Types of Tortoise

There are many different types of tortoise for you to choose from but you
have to be aware of the different requirements of each species before you
decide to care for one in your home.

The decision of which species of tortoise to get will perhaps be determined by
the habitat of the specific tortoise you choose as you will have to mimic that
habitat in order to provide an appropriate home.

There are a few hundred species of tortoise for you to choose from. Some are
colorful others plain. Some are shy and others outgoing and sociable whilst
others can be aggressive. The size your tortoise may grow to in its and your
lifetime will also be an important factor to consider. Some will only grow to a
few inches others are huge and will need a very large area in which to thrive.
Knowing what the tortoises habitat is will help you to understand what sort of
enclosure to build. For example: the pancake tortoise will need rocks in its
enclosure for it to hide in. If there are no rocks it may become stressed and
unwell. Other tortoises need to have high humidity due to their natural
habitat others need low humidity. Therefore you must artificially create these
differing environments and not mix different species within the same type of
enclosure.

Nocturnal – these are animals which are active during the night time hours.
Diurnal – These are animals which are active during the daylight hours.
Most tortoises are diurnal. They need the sunlight to be able to function and
remain healthy as they are ectothermic (cold blooded) they are often more
active during the morning and late afternoon but resting during the hottest
part of the day.

It is important you understand how and when your tortoise is active as this is
when you will provide food and heat and light. If your tortoise is kept mostly
in an outside enclosure you will have to supplement their diet and feed them
at the right time of the day for them. This is normally in the early morning.
If your tortoise is in an indoor enclosure you will need to turn on their lights
and feed them then. Leave a little time between turning on the lights and
providing food as this will give them chance to warm up and have more of an
appetite.

Don’t disturb your tortoise when it is sleeping. Leave it to its natural
waking/sleeping cycle to ensure it is not stressed.

You also need to take into account what sort of temperament your tortoise
has in its natural environment and mimic this in their enclosure. For example
provide numerous hiding places for your tortoise. An empty flower pot or
piece of hollowed out wood would be perfect for your tortoise to hide in.
Plants and other vegetation also make perfect shade and hiding laces. As long
as the particular plant you choose is not toxic for the tortoise it is a good idea
to have living plants in the enclosure. The shade and hiding places allow the
tortoise to move from open sunlight to shade during the day and is also good
for hiding from predators (or imagined ones if in an inside enclosure)

Your tortoise will take a while to adapt to its new environment once you place
him in it. So it may decide to ‘hide away’ for the first few days until it
becomes accustomed to it surroundings. This does not mean your tortoise will
continue to hide. Just be patient.

If you obtain your tortoise from someone who has taken it from its natural
wild habitat it may suffer some form stress due to being put in captivity which
is understandable!

However, if you obtain your tortoise when it is too young it may not survive.
Hatchlings are very difficult to care for effectively. The best age to buy a
tortoise is after the hatchling stage so it is a young adult. These will adapt to
their new environment much more easily.

Legally all tortoises must be at least 4” long (this is measured using the bottom
of the shell in a straight line) by the time your tortoise is 4” long it should be
eating well and be healthy. The tortoise may be three years old before it
reaches this size.

This is probably one of the most common mistakes people make when
choosing to keep tortoises. Trying to keep different species of tortoise in the
same enclosure is a bad idea for a number of reasons. Not least because of the
different immunity each species has for specific diseases and parasites. If one
species is carrying a parasite or bacteria it may cause illness or death to a
different species.

It is also not a good idea to keep males and females of different species
together in the same enclosure as the male tortoise does not differentiate
between species. He will mate with an available female if given the chance!
However, cross breeding is not often successful and it is not really ethical
given the precarious position of many species.