Re: Good luck with your decision! more -

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Posted by Terry on July 14, 2001 at 13:14:05:

In Reply to: Good luck with your decision! more - posted by Esther on July 14, 2001 at 12:37:02:

Hi Rachel.
A much smaller species such as a Russian Tortoise, or a Hermmans might work well for you.
A captive bred Testudo hermanni (hermanns tortoise) would be a good choice.

They hibernate during the winter but do not allow them to hibernate outdoors though.It sounds way to cold in your area for that.You'd have to bring them indoors to hibernate them.

Or you can also overwinter them. Which means not hibernating them, but providing an indoor habitat for the winter.
Keeping the heat and lighting up, as though it's a year long summer.

Outdoors during the summer, indoors for the winter is the way many people keep their torts.
Many species do not hibernate, sulcatas, leopard tortoise, redfoots and many more species.
These must be housed in warm conditions year round.

The Testudo species do hibernate, with the exception of the rarer Egyptian tortoise.
But you don't have to hibernate them, you can over winter them indoors.

You should NOT hibernate a tortoise the first year you have it. Neither should you hibernate a tortoise that's not 100% healthy.

Here are some web sites with all sorts of info.

This first web site is owned by a Lady who lives in the UK.It gets very cold there during the winter. So it explains all about hibernating etc, it is also mostly geared towards the Testudo species, which includes the Russian, Hermanns and Ibera torts:

http://www.tortoiselife.co.uk/

You'll find more info on Testudo torts here:

http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/index.htm

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/amteat.html

I keep both sulcatas and Russians but I live in Hawaii where it's warm enough for them to be outdoors year round.
Russians are very sweet little tortoises.
BUT 99% of Russian Tortoises in the pet stores are wild caught.
If you get a Russian tortoise, you must take it to a vet ASAP after purchasing it.
The stress of capture and conditions they endure during holding/shipping can bring on all sorts of health problems, such as internal parasite infestations.
These must be seen to by a qualified vet.

I'm lucky neither of my Russians had any problems other than worms. Easily treated by a reptile vet.

Here's info on Russians:

http://www.russiantortoise.net/

http://www.sonic.net/~melissk/russian2.html

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/horsfield_habitat.html

So, I would research the Testudo tortoises.
I think a Russian, Hermanns or Ibera would probably be your best bet.

If you want a captive bred Russian Tortoise, I can put you in contact with a breeder.

Captive bred Hermanns and Ibera are easier to find,you'll find a link to Central Florida Retile Farm at this nwxt web site.
They often have captive bred (cb)Hermanns and Ibera.

This next web site will teach you about the Redfoot Tortoise, it gets much bigger than a Russian. But not as big as a sulcata. It doesn't hibernate and needs a more humid environment:

http://www.geocities.com/~pawsplus/beasley.html

Then there's the hingeback tortoises, you'll find info on them here:

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/ckinixys.html

There are of course far more species.
But the ones listed above are some of the most common species kept as pets.

So explore the web sites and let us know when you've narrowed down your choice a bit!!

Terry.

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Comments:
: Hi Rachel. : A much smaller species such as a Russian Tortoise, or a Hermmans might work well for you. : A captive bred Testudo hermanni (hermanns tortoise) would be a good choice. : They hibernate during the winter but do not allow them to hibernate outdoors though.It sounds way to cold in your area for that.You'd have to bring them indoors to hibernate them. : Or you can also overwinter them. Which means not hibernating them, but providing an indoor habitat for the winter. : Keeping the heat and lighting up, as though it's a year long summer. : Outdoors during the summer, indoors for the winter is the way many people keep their torts. : Many species do not hibernate, sulcatas, leopard tortoise, redfoots and many more species. : These must be housed in warm conditions year round. : The Testudo species do hibernate, with the exception of the rarer Egyptian tortoise. : But you don't have to hibernate them, you can over winter them indoors. : You should NOT hibernate a tortoise the first year you have it. Neither should you hibernate a tortoise that's not 100% healthy. : Here are some web sites with all sorts of info. : This first web site is owned by a Lady who lives in the UK.It gets very cold there during the winter. So it explains all about hibernating etc, it is also mostly geared towards the Testudo species, which includes the Russian, Hermanns and Ibera torts: : http://www.tortoiselife.co.uk/ : You'll find more info on Testudo torts here: : http://www.tlady.clara.net/TortGuide/index.htm : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/amteat.html : I keep both sulcatas and Russians but I live in Hawaii where it's warm enough for them to be outdoors year round. : Russians are very sweet little tortoises. : BUT 99% of Russian Tortoises in the pet stores are wild caught. : If you get a Russian tortoise, you must take it to a vet ASAP after purchasing it. : The stress of capture and conditions they endure during holding/shipping can bring on all sorts of health problems, such as internal parasite infestations. : These must be seen to by a qualified vet. : I'm lucky neither of my Russians had any problems other than worms. Easily treated by a reptile vet. : Here's info on Russians: : http://www.russiantortoise.net/ : http://www.sonic.net/~melissk/russian2.html : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/horsfield_habitat.html : So, I would research the Testudo tortoises. : I think a Russian, Hermanns or Ibera would probably be your best bet. : If you want a captive bred Russian Tortoise, I can put you in contact with a breeder. : Captive bred Hermanns and Ibera are easier to find,you'll find a link to Central Florida Retile Farm at this nwxt web site. : They often have captive bred (cb)Hermanns and Ibera. : This next web site will teach you about the Redfoot Tortoise, it gets much bigger than a Russian. But not as big as a sulcata. It doesn't hibernate and needs a more humid environment: : http://www.geocities.com/~pawsplus/beasley.html : Then there's the hingeback tortoises, you'll find info on them here: : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/ckinixys.html : There are of course far more species. : But the ones listed above are some of the most common species kept as pets. : So explore the web sites and let us know when you've narrowed down your choice a bit!! : Terry.

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