Tortoises anyone?

7 replies

ErmNameChanged · 21/05/2008 14:11

Would it be a bad thing if I bought a pair of tortoises for my children? Can you buy them still? I know you can't import them.

Does anyone have any guidance they could offer me? How much space do they need? what sort of care? Help!

OP posts:

Whooosh · 21/05/2008 14:18

You can buy them as long as they have been bred here.They are not cheap,nor are they as easy to look after as you might think.

They are great but not always the best pets for children-they can give a bit of a nip.

Hibernation is the trickiest part or if you choose not to hibernate then they have to be kept inside all Winter.

Oh and they are escape artists-they can dig for England.

LadyOfTheFlowers · 21/05/2008 14:20

i wanted some and some have come up to buy in our local free ads whatsit thing, but they are around £99 to £120 each and you do need to know what you are doing.
Dont forget they live for absolutely decades and need to be passed down thru the family.

LadyOfTheFlowers · 21/05/2008 14:21

needless to say, we are not getting any now. i cant be arsed with digging up the fences to bury chicken wire 5 feet underneath! lol

Whooosh · 21/05/2008 14:37

They are great if you are committed to maintenance and diet and hibernation etc but if not they are a pain in the arse...

christywhisty · 21/05/2008 16:11

Nowadays pet shops will not sell tortoises with the full get set up, cages, heating etc which is hundereds of pounds.

Ours is a garden tortoise but ds has had him 35 years and he had been through a family before.

fifisworld · 28/05/2008 12:42

My brother bought a tortoise for his girlfriend.
It cost him about £300 in total as he had to buy heat lamps etc.
It was in a box, like a drawer. We had him for a few weeks while they were away, fed on carrot, lettuce etc, heat lamp had to be on for a couple of hours a day as well, apparently they get vitamins from this.

MarmadukeScarlet · 28/05/2008 12:52

Mine lives out mostly, I've had him over 30 years and he is probably 50+.

He does have to use a tortie table (box thing with 2 types of lamp one for heat and one for UV) for part of each winter as they shouldn't hibernate all winter.

If you get 2 and they are M & F, he will spend all summer when they are mature chasing her round for procreation and they will prob have to be seperated.

When mine dies I will not replace him as the amount of care the young ones need is high.

Flip