Complete newbie questions! Can you help?

[makuk]

Hello everyone, I am new to this great informative site, had a little read around whilst waiting for my account to be activated.

My wife has been pestering me for months to by her a tortoise, so I decided to buy her one for xmas, now I fully understand the phrase a tortoise is for life and not just for xmas, but I can assure you it will be well cared for.

Now for the questions (I have yet to buy one, only a few days left)

1. Where do I buy it from, I have seen the links at the top of google when I do a search and spoke to a few companies who said they can deliver to me before xmas, who would you recommend? The prices vary greatly.

2. Which one do I buy a herman, or the other one, can't remember the name!

3. What should I buy it to eat to see both me and it (the tortoise) through to xmas when I hand it over (thank god!), I have to look after it for a few days before the Mrs gets it, so what should I feed it until I hand it over? By the way, do they like chocolate?

4. Should I buy 1 or 2, will 1 get lonely on its own? Would 2 be happier rather than 1 on its own? If I buy 2, should I buy some sort of sports equipmet for them to play with like a table tennis ball etc?

5. How often should the UV lamp be left on for them, if I put a switch inside his home, would he be able to switch the lamp off himself when he has had enough?

I think that was all the questions I had for now but if anyone has any more ideas, please let me know.

I found this site thrugh a ebay advert so I would like to buy some bits for Mr Majeka (That's going to be the tortoises name!)from that seller, as a thank you for a great forum.

Thanks for your help everyone:-)

[tortoiseboy]

Ok ill try and answer.
1. if they deliver them through the post, thats bad. try and get one bred in the uk
2.hermanns are my favourite but there all good
3. feed them weeds or lettuce. LOL choc isent great
4. torts are solitary animals and dont mind bieng on there own. i thnk mine like to be together though.
5. uv should be on till they go to sleep. if heyve had enough they go under there log

[sarah]

1, most tortoises in pet shops and on the net are wild caught, always buy from a breeder
2, hermanns. iberas, horsfields (they liek to dig), red foots (tropical but very easy to cater for and dont hibernate), marginated
3, weeds weeds weeds
4, they are fine on their own, but some people say that they like company
5, 12-14 hours, hot spot 30c and cool 20c


Please house in a tortoise table not a viv ( i sell them if your intersted on my ebay shop thats how you found us)

[Henry-flash]

You might find it helpful to read through the Shelled Warriors Caresheet section:

Shelled Warriors Caresheets and Articles (http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/Caresheets_and_Articles/Caresheets_and_Articles.html)

There are a few species specific caresheets as well as a general Testudo caresheet and a Housing article.

[gtm]

I'd stay clear of Aldabra's if I were you!! (Hee Hee)

[sandy]

I agree with Sarah.
Hermans, ibera or marginata are the hardiest of the med torts. Horsfields also.
All are kept the same, but not together. As you should not mix speices.
Always buy from a private breeder, there is a list on here.
Weeds such as dandelion, sowthistle, bittercress etc. Again lonts of info in the weeds section.
Dont feed lettuce as suggested, as this has little nutrician for torts. It can be fed in an
emergency, but not as a staple food.
As for buying one or two, well if they have clutch mates, then they are used to company.
And once you have one tort, you always want more<g>.

[scrambled legs]

what a great christmas present,

she'll be so happy!

good luck with mr majeka, don't forget to buy captive bred, nothing else. you can look for good breeders easily, the tortoise trust website is also good for general info.

the tortoise obsession will start here!

good luck,

Neil.

[carriemags]

Hello Makuk and welcome to this great forum :D

We bought 2 baby hermanns from a breeder near Chippenham in Wiltshire about 6 weeks ago and they are wonderful! Do check the breeder's list to find out who is near you. Lots may be winding down their torts for hibernation so be quick!