Keeping A Pet Tortoise
Introduction
Tortoises are relatively rare in the wild and some species are endangered. Often people consider a tortoise as a pet, but there is a lot of work involved. Before you commit to this endeavor, make sure you understand the commitment and care necessary to properly raise them. This article will help explain what it takes to take care of a tortoise.
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Why A Tortoise?
As a pet tortoise, your needs are simple. You will need a place to live and food to eat, but beyond that you will be content. If you’re considering getting a tortoise as your pet, here are some reasons why:
- Easy to care for
Tortoises are very easy pets to take care of because they don’t require much attention at all. In fact, it’s recommended that you only spend about 15 minutes per day cleaning their habitat out and giving them food (and water). This makes them great for people who have hectic schedules or those with allergies or small spaces.
- Great for kids
Kids can easily get bored when taking care of pets like dogs or cats which require more attention than most children want to give them on a regular basis. A tortoise doesn’t need much attention and will grow slowly so it won’t outgrow its environment quickly either!
What Types Are Good Pets?
The following species are widely held to be the best pet tortoises:
- African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata)
- Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea)
- Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans)
- Radiated tortoise (Geochelone radiata)
- Red-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria)
How Much Maintenance Is Required?
A tortoise’s diet is one of the most important things to consider when caring for a pet tortoise. Tortoises are herbivores and require a specific diet that will keep them healthy. It’s important to note that there are different types of tortoises, and each type will have different dietary needs. For example, desert and African spurred tortoises are omnivores who need more plant matter in their diets than other species.
A tortoise’s habitat should be large enough for it to move around freely without getting stuck or injured on anything in its path (this includes plants). The temperature and humidity within your habitat should be monitored closely, as well as any lighting sources (depending on what kind of lighting your particular species requires).
How Big Will It Get?
>Purchasing a tortoise is a long-term commitment. Tortoises are long-lived animals and will outlive all but the most determined owners. If you’re ready for that kind of responsibility, keep reading!
>Tortoises grow slowly and can live up to 100 years. Don’t despair if your tortoise doesn’t grow very quickly or seems to be getting smaller instead of bigger; they don’t reach maturity until around 8 years old. Even when they do reach maturity, their growth rate is still quite slow—so much so that they may not appear much bigger than when you got them even after ten or twenty years!
Can I Keep My Tortoise Indoors?
- Tortoises need a place to hide. This can be as simple as an overturned flowerpot or a cardboard box with an entrance hole cut in the side, but it’s important that your tortoise has somewhere he feels safe and secure.
- Tortoises need a place to bask. This can be anything from a light bulb positioned overhead, a spot under the heating vent in your home or even just sunlight coming through the window at certain times of day.
- Tortoises need a place to hibernate each winter, so if you’re keeping your tortoise indoors you’ve got some planning ahead of you if you want him to live long enough for year-round hibernation in his terrarium!
What Do You Feed A Tortoise?
It is important to feed your pet tortoise a diet high in calcium and low in protein. The best way to do this is by feeding it plants and vegetables, not fruit. Tortoises need a variety of leafy greens and grasses as part of their diet. Do not feed iceberg lettuce or spinach because they contain very little nutritional value for them. Also avoid carrots, beans, corn and other starchy foods that can cause digestive problems for your tortoise.
If you have children who want to help take care of the pet tortoise, make sure that they don’t feed him anything from their plate!
What About Other Pets And Young Children? Takeaway: Tortoises are a satisfying and rewarding pet.
A tortoise is not a threat to other pets. A tortoise will NOT hurt your dog, cat or other pet. They do not attack people and they do not bite.
A tortoise is not a threat to young children either. A well-behaved child who can be taught how to be gentle with an animal should have no trouble being around a tortoise.
They are also very safe if you have older children who live at home, as long as they are supervised by an adult at all times while playing with the tortoises outside their cage and made aware of their limitations (can’t climb stairs, can’t jump over furniture). For example; make sure that if your son or daughter has friends over that they don’t leave the house without someone watching them so nothing bad happens like getting stepped on or having some other accident happen because of lack of supervision during playtime outside the cage where there can be lots more room for things like falling off chairs etc…
Conclusion
Keeping a tortoise is a long-term commitment. If you’re looking for an exotic pet that doesn’t require much maintenance, then this might not be the right choice for you. However, if you want to take on the responsibility of caring for an animal with a life expectancy of 20-80 years, depending on the species, then it can be very rewarding. This article has outlined some basic information about tortoises and their care requirements so that you have all facts before making your decision! If after reading this article you feel like it’s something doable in terms of time commitment and financial cost (tortoises don’t come cheap!) – then go ahead!