Re: What Tortoise Speices would be good for an apartment?

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Posted by Eric T. on August 15, 2000 at 13:12:02:

In Reply to: What Tortoise Speices would be good for an apartment? posted by Brooke on August 14, 2000 at 17:55:25:

: Hi Brooke:
I live in an apartment. I have had very little trouble caring for my tortoises in my apartment.
I would recomend any of the smaller tortoises of the Testudo family. These are the Russian tortoise, the Greek tortoise, Herman's tortoise etc. Most of them stay small and are easy to handle.
At home I have a Russian tortoise in a desert/steepe habitat. During the summer months I take Skippy outside to allow him to graze and get some good sunlight. Outside he is always supervised. On cooler days in the late Autumn and Winter he stays inside his habitat; if he wants to hibernate I allow him to hibernate. A full spectrum light is provided to help him manufacture vitamin D.
Russian tortoises are very hardy and relatively easy to keep. They require a fairly spacious enclosure to run around in ( mine is about 6'by 3'). I don't advocate letting them have the run of the house. They like to climb and to dig so you should prepare for that. They need a variety of leafy greens (no cabbage, no spinach). A little chopped hay to provide roughage (you can buy this at a petstore in the rodent area). You can use edible flowers as a treat (dandelion, rose, hibiscus), and every now and then let the tortoise eat a berry or some melon (be carefull as fruit causes diarrhea). I provide a dish of water for the tortoise to drink from and wade in.
ALWAYS TAKE YOUR PET TO A VET FOR A FULL CHECK-UP WHEN YOU BUY IT!!
And I think that about covers it.
-Eric-

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: : Hi Brooke: : I live in an apartment. I have had very little trouble caring for my tortoises in my apartment. : I would recomend any of the smaller tortoises of the Testudo family. These are the Russian tortoise, the Greek tortoise, Herman's tortoise etc. Most of them stay small and are easy to handle. : At home I have a Russian tortoise in a desert/steepe habitat. During the summer months I take Skippy outside to allow him to graze and get some good sunlight. Outside he is always supervised. On cooler days in the late Autumn and Winter he stays inside his habitat; if he wants to hibernate I allow him to hibernate. A full spectrum light is provided to help him manufacture vitamin D. : Russian tortoises are very hardy and relatively easy to keep. They require a fairly spacious enclosure to run around in ( mine is about 6'by 3'). I don't advocate letting them have the run of the house. They like to climb and to dig so you should prepare for that. They need a variety of leafy greens (no cabbage, no spinach). A little chopped hay to provide roughage (you can buy this at a petstore in the rodent area). You can use edible flowers as a treat (dandelion, rose, hibiscus), and every now and then let the tortoise eat a berry or some melon (be carefull as fruit causes diarrhea). I provide a dish of water for the tortoise to drink from and wade in. : ALWAYS TAKE YOUR PET TO A VET FOR A FULL CHECK-UP WHEN YOU BUY IT!! : And I think that about covers it. : -Eric-

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