Hi all :) I really want a tortoise and my parents are going to let me buy one :D But I'm a bit confused and need help. :S I want a tortoise that doesn't grow very big,can live inside as I'm not aloud outdoor animals so it cant be able to live outside and I haven't got a big garden for it and one that is not aggressive. Also what kind of food do they like and whats good for them ? I have had a look on google and its saying different things ? Thanks x :)

I'm afraid you are not going to like the answer, but it's not intended to upset you, just to give info on what is best for the tortoise. Hermanns and horsfields are probably the smaller more popular species which are easy to keep. They do need to be outdoors in summer though even though they may only grow between 6 and 10 inches in length. They are an outdoor species and rely heavily on the sun, so keeping them indoors is not really very kind and considering they can live over 100 years, it's a long time for them not to be happy.

Google will just show you what others have said, which could be breeder information or the alternative useles advice gieven my many pet shops. A pet shops by the way, will tell you it is fine to keep it indoors in a glass tank, but nothing could be further from the truth and you may well find it living to around 10 years or less, which is a sad situation.

Here is how I keep mine www.tortsmad.com

Take care

Sue

Thank you very much x I told my parents and they said I can build a mini tortoise enclosure in the back garden for the summer time :) is it ok though for my tortoise(when I get him ) to live indoors but have a play in the enclosure outside when it is sunny (I live in uk and its not that sunny) and him play outside in the enclosure for a few hours and come inside when the sun goes down ? Also I was thinking of getting a horsfield tortoise , are they good tortoises ? Thanks xx :)

Thank you very much x I told my parents and they said I can build a mini tortoise enclosure in the back garden for the summer time :) is it ok though for my tortoise(when I get him ) to live indoors but have a play in the enclosure outside when it is sunny (I live in uk and its not that sunny) and him play outside in the enclosure for a few hours and come inside when the sun goes down ? Also I was thinking of getting a horsfield tortoise , are they good tortoises ? Thanks xx :)

Also , I read your website and I was just wondering if there are any other ways of hibernation as I do not feel comfortable putting it in a fridge because ill probably mess up :L x

They really do best in a permanent outdoor enclosure which needs electricity installed for heating. This way, they can choose when to go in and out of the hide area. Taking them in and out to suit us doesn't really work as tortoises can hide away for days when moved from one place to another, so you can see how this would not work. I too live in the UK and it's the sun that warms them up, not the ambient temperatures. We could be outside and feel quite cold in spring when the sun is out, but a tortoise would take in the suns rays and warm up regardless of this.

Horsfield tortoises are brilliant but they do need a deep substrate as they are a burrowing species.

Hope this helps :D

Sue 

Unless you have a stone garage that faces north with no windows, it would be better to use a fridge. Sheds and lofts are not suitable due to the constant change in temps, you need to be looking at 5 degrees. At the moment, my tortoises are in a garage but due to prolonged low temps, the back up heat is on to stop them freezing, which can be very costly. You could always lessen temps over winter and feed less to stop it growing too fast over winter.

Sue

Thank you x i asked my cousin about taking him outside and back inside because my cousin has a horsfield tortoise and he said that it loves the different ' habitats' , it loves going outside but it also likes its tortoise table inside + my garden wouldn't really be appropriate for the tortoise as I would forget about it after a while and wouldn't take much care for it if its outside and I would if it was inside + I know things would attack it even if it was covered in up in the garden at night because at night they would find a way to get in :(

it's difficult for pet owners to know what a tortoise actually loves or does not like. Often running about or having a good old digging session can be thought of as a tortoise enjoying itself, when it can be a sign of stress. They do not like change and don't thrive under conditions of being moved about. If you think you may forget about your tortoise, then a tortoise is not for you as it can't exactly let you know if you have forgotton it. You may think that you could give it a good home indoors, but this is not good tortoise husbandry to be honest. If someone came to buy one of my little ones and said they may forget about it outside, or they were just going to keep it indoors, I would not sell to them. Sorry.

Sue

www.tortsmad.com