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  Damn Yankee
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Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | Herbie - 2013-11-21 4:59 PM That is so cool! I love seeing your tortoise pics and I kind of want one! My hubby would kill me.....with 5 dogs in the house, i'm pretty sure that's enough.  But I REALLY like Moses and think I might could sneak maybe a small tortoise in without him finding out....immediately. What do they eat? And what type of daily care do they require?
There's not really a lot of daily care once you get the habitats set up. Their heat element stays on 24/7. The basking lamps are on timers. I keep a pelleted food down all the time for them, so I only have to toss them greens twice a week or so. The red foot and yellow foot are rain forest torts, so they have a filtered pond, a mister, and a fogger in their habitat. I have to swap bottles on the fogger once a day but dont have to have it on all the time. The mister tank lasts about a week, and their filtered pond needs the filters cleaned once a month.
The desert ones are easier. They shouldn't have water 24/7 because it's not "natural" for them. So I soak them twice a week and let them drink. Since Moses is over 115 pounds his only water source in the winter is watermelons, but during the summer we put a pool out for him, but still have to make him get in it at least once a week. |
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 Whack and Roll
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Location: NE Texas | missroselee - 2013-11-21 4:08 PM Herbie - 2013-11-21 4:59 PM That is so cool! I love seeing your tortoise pics and I kind of want one! My hubby would kill me.....with 5 dogs in the house, i'm pretty sure that's enough. But I REALLY like Moses and think I might could sneak maybe a small tortoise in without him finding out....immediately. What do they eat? And what type of daily care do they require?
The desert ones are easier. They shouldn't have water 24/7 because it's not "natural" for them. So I soak them twice a week and let them drink. Since Moses is over 115 pounds his only water source in the winter is watermelons, but during the summer we put a pool out for him, but still have to make him get in it at least once a week.
That is just so interesting! How in the world did you get into tortoises??? Such a unique pet and I think you've got us all hooked on them!  |
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 Girl On The Run
Posts: 2077
Location: Mansfield, TX | What kind of tortoise is Moses?
If you put them all together would they get along?
Do they try to bite you? |
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | BrooksRG - 2013-11-21 5:41 PM What kind of tortoise is Moses?
If you put them all together would they get along?
Do they try to bite you? None of them bite. The 8 little ones can be in together without any issues, but i can't put them with Moses because he will accidentally crush them.
Edited to add that Moses is an African Spur Thigh, otherwise known as a Sulcata.
Edited by missroselee 2013-11-21 4:49 PM
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | Cool! |
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 Elite Veteran
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Location: Iowa/Missouri | Okay these are about the coolest things ever. How did you go about getting interested in them? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| The mods need to change your name to the lady with many turtles. Lol
They are beautiful |
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Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | cheryl makofka - 2013-11-21 7:05 PM The mods need to change your name to the lady with many turtles. Lol They are beautiful
Oh trust me.....**** yankee fits me perfectly :) |
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Damn Yankee
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Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | canturner - 2013-11-21 6:39 PM Okay these are about the coolest things ever. How did you go about getting interested in them?
Since I was a little kid I have always been obsessed with them. I would hunt them in the woods just to find them, look at them, and turn them loose again. I am that person that will stop to get them off the road (until I realized they would get right back on it). Many ppl don't realize that box turtles sit on the pavement on purpose to warm up. Kinda stinks but they are far from endangered.
When I met my husband I told him someday I was going to get a tortoise. I was always eyeballing them in the pet stores but didn't know enough about them to buy one.
One day we went to a flea market (jockey lot, swap meet) and I bought Fred. We had to stop at the pet store on the way home to buy stuff. I knew nothing about them, so I started researching the heck out of them. The more I learned, the more I was intrigued. The more I got to know Fred, and soon Dino, the more obsessed I got, and well.....you see where I am now :)
The biggest thing that will surprise anyone the most, is the very unique personalities each one will get. Fred is the class clown. Acrobatic, gets into everything and trouble. Dino is shy, very picky/finicky, and HATES everybody except me. Yoda is a speed demon and does everything in a hurry. Moses is a friendly bully. He loves to socialize but he will shove you out of the way if he wants on the other side. Izzy, well, she doesn't really have a personality, but she was never handled until I got her.
They all get very very active when they hear my voice. They recognize that it most likely means food. And they can smell food a mile away.
You should see what it's like trying to mess with the horses with Moses hot on my tail for a honey dew melon!! It took them a while but the horses are finally used to him. |
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Elite Veteran
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Location: Iowa/Missouri | That is so cool. Such a different pet! |
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 Love Me Some Robert Redford
Posts: 2335
Location: WV | missroselee - 2013-11-21 4:53 PM
Here's my biggest one, Moses, eating his honey dew melon. That's a 130 pound English Mastiff waiting for leftovers.....
Oh my gosh, I love this. |
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Damn Yankee
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Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | mam0329 - 2013-11-21 9:53 PM missroselee - 2013-11-21 4:53 PM Here's my biggest one, Moses, eating his honey dew melon. That's a 130 pound English Mastiff waiting for leftovers.....
Oh my gosh, I love this.
I bet the Mastiff is in about 90 percent of the photos of Moses. Those two are inseperable for some reason. |
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 Texas Tenderheart
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Location: Red Raiderland | How old is Moses? If someone was going to start with tortoises which one would you recommend? You are really right about the box turtles, we have lots of them on our land and I always stop and mess with them or just watch how fast they can be when they move. The dogs used to be really interested in them but now they quickly smell them and move on their way.
We also have some pretty big snapping turtles and one huge one that years ago took a small chunk out of our Mastiff's nose. I didn't even know she had found him, she just yelped and ran off and when I went to see what was going on there was that big ol sucker scurrying off.  |
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Damn Yankee
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Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | Kaycee - 2013-11-21 10:30 PM How old is Moses? If someone was going to start with tortoises which one would you recommend? You are really right about the box turtles, we have lots of them on our land and I always stop and mess with them or just watch how fast they can be when they move. The dogs used to be really interested in them but now they quickly smell them and move on their way.
We also have some pretty big snapping turtles and one huge one that years ago took a small chunk out of our Mastiff's nose. I didn't even know she had found him, she just yelped and ran off and when I went to see what was going on there was that big ol sucker scurrying off.
Moses is around 16 years old.
If I had to recommend one tortoise over any other it would be the red foot because they are so personable, and easy to care for. However, they can be difficult when it comes to the actual habitat. They require more water, higher humidity, etc. But once it's established it's easy.
Any desert tortoises are pretty easy. They just need hot/dry temps. Russians are easily purchased at most pet stores and don't get too large. Greeks are good, not very personable, but hard to find.
Sulcatas are probably the most fun because they are the most active, BUT, they grow very fast and obviously can get well over 100 pounds, so an outdoor enclosure is a MUST for them at some point, which means a lot of work to keep them from digging out.
I've had a few people get older sulcatas and I always recommend a chain link fence, or make a smaller enclosure by sinking concrete blocks into the ground (you can sink fencing into the ground but if they dig it can tear their feet up). The best thing to do is dig a hole two feet deep and about four feet in diameter. Then fill it back in with soft dirt and lots of sand, then put the top to a plastic dog box over it. If you give them a place to dig, they are less likely to dig elsewhere. |
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 The Bird Lady
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Location: The end of the Earth, SE AR | I love your new additions (and your old ones too). They are fascinating and its so cool that you are so knowledgeable about them. |
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Texas Tenderheart
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Location: Red Raiderland | missroselee - 2013-11-22 7:15 AM Kaycee - 2013-11-21 10:30 PM How old is Moses? If someone was going to start with tortoises which one would you recommend? You are really right about the box turtles, we have lots of them on our land and I always stop and mess with them or just watch how fast they can be when they move. The dogs used to be really interested in them but now they quickly smell them and move on their way.
We also have some pretty big snapping turtles and one huge one that years ago took a small chunk out of our Mastiff's nose. I didn't even know she had found him, she just yelped and ran off and when I went to see what was going on there was that big ol sucker scurrying off.
If I had to recommend one tortoise over any other it would be the red foot because they are so personable, and easy to care for. However, they can be difficult when it comes to the actual habitat. They require more water, higher humidity, etc. But once it's established it's easy.
Any desert tortoises are pretty easy. They just need hot/dry temps. Russians are easily purchased at most pet stores and don't get too large. Greeks are good, not very personable, but hard to find.
Sulcatas are probably the most fun because they are the most active, BUT, they grow very fast and obviously can get well over 100 pounds, so an outdoor enclosure is a MUST for them at some point, which means a lot of work to keep them from digging out.
I've had a few people get older sulcatas and I always recommend a chain link fence, or make a smaller enclosure by sinking concrete blocks into the ground (you can sink fencing into the ground but if they dig it can tear their feet up). The best thing to do is dig a hole two feet deep and about four feet in diameter. Then fill it back in with soft dirt and lots of sand, then put the top to a plastic dog box over it. If you give them a place to dig, they are less likely to dig elsewhere.
Wow, I would have thought Moses was much older because of how big he is but you said they grow quickly.
Thanks for all the interesting info.
Now I know who to come to when i finally decide to get one!  |
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