, but they've never bothered our toties. As long as you have a little dog you're in the clear. We garden a lot too but I've found that there are so many dangerous plants. Our sulcatas like nasturtium flowers and you can eat them too! We live in Orange county, so we grow all our veggies for our animals in the backyard. So it can cost like nothing to feed them but seeds and your time.

hope that helps.
april - 2011-01-15
If you're still looking for one this fish store were we bought ours still has one for 80 bucks. Only weighs 4lbs. It's called coral oasis in costa mesa.
Jim Misiak - 2011-05-22
My cost is very low, nothing. Rocko is 18 years old and weights 130 lbs. He will graze all day on backyard grass. We have flowers in planters that we feed everyday to him and our other turtles. He eats leaves that fall off the tree. He loves laventera leaves. Every bush or tree I prun back goes in his yard for him to eat. He never gets store bought food!
JIM BRANT - 2011-06-11
Nicole, My wife and I live in SE Louisiana and have two Sulcatas .More or less our children. They bring so much joy to my wife. But there is a problem she doesn't like eating in a eatery that serves turtle soap. No medical problems, they are very hardy . They consume only about two heads of roman lettuce per day,supplemented by a little apple and fruit. Cost is maybe $3.00 a day. We have had them 6 years, when we got them they was like a silver dollar. Now they are are like large foot tub.If we can help any kind of way please let us know.We are about to design a habitat for them. We do keep them in a green house but they have access to go in or out. Good luck Jim
gitanogem101@yahoo.com

Debby Swiechowicz - 2007-09-01
We now have a male and female adult yellowfoot. They are among the friendliest tortoises that we have ever had. They will continually come when called and stay for petting as long as you will pet. Your hand will tire before your yellowfoot does of the attention. We currently have redfoots, leopards, greeks, russians, sulcatas, and burmese mountain tortoises. Of all of them, the yellowfoot is by far the friendliest of them all. If you want a lap tortoise, the yellowfoot is for you.

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Kirk - 2010-07-22
Do you have any recommendations or examples of indoor terrariums...I have built one, with a lot of money for a nearly 14" yellow foot male and am doing my best to accommodate him, humidity seems to be the hardest thing to control so I'm looking for nice ideas...
Esther - 2011-05-18
You have a lot of different turtles. You're a good owner! (P.S.Yay! "Thumbs up")

teresa - 2011-04-10
TORTOISES require outdoor habitat. Never an aquarium. I have rescued four Russian Tortoises who were raised in aquariums. Their shells are flat on top, and one has ripples in the back of her shell that will never be round enough to protect her from males or predators. A huge tortoise table is the only indoor solution that gives a tortoise room to move. But a tortoise is an outdoor, roaming creature that benefits from having other tortoises to associate with. Please do not buy your child a tortoise in an aquarium. Build an outdoor habitat that has vegetation and a doghouse-like home filled with straw where they can escape from heat or cold. There are excellent examples if you search "outdoor-tortoise-habitat".

matthew - 2011-03-28
I have a greek tortoise and was wondering how to differentiate between male and female. My parents have one of each but as they are young then it's hard to tell. Also at what age roughly can you start to breed these tortoises?

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Editor's Note - 2011-03-28
The length of the Greek Tortoise's (Testudo graeca) tail and plastron (the soft underside of the shell) is the best way to differentiate between males and females. Males have longer plastrons than females and their plastrons are often slightly concave. Males also often carry their tails tucked up in their shell while females will keep their tales sticking outward. It is hard to tell the sex of the tortoises before they are old enough/large enough to breed however, so depending on how large they are you may not be able to tell.

Males usually reach sexual maturity at about 8 years, while females are slower and generally aren't ready until about age 11. Males can generally breed once their plastron is 5-6 inches in length and females need to be 6-7 inches before attempting to breed them.

Dawn Ballard - 2011-03-24
I am a new Kindergarten teacher. My husband bought our class a Red-footed Tortoise, I am going to let the children vote for a name but I hope they vote for Oogway. (that is the name of the tortoise master on "Kung Fu Panda") There are a few black spots and a few scratching spots on the bottom of his shell. Is this normal?

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Clarice Brough - 2011-03-25
That's so cool that you got a Red-footed tortoise for you class, I bet they will have a great experience! I don't think the spots and scratches should be a problem, as long as it is eating and acting normally it's probably okay.

julie - 2010-09-23
I have recently been given a leopard tort, I already have a sully and have had no probs..my question is the leopard hisses and goes in its shell also i have seen it with a wet nose, not all the time but a couple and have had it a week now, is it ok and is the hissing normal, it was kept in the wrong conditions before and was with a dog that annoyed it? Much appreciated for any replies..julie

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Anonymous - 2011-03-24
Yes that is a sign of RI (respiratory infection). Go to your local pet store and purchase a 100 or 150w bulb. Put the light fixture 12 inches away no farther no closer. That should make the basking spot 92F to 100F, next get a high quality UVB bulb and use it to help with the tortoise.
I like the Exo Terra Repti-Glo 10.0 Desert UVB Bulb
Zoo med Repti-Sun 10.0 are good maybe better just have never used one :)

Use 8.5 inch domes for both the bulbs. At night change the Basking bulb for a infrared bulb 50w they are $3 dollars at PetSmart! They are called; Zoo med nocturnal infrared bulb 50w.

Make sure you only use calcium with d3 once a week to avoid a issue called pyramiding.

Also make sure your Reptile Light Fixtures have Ceramic tops or the better (20% to 40% better) Porcelain topped lamps.

For feeding I recommend dandelion, kale, lettuce (occasionally due to it being very wet) and as a staple I like Cactus pads and once a week Zoo med Grassland Tortoise Diet.

You can find all of this stuff at tortoisesupply.com and amazon.com
Tortoise supply even has the cactus pads! Although I DON'T recommend every buying a tortoise from there! They are overpriced! I prefer Robert/Trish from Kingsnake.com
They are A++ Turtle and Tortoise breeders. I bought my leopard from them.

Also I recommend 50% sterile play sand/Zoo med Repti-Sand (They are the same thing) and
50% cypress mulch/coconut coir.

Hope that helps feel free to email me if you have more questions! Email Vampire5003.tk@gmail.com

Thanks, Thomas
Turtle and Tortoise Future Breeder and long term parent! :)

Allie - 2010-10-15
We just got a baby red footed tortoise. She's approx. 6 months old. My son is thrilled and we look forward to having him as part of the family for years to come. My husband is a little freaked out. He wants to know if these pets carry any "diseases" we have to worry about, or if having the tank in my son's bedroom is unhealthy in any way. He's killing the fun! (but I want to make sure I haven't overlooked anything).....Any advice?

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John - 2011-03-17
Just make sure that his area is cleaned once a week. If mine gets into stuff he shouldn't, I immediately bathe him. When I first got mine, I used gloves because of the possiblility of salmonella. I had no idea how it was being taken care of, but now that I know that he is clean and I keep his water fresh daily and that his area is cleaned weekly, I handle him more. I just make sure to wash my hands right afterwards. Salmonella is your only worry, so make sure that everyone washes their hands always after handling, you can never be too careful.

carina - 2011-03-02
I had just got a red foot. I got him off my friend who told me to give him 2 cherry tomatoes every other day. That too many are bad for him, and I shouldn't give him anything else besides the tortoise food. And the big container of water was just there because that's what he poops in. But I have found that he likes to kinda sit in the water, and dunks his head. So I try to keep it warm for him and clean. I also had to give him a little bath when I got him because he had what looked like brown scum on his shell. My kids love to watch him eat. He does great with the tomatoes! But, I want to give him more, he is 5 yrs old and hasn't grown any for the past 3 yrs, so I want to know what I can give him, how much, how often and hopefully he will start to grow again and become more healthy. He is very active but I have noticed that he will go into his shell for a few hrs at a time. I'm guessing he is sleeping, but how long should he be doing that? I am so very new at this whole tortoise thing, I need all the help I can get, from caring, bathing, caging, handling, and feeding. Please help answer some of my questions so I can better help my red-foot, and take care of him properly. Thank you very much!

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John - 2011-03-17
Well what I have found out that dandelion greens are good for the red foot, I give mine a variety of different greens, dandelion, mustard greens, turnip green, I also give him cucumber, and zucchini. I give him protien every two months, I give him a small amount of a boiled egg. I also give mine a little of the banana, strawberries and mango. They love their fruit so make sure they have their greens that day first. Their diet is about 85% greens 10% fruit and 5% protein. I just make sure he has as much food as he can eat for that day. You will eventually know how much to give to him. Just make sure you remove the old and replace with fresh food every day.Mine has grown so much. I know when I first got him he was sick with diarrea for a couple of days and would not eat. He was used to the pellets they feed him at the pet store and also needed a good wash to get rid of the fungus that was growing on his shell. I constantly give him fresh warm water to soak in and drink and I keep him clean, I also clean his area once a week. His happy and seems very healthy. I hope this will helps.

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Animal Stories - People Talking About Tortoises

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