How to look after a tortoise as a pet

Its body should be carried above the ground and the head and limbs should withdraw if alarmed. The second is that it stops people from mistaking your pet for a wild tortoise that went astray.

This can be stressful for your favorite creature.

How to look after a tortoise as a pet. How to keep your tortoise hydrated Your tortoise needs to stay hydrated especially when its a baby. Adult tortoises should have a fresh bowl of water regardless of whether they are inside or outside and baby tortoises should be soaked in water regularly. When you first bring home your baby tortoise you should bathe it a couple times a week.

Tips for looking after your tortoise. Tortoises are one of your more calmer pets. They are slow relaxed and make great pets but they also have a need a lot of care.

Fruits should also be given in limited portions. Apples watermelons figs pears melon strawberries and figs are fruits you can feed a pet tortoise. If possible try to include some wild plants such as dandelion and alfalfa for example.

Never feed your tortoise cat or dog food. Keeping tortoises as pets will make a positive contributiontothewelfareoftheseamazingand beautiful animals. We also encourage you to consult the further reading and additional resourcesprovidedlaterasthesecovermanyof the same topics featured here but in much greaterdetail.

This particular guide is primarily directed at keepers of Mediterranean tortoises. Tortoises always need to stay hydrated especially when they are very young. When you first bring them home you must soak it in water few times in a week.

So that it feels fully hydrated. Mostly when the tortoise is well soaked it will immediately start drinking it. Handle your tortoise with care.

Never drop a tortoise. If their shell breaks they might die from an infection. Though you may be dying to hold your pet tortoise you should try to take it easy on holding it or letting others hold it.

This can be stressful for your favorite creature. Natural browsing of safe plants should meet all of the tortoises nutritional needs however offering extra treats such as lettuce cucumber or tomato particularly at the beginning or end of the season when natural vegetation is scarce will also keep your pet healthy and happy. Do be aware however that salad vegetables are high in water and low in nutrients so they should only ever form a small part of the tortoise.

If you are looking for a smaller species then the Mediterranean Spur-thighed tortoises are perfect. However if you prefer the bigger of the species we would recommend the African Spur-thighed tortoise or the Leopard tortoise as these can grow between a whopping 40kg-105kg. For more details on tortoise sizing please visit our species fact sheets.

Lifespan Of A Tortoise. If you are a pet owner. The second is that it stops people from mistaking your pet for a wild tortoise that went astray.

This means theyre less likely to take your tortoise to a wood or a stream and release it. The third and final effect is it that it makes people less likely to decided that your pet is now their pet. Lots of people want a tortoise and are may not look a gift tortoise in the mouth if one just.

Keep your tortoises habitat toasty and damp like the warm countries these pets come from. The degree of heat and humidity in the habitat will depend on their breed. Russian Tortoises do best in slightly warmer drier environments with about 50 humidity.

While Greek Tortoises like it slightly cooler and wetter with up to 80 humidity. Turtles and tortoises contrary to many sources are NOT low maintenance pets. Just cleaning the enclosure and changing the substrate bedding and water can take a couple of hours weekly depending on the size of the habitat.

Make sure they have a dry spot where they can retire for the night. The tortoise will look for a dry spot where it can hibernate during wet weather. Do not water the area where the tortoises sleep prior to rainy weather.

Once a tortoise find a suitable spot it will return to that same spot every night. A tortoises diet should replicate wild foraging. Choose a variety of leafy greens and grasses to feed your pet.

Supplement greens with smaller quantities of broccoli cabbage cauliflower cucumber and carrots apples apricots grapes melons peaches and strawberries. Pet safe disinfectant. A good book on tortoise care.

A healthy tortoise should be bright and alert with shiny eyes. Its body should be carried above the ground and the head and limbs should withdraw if alarmed. The shell should be hard and there should be no signs of the following.

This can be caused by incorrect feeding or an internal parasite infestation. You can read up in greater depth about where we advise you do and dont buy your tortoise from here. Perhaps the most obvious place to source your tortoise from pet stores offer the advantage of having everything you need to get started in your pursuit of tortoise husbandry as well as full visibility of all the tortoises on offer.

They will also usually allow you to make a full visual inspection of a tortoise. I guess a tortoise is one of the cheapest pets you can have. However you look at it over a lifetime period it is quite expensive.

After all you need to make sure to buy tomatoes fruit and salad for 50 years or more. Getting close to the animal. Again let me compare to cats and dogs.

You will never get the intellectual connection with a. However those that are considering getting a pet tortoise must carefully consider all aspects of tortoise care before bringing home their new reptilian pet. Similar to turtles tortoises are often expensive to care for especially if you live in a cooler climate where you will need to provide an indoor habitat and appropriate heating and lighting to simulate their natural environment.