My Son wants a tortoise,advice and opinions please.

lfckerry

of course baby tortoises can live outside, they dont have tanks to live in in the wild do they?? tortoises do not belong in tanks-save them for fish!

yes tortoises can be imported as long as it states they are captive bred, they are often cruelly imported and would strongly advise you buy one that is born in the uk and you can meet and speak to the breeder!

loulou123

I looked into buying a tortoise last year, but never went ahead with it. I'd personally say that baby tortoises CANT live outside, especially at this time of year as its too cold for them. Yes they do live outside in the wild but this is in their native countries not in the colder UK climate.

Baby tortoises need heat and UV light so that they grow up strong and healthy. Indoors this would need to be provided by a vivarium (abit like a fish tank) with a heat lamp and a UV tube.

My boyfriend fosters unwanted reptiles and the costs really do add up. The tanks are pretty expensive and the heat and light equipment is costly to buy too. Add to that the increase in the electric bills and the food etc that it will need on a daily basis. You also need to consider the cost of buying the tortoise itself, as if brought from a good breeder they are definatley not cheap and also the cost of any vets treatment it may need-as you will properly find you have to take it to a specialist vet for any treatment.

Personally my opinion is that this is not a great pet for a relatively young child, as if the novelty wears off it is a huge reponsibility for you. (unless you are also very keen for a tortoise.)

snowman2_2

Tortoises come from far warmer climates than ours, Mediterranean or Africa for example. There are NO native tortoises in northern Europe - it is too cold and there is not enough ultraviolet light. They can live out during the summer months, June this year was great but my tortoise would have needed swimming lessons to survive outside of the rest of the year. Too cold and wet. If you keep them outside for longer they need a heated shed / hut to go in with a heat lamp, ultraviolet light and somewhere out of a draft.
Tortoises do not have to live in fish tanks and a vivarium is not automatically a glass tank, it is technically something where a live animal lives. My house could be described as a vivarium. we use mainly wooden vivs with a glass or plastic sliding door, tortoise tables are available or you can construct an open shed with the food, heat, UV etc and the tortoise can have free access to the rest of the house / garden to walk around. They do like to get out and about but if I tried to keep a tortoise in just my garden, it wouldn't last long in Lancashire. All the tortoises imported in the 50's and 60's died aged 25 - way too young. They should all be alive if they were kept better. 80 - 100 years.

They can be imported into the UK under a valid import licence provided they have been captive bred but this varies with species. Horsefields are less restricted than Hermann's or Spur Thighed. Most are bred in Slovenia these days, must be big tortoise farms over there

snowman2_2

Oh, an average bill for a sick tortoise is £200 - £400 although we can do a lot with them. Don't leave it until they are dead but before that loads is possible, upto and including surgery, blood samples, xrays, feeding tubes. We get a lot of tortoises but you need to find a reptile vet

Mely

lfckerry wrote: »

of course baby tortoises can live outside, they dont have tanks to live in in the wild do they?? tortoises do not belong in tanks-save them for fish!

Hello???? Tortoises are from HOT places such as North Africa, Greece etc. So of course they couldnt live outside (especially as babies) in the U.K, as the cold would kill them. Mine goes in the garden in the summer. And i dont keep my tortoise in a tank, its in a vivarium :rolleyes:

snowman2_2

A definition from Wikipedia

A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: vivaria or vivariums) is a usually enclosed area for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Often, a portion of the ecosystem for a particular species is simulated on a smaller scale, with controls for environmental conditions.
A vivarium may be small enough to sit on a desk or table, such as a terrarium or an aquarium, or may be a very large structure, possibly outdoors. Large vivaria, particularly those holding organisms capable of flight, typically include some sort of a dual-door mechanism such as a sally port for entry and exit, so that the outer door can be closed to prevent escape before the inner door is opened.

lfckerry

i meant in the summer months!

in winter they should be hibernating(depending on species)

louisebt

Torties are not meant to be kept in any sort of glass tank, I looked into this when I had mine and took advice from the tortie trust who are very helpful. The tortie i tok on was a Leopard tortie, sadly she had been badly neglected and only survived a few months after coming to me, she'd been kept in a tank with no water except for when she had a rare bath, the damage had been done.

There are certain breeds which require a licence so please be careful if you do go ahead with this... they arent the cheapest animal to get a set up for and they're not exactly the most thrilling pet for a child to watch

Froglet

My son always wanted a snake! I am not scared of them or anything like that,i just believe a snake should be where it was intended to be,in the wild.Too many poor creatures are torn from the wild and expected to survive in completely alien conditions,with owners who haven't a clue,so they end up suffering.

I applaud the actions of the poster asking advice before she goes ahead.In my opinion,a dog is by far and away the best pet a child can have,as they live longer than any small furry and can be a real companion ALL the time .

I put my foot down straight away about the snake.Now that he is grown up he admits it would have been a very bad idea!

Money_maker

We used to have a tortoise. She would spend all year outside then hibernate in a tea chest full of hay for the winter.

The tortoises I see on sale these days are only like babies of a couple of inches across. I wouldn't think these are hardy enough to go outside so small and would be wide open to predators.