African Spurred Tortise?
- Thread starter Doc
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Advice: buy it when it is over a few years old.
The younger are more delicate (eating/heating).
Check your local craigslist section under pets,,,they are everywhere.
I am a fan of the yellow/redfoot tortioses,,,better color,,,better eaters,,, more personality
Good luck
The younger are more delicate (eating/heating).
Check your local craigslist section under pets,,,they are everywhere.
I am a fan of the yellow/redfoot tortioses,,,better color,,,better eaters,,, more personality
Good luck
Hey Doc,
My parents have one. It's about 15 years old now, 2-2.5 feet long and probably about 150lbs right now.
He was brought home when he was about 4 inches long and lived in a 100 gal aquarium for the first 5 years. Then we built him a shed in the back yard and he cruises the yard all day now.
Up front I would not recommend owning one unless you are really dedicated to tortoises especially African spurred tortoises. They get very large, are very strong, and can be very destructive.
At his current size he eats 2-3 heads of lettuce/greens a day + grazes on the lawn, really you should try to get a them on a diet of hay, but we started feeding him lettuce early on and were not able to get him to switch over. he seems to clip the grass instead of pulling it out when he is grazing so he doesn't damage the lawn but doesn't eat enough to affect the mowing schedule.
The one my parents have is pretty active, he roams the yard a lot, and is completely unaware of both his size and his surroundings. He has damaged all of the outside corners of their house as he will just bash into the corner and keep going. Planters and plant pots will get knocked over. At his current size he can climb into planters that are about 2 feet tall and will just walk through anything and everything. He destroyed my mom's entire rose garden this way. Depending on the individual some like to dig, a lot..... luckily the one my parents have is happy to spend his time above ground, most of the time (see pic below).
My parents had to switch out their patio set to a concrete one as it was not uncommon for him to walk under a chair, get it stuck on his shell and just keep going. It was entertaining when you are sitting on a couch in the living room and a chair just goes cruising past the window.
Keep in mind is that they do not hibernate so you need to provide heat for them year round. In his shed there is a heat lamp which keeps him warm at night and through the winter. The shed also has a door, that gets closed at night to make sure that predators can't get to him.
Read up on diet and shell pyramiding which is an issue with these guys. They live along time and there are not a lot a places that will be willing to take one off your hands so make sure you really want one.
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Propane tank in the background gives good idea of size, this picture is from 2 years ago, he is bigger now.
I don't want to sound too down on the ownership experience, he is interesting to have and watch and will interact with you a bit, especially for food. It's like having your own pet dinosaur. But if they had known what it was like to own a full size one, they wouldn't have picked up that cute little baby tortoise.
My parents have one. It's about 15 years old now, 2-2.5 feet long and probably about 150lbs right now.
He was brought home when he was about 4 inches long and lived in a 100 gal aquarium for the first 5 years. Then we built him a shed in the back yard and he cruises the yard all day now.
Up front I would not recommend owning one unless you are really dedicated to tortoises especially African spurred tortoises. They get very large, are very strong, and can be very destructive.
At his current size he eats 2-3 heads of lettuce/greens a day + grazes on the lawn, really you should try to get a them on a diet of hay, but we started feeding him lettuce early on and were not able to get him to switch over. he seems to clip the grass instead of pulling it out when he is grazing so he doesn't damage the lawn but doesn't eat enough to affect the mowing schedule.
The one my parents have is pretty active, he roams the yard a lot, and is completely unaware of both his size and his surroundings. He has damaged all of the outside corners of their house as he will just bash into the corner and keep going. Planters and plant pots will get knocked over. At his current size he can climb into planters that are about 2 feet tall and will just walk through anything and everything. He destroyed my mom's entire rose garden this way. Depending on the individual some like to dig, a lot..... luckily the one my parents have is happy to spend his time above ground, most of the time (see pic below).
My parents had to switch out their patio set to a concrete one as it was not uncommon for him to walk under a chair, get it stuck on his shell and just keep going. It was entertaining when you are sitting on a couch in the living room and a chair just goes cruising past the window.
Keep in mind is that they do not hibernate so you need to provide heat for them year round. In his shed there is a heat lamp which keeps him warm at night and through the winter. The shed also has a door, that gets closed at night to make sure that predators can't get to him.
Read up on diet and shell pyramiding which is an issue with these guys. They live along time and there are not a lot a places that will be willing to take one off your hands so make sure you really want one.
Propane tank in the background gives good idea of size, this picture is from 2 years ago, he is bigger now.
I don't want to sound too down on the ownership experience, he is interesting to have and watch and will interact with you a bit, especially for food. It's like having your own pet dinosaur. But if they had known what it was like to own a full size one, they wouldn't have picked up that cute little baby tortoise.
MaddBaggins
Remember the KnightRider!
We have a native tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, We have no idea how old he is, but I have a feeling he's at least 40-50 by his looks and mannerisms. He comes out from hibernation pretty late every year, usually July and kicks around the back yard eating grass until early November. Then he's back in his den for 7 months.
We adopted him from an old friend who couldn't take care of him anymore. They had him for over 10 years and we've had him for almost that long now.
It's really cool to watch such an ancient creature still doing it's thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_tortoise
We adopted him from an old friend who couldn't take care of him anymore. They had him for over 10 years and we've had him for almost that long now.
It's really cool to watch such an ancient creature still doing it's thing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_tortoise
MaddBaggins
Remember the KnightRider!
Oh, and it should be said, once a captive, always a captive. Non native species can devastate local populations if released. Even native species should never be released. They can introduce new diseases to the wild population.
So, because they can live so long, being a caretaker of a tortoise is a big responsibility.
We love ours and we're glad we have him. You should see him get pissy when the chickens try to steal his cactus fruit.
So, because they can live so long, being a caretaker of a tortoise is a big responsibility.
We love ours and we're glad we have him. You should see him get pissy when the chickens try to steal his cactus fruit.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks for your post. I began reading some of the more negative things about these last week- and your post confirms my fears. I have a garden in the middle of my yard that breaks up the slope of the grass- it would be really hard to fence off, and probably ineffective as well, from what I read. As much as I like the idea of having my own dinosaur, the negatives so far are outweighing the positives.
We have 3 Desert and 1 African Tortoises. The Deserts were raised from hatch-lings and the African was given to us when was about 6" long. They range in age from 5 years to over 20 and sizes are 12 16 inches long.
They are interesting creatures, a dinosaur is a good description, but they do have personalities. We feed ours a good diet of kale, escarole, cucumber, peas, broccoli, red lettuce, radicchio, and a few other things. This costs about $30-35 a month, as ours also eat grass.
Since we have 3 dogs, and dogs think torts are toys sometimes, I built an enclosure for ours. It has a nice covered house with block walls, concrete floor and wood roof with a pad heater and a swinging door. They have a good life.
Ours dig some, but not bad. We do not hibernate our Deserts, we just keep them warm in the winter, and they thrive.
The Deserts will not nearly as large as the Africans, maybe 20-25 pounds and 18 inckes long is a large one. They can be adopted from many tort rescue organizations, but they will check out you and your property to make sure they are going to good homes. Maybe 10-12 years ago, a large number of torts were being adopted by members of one particular culture, who were eating them for special occasions! Now they check you out!
Torts are not for everybody, but are cool creatures. And be careful how you name them...Since they can live nearly a hundred years, we told our daughter to name ours carefully, as they will likely be hers in another 30 years or so!
Doug
They are interesting creatures, a dinosaur is a good description, but they do have personalities. We feed ours a good diet of kale, escarole, cucumber, peas, broccoli, red lettuce, radicchio, and a few other things. This costs about $30-35 a month, as ours also eat grass.
Since we have 3 dogs, and dogs think torts are toys sometimes, I built an enclosure for ours. It has a nice covered house with block walls, concrete floor and wood roof with a pad heater and a swinging door. They have a good life.
Ours dig some, but not bad. We do not hibernate our Deserts, we just keep them warm in the winter, and they thrive.
The Deserts will not nearly as large as the Africans, maybe 20-25 pounds and 18 inckes long is a large one. They can be adopted from many tort rescue organizations, but they will check out you and your property to make sure they are going to good homes. Maybe 10-12 years ago, a large number of torts were being adopted by members of one particular culture, who were eating them for special occasions! Now they check you out!
Torts are not for everybody, but are cool creatures. And be careful how you name them...Since they can live nearly a hundred years, we told our daughter to name ours carefully, as they will likely be hers in another 30 years or so!
Doug
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No problem Doc,
We've grown quite attached to Flash .He's part of the family by now. He spent the day in his harness and a 30 foot lead rope tied to a tree in the front yard while I mowed and weeded. I don't have to haul off the clipping or weeds as he eat them as fast as I can bring them to him. Bring your kids over to see him sometime, he's quite entertaining...
We've grown quite attached to Flash .He's part of the family by now. He spent the day in his harness and a 30 foot lead rope tied to a tree in the front yard while I mowed and weeded. I don't have to haul off the clipping or weeds as he eat them as fast as I can bring them to him. Bring your kids over to see him sometime, he's quite entertaining...