Ideally, you’ll want to maintain most tortoises outdoors whenever possible. Outdoor accommodations usually allow you to provide more space to your pet, and they give your tortoise plenty of exposure to natural, unfiltered sunlight, which provides important health benefits and […]
For the most part, tortoises are undemanding pets. They don’t require daily walks like a dog does or need their keeper to monitor complicated water chemistry values like many fish do. But that doesn’t mean you can just bring home
Substrate selection is a pretty important consideration for tortoise keepers. After all, your animal will spend almost all of his time walking and sleeping on it – he’ll likely even burrow down into the substrate from time to time. So,
Lighting is one of the most confusing aspects of tortoise husbandry for many keepers. And that’s unfortunate, as proper lighting is vital to your tortoise’s long-term health and well-being. Historically, there weren’t many great options for providing pet tortoises with
One of the biggest ways that tortoises differ from dogs, cats, and other common pets relates to their metabolism. Unlike birds and mammals, tortoises are ectothermic (“cold-blooded”) animals. This means that instead of “burning” calories quickly enough to heat their
Tortoises are certainly slow-moving animals, as anyone who has seen one ambling around can attest. But are they always slow? Are they capable of moving quickly or do they simply have little reason to do so? And if they can
To care for a pet tortoise, you’ll need to do everything from establishing a proper thermal environment to providing your pet with a nutritious diet. But the first thing you’ll have to do is decide which type of enclosure would
Even though they are terrestrial animals who primarily live on dry land, tortoises – like all other animals – require water to survive. This includes rainforest-dwelling red-footed tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonarius), desert-dwelling sulcatas (Centrochelys sulcata), and every species in between. From
No matter what kind of animal you care for, it is important to provide your pet with ample opportunities for mental enrichment. No animal should ever be forced to live in an empty habitat with nothing to explore or play
From front-opening enclosures to custom-built habitats to aquaria, there are tons of different tortoise enclosures available to modern keepers. But having so many choices available isn’t always a good thing. It can actually leave your head spinning, as you try
