tortoise

[x3ecx]

hello, can anyone tell is it hard to keep/look after a tortoise? i really want one! do u think they're boring? thanks

[pmjblue]

i had a tortoise for 35 years, was heartbroken when she died from mouth rot after she came out of hibernation. I wouldnt say she was particularly easy to look after to be honest, as she used to try and climb and end up on her back, which can kill them. You have to make sure you have a secure area for them, unless you are thinking of having a young one that you keep in the house. My son has just had a baby giant tortoise, but he lives in america, and the one he has does not hibernate. Have a look at this web site, i found them very helpful when my old girl was poorly
http://www.chelonia.org/

[orange-gnome]

I think you have to be really sure about a tortoise as they can be quite difficult at times in my opinion are a bit boring and live forever.
They need a proper UV light source which a lot of people don't provide as this helps them make their calcium and stay strong. It is quite a common problem for them to stop eating too soon before hibernation and start to loose weight- when I was vet nursing the amount of times I had to stomach tube a tortoise....!
Anyway, if you get one you need to realise that they take more work than most other animals of a similar level of personality and live much longer and so are more of a commitment, so make sure you know your stuff before getting one.

[x3ecx]

oh thank you so much for your opinions, ill definately think long and hard before getting one. cheers
Bec x

[burnhal]

on the other side of the coin- my sister keep tortoises. Mind you thats on the Isle of Wight so the weather is a bit better than most of the country. They live outside all of the year outside of hibernation- they have a hutch filled with straw they put themselves in at bedtime. They hibernate reglarly with no problems. They have no need of UV or any other additional lighting. They lay eggs every year which regularly hatch- mind you they are brought in and put in a tank with a light bulb on to provide heat- they do not hibernate til they are about three years old- havent built up enough to last a hibernation I believe. Once big enough to live outside they take very little effort at all.

[pmjblue]

I dont agree that they are not much trouble - I used to spend hours hunting mine down in the garden - then we fenced a large area off, which is when she started to climb and tip herself upside down. I used to dash home from work with the fear of finding her upside down and she had died. Many a time she was on her back, legs splaying everywhere, fortunately we always caught her in time. And....I think she was spoilt, as she wouldnt eat her food off the floor, I had to hand feed her. She was so old she could have been blind, we were never sure.

[what..the?]

I got a stick insect kit from www.hawkin.com

And the free eggs I got are now begining to hatch it is fasinating.

Would recommend.

[1223334444]

I would say no it isn't hard to look after tortoises. but I would keep them in a vivarium where you can provide uvb light and heat, then you don't have to hibernate them, because that seems to be the biggest problem.
if you get an african tortoise they don't hibernate anyway, but need the heat and grow pretty large.can grow to about 24" and eat a letuce a day