i would like to have a pet tortoise, but know nothing about them, can you advise on difficultiness?

Question

we are considering doing the garden out so a tortoise can roam freely

will a tortoise get attacked by cats

do they sleep in a hutch at night

i know you have to allow them to hibernate i live in England

how long do they live for

any other vital information

thank you for your help as this will be considered very carefully before we decide wether to or not

can i or should i consider medical insurance for a tortoise

thank you for your help


xxx vici

Answer 1

i've had a tortoise since i was 6 years old.

as far as i know, tortoises don't usually get attacked by cats. they can protect themselves pretty well, and i don't think they move quick enough to be of much interest to your average moggy.

the don't tend to sleep in a hutch. my tortoise was given a little wooden shelter to use on a night (my dad made a basic box out of wood, with a little doorway cut in one side). just find a sheltered area of the garden, and put a wooden box or something similar down that the tortoise can crawl in and out of when it feels like it. what we found though is that she preferred to go crawl in amongst the rockery plants, or under the bushes near the garden wall.

they can live for over 100 years, so u have to seriously plan on having this pet for the rest of your life, and then handing it on to someone who u can trust to take care of it.

unless u plan on keeping it as an indoor pet, which i wouldn't recommend, then u will need to let your tortoise hibernate from about late october to early march. mine gets put in the garage. u need somewhere nice and cool like that. a house would be too warm for it to hibernate in. a secure shed or garage are the ideal places. ours gets put into a carboard box that has a decent amount of newspaper in the bottom to make a kind of 'nest' for it to sleep on. then the cardboard box (don't forget the breathing holes !) gets sealed with a bit of tape, and then put into a larger box loosely filled with more newspaper. (for insulation). it's always a good idea to open up the box mid-winter and check that the tortoise is ok. if u touch one of it's legs, it's reflexes should make it withdraw it's leg slightly.

u can tell when a tortoise is ready to hibernate. it will refuse food, and start to spend most of the day sleeping somewhere sheltered. there is a period during early autumn though when u will be able to still let it out through the day, but will need to put it in it's cardboard box overnight. not a good idea to leave a tortoise out on a frosty night.

when they come out of hibernation (check on it daily once it gets to march time), it helps to give your tortoise a wash in a shallow tray with some luke warm water in it. it's eyes might need wiping with some water on a cotton wool ball. the tortoise might not eat for the first couple of days, and might need to be brought in on an evening until it gets warmer.

tortoises love to eat the following : most crunchy salad vegetables - like cucumber, lettice, raw peas, dandelion leaves. also fruit (mine loves strawberries - makes such a mess !). but dogfood can also be good for them. it helps promote healthy shell growth. get a brand that is more of a meat paste consistency, rather than the type with lumps of meat in it. (we use Chappy) we spread a little bit onto pieces of cucumber.

i have no idea as to whether or not u will need any pet insurance. it's not something we have ever needed, luckily our tortoise has never needed medical treatment.

tortoises make quite good pets, but obviously it will never show u the kind of affection that u would get from most other pets. i guess it all depends on what u are looking for from a pet.

hope this helps. any further questions, feel free to e-mail me.

Answer 2

Tortoise As Pets

Answer 3

Pet Tortoise

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
i would like to have a pet tortoise, but know nothing about them, can you advise on difficultiness?
we are considering doing the garden out so a tortoise can roam freely

will a tortoise get attacked by cats

do they sleep in a hutch at night

i know you have to allow them to hibernate i live in England

how long do they live for

any other vital information

thank you for your help...

Answer 5

I would advise you from purchasing a Tortoise until you have researched enough to know that they are not easy to keep.

Tortoises can be attacked by cats as well as birds. Tortoises can not defend themselves though can retract into their shell - not good if a bird decides to peck in between!

Tortoises will only hibernate if the temperature falls enough to send them into hibernation. This can be extremely dangerous since they need time to digest any recent food intake for at least a few days in order to give them a chance to get rid of anything left inside of them or else it'll rot inside their stomachs and kill them during hibernation. In fact you only need to hibernate a Tortoise if you're going to breed them otherwise it is not necessary.

Tortoises should be kept indoors, not only to protect them from the dangers but Tortoises are cold-blooded reptiles and therefore need a constant source of heat to help keep them warm. Preferably they need to be kept in a vivarium with all the necessities. All what is required can be found in related books.

There is so much vital information that placing a question here simply isn't going to help you. You need to do research and buy a few books to get a proper idea as to what is involved as well as the huge investment needed in order to keep a Tortoise as a pet.......vet bills alone (with or without medication) is a whole lot more than for your standard domestic pet.

Answer 6

Garden- make sure it is VERY escape-proof first, and as dog-proof as possible. Tortoises can get through a lot of gaps you don't even notice, and they tend to push through any opening they get their head through.

Cats- not usually a problem. Dogs, raccoons, skunks, birds of prey, and humans are generally bigger issues- but cats can attack and harm tortoises.

Hutch- Depending on your local environment, a warm (or heated), dry, weather-proof hutch is a good idea.

Hibernation- research this well! http://www.tortoisetrust.org has good articles on this and many other issues as well.

Longevity- most pet tortoises go for about 20-40 years with good care, but sadly, many will not make it to 5 because their needs are not being met.

Insurance- tortoises rarely generate enough medical costs, when well cared for, to justify this.

Good luck! Check out the site mentioned- it is British as well, so should be very useful.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

i have had my tortoise for forty years he has the run of the garden all summer but i always take him indoors at night in the winter he stays in doors out doors they hibernate when it gets cold but they wont survive being left out in winter also if you have a pond make sure it is covered so the tortoise cant fall in funny enough they dont float and they cant swim

Answer 9

fruit grows on shrub or vines and fresh vegetables grow in the land.

Answer 10

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