First Tortoise~please answer?

Question

-What kind of pet do tortoises (russian, leopard) make
-Do they have a good personality
-Do they spend most of their time hiding, and do they usually stay out of their shells when your holding them, or are they usually afraid of people
-Would you reccomend them as a first reptile
-are they expensive to care for (not including innitial cost of the actual tortoise)

Which do you think makes the best pet, either a russian or leopard?

Answer 1

Go with a Russian. They stay small and have good personalities. I have two of them, and two Sulcatas. Sulcatas get very big and are not good first time tortoises, as the first answerer suggested. And Sulcatas do not eat insects. If the first answerer is feeding her Sulcata insects, she needs to do a little more research before giving misinformation. Also, Junebaby needs to know that they bob their head when they are scared. No tortoises like to be held.
http://russiantortoise.org

Answer 2

They are interesting pets. They do generally have good personalities, but there are always the exceptions. I currently have russians, but have had sulcattas, leopards, and red foots in the past. The russians and red foots are my favorites. I would say a russian would be the best choice for a first tortoise. They are generally outgoing and very friendly once they get to know you. My russians will come to me when they see me coming, as they know it means they are getting fed. They rarely hide in their shells. They usually love a good head rub. They are not really expensive to care for once you get them set up properly. The only cost after setup is feeding, vitamins, and uv lights if you cannot provide them with natural sunlight everyday. They are not really picky about what they eat, at least not the ones I have. They will eat anything I will give them, so I try to vary it as much as possible. I give them dandelion greens, which I can get at a grocery store here, organic greens, veggies, cactus pads. There are also people that sell seed mixes that you can grow for them. I have seen and bought some on Ebay and you can also check out turtletimes.com

Russians are also more forgiving with dips in the temps and varied humidity. Leopards will become sick fairly easy if the temps and humidity are not perfect.

For a complete care on russians, check out russiantortoise.org

Answer 3

- They make great pets if you take good care of them because they could be handed down generation to generation considering how long they live.

- In general, they do have good personality. All tortoises have unique personality.

- It usually depends on the tortoise. But if it wants to be left alone, it hides in the shell.

- Leopard tortoise is an excellent tortoise for a beginner in tortoise care. They grow (relatively) rapidly, they are social, and require little care. They should be bathed once a day, require adequate calcium intake, adequate UV light and heat. They thrive outdoors in warm climates. Russian tortoises are popular pets primarily because of their small size, but they are also an extremely hardy species. Though captive breeding is still not commonplace (though it is done), wild caught specimens adapt well to captivity and readily consume a wide variety of fiberous greens, grasses and vegetables. They will also eat fruit, but should only be given it in small quantities, as excess sugars are not good for them. These tortoises use fiber for energy instead of protein.

- It probably depends on how much it costs there in your place. If you want to keep it indoor, you would need a roomy terrarium. The food it eats, proper lighting, heat pads, etc... are what you need to buy.

Answer 4

Here's a site 4 ya to check out...Redfoots.com.....One thing to think about when getting a tortoise of any kind is that you want to get "captive bred"...Do yourself a favor and get a captive bred hatchling from a reputable breeder, wild caughts usually just end up costing you a lot of money in vet bills, due to dehydration, stress,and parisites....I my self prefer Redfoots, we have 9 of them and yes 3 of them are wild caughts,that DID cost me alot in vet bills,about $1500.00...and the 6 captive bred Redfoots I have not had ANY problems with at all, they all ate right out of the shipping box,VERY personable,and healthy as can be......I actually got 3 of them from Terry at Redfoots.com......And they are by far the BEST place to get a Redfoot....Plus there is a care web site and a question forum all 4 Redfoots ....Check it out.......It is well worth the time.......

Answer 5

I LOVE tortoises and have had many different species, but I cannot honestly recommend tortoises as a first pet reptile.

Try a Box Turtle, especially the Three-toed to start with- http://www.boxturtlesite.info for more help.

Answer 6

I have a Sulcata tortoise. THE BEST TORTOISE! I named her Shelly Slowsky. LOL Anyway. She is so great. As long as you can afford salad....
veggies and fruits you are good. Shelly eats super worms too for protein and they are like 2.99 for a small tub full of them. She doesn't hide. My 2 year old holds her all the time (supervised of course, for her sake). she is awesome to watch eat and does not ever hide off in her shell. I recommend this breed. ESPECIALLY as a first reptile. I hope this helps.
She will pee on you when you hold her sometimes. But she also bobs her head.. too cute.