Get A Pet Tortoise, How Great That Would Be?
Even for the people who dislike reptiles, tortoises have a unique way of earning a soft appeal for their die-hard attitude. Who doesn’t like these cute, wise-looking friends? I mean, just look at their innocent face and less-demanding maintenance. All you need to do is keep in a nice tank, toss food once in a while and you are set!
I am going to share with you some amazing facts that will open your eyes to get a pet tortoise.
Their Fascination is Endless!
The tortoises are without question highly desirable pets. Of course, they aren’t cuddly, they take almost half the year sleeping and neither can they learn new tricks – but in the midst all these, children never seize to be fascinated by the animals.
However, purchasing them isn’t that cheap. For instance, a cm juvenile, you will be required to dish out about 170 AUD, and then double the amount to cater for their housing and equipment. If you take good care of it, your tortoise friend will hang around for generations to come.
Fact: We still have lots of illegally imported tortoises thus you ought to be extra vigilant when buying any. Some places to keep off as your source of tortoise include the internet, a garden centre or just any pet shop you bumped into. The best way is to purchase from a reputable shop. Seek advice from people who own one to be assured of the authenticity.
Mealtime is an Easy Time
The picky eaters are too many for you to add any more. Your tortoise won’t join this group. Feeding the tortoises isn’t much of a hard job. They are mostly herbivorous and enjoy hay, fresh greens, other vegetables in addition to lots of fruits and pelleted tortoise diets. Sprinkling some calcium and vitamin powder on their food once in a blue moon will in the long run turn out beneficial.
The Light Works Well For Them
The feeling of the sun on our skin is incomparable. Tortoises also enjoy the feeling on their shells. Yes, they are lovers of light.
If your shelled critter spends much of his time indoors, be sure to find ways to make up for the missed natural light. Experts explain that they need to be exposed to ultraviolet light, thus if they are within the house, provide UV bulb in their habitats.
They Love You, Especially Your Feet!
It is no secret that the tortoises are not some of the most social animals. In any case, experts feel that they hate having a mate and will fight from time to time with whoever lives in their garden, especially a male partner.
They will make efforts to bite each other and can sometimes be quite aggressive, but of course will not cause any serious damage. As the day comes to an end, all that hatred towards each other cools down and will lie peacefully side by side in their hutch.
Strangely, they seem to enjoy human contact, a lot. When hanging out in your garden, you will see them plod around your feet and will still perfectly cope up when you are off to work. When the weather is sunny, you will notice that they will be surprisingly active, proving that they can run! That means you need to wall your garden so that they do not escape but do not forget the wisdom-filled animals have a way of penetrating through gaps in the hedges. Ensure your walls are twice as tall as the tortoise length.
Friends Forever!
When you make the important decision of getting a pet tortoise, bear in mind that their life span is much longer than that of most pets. The common life span is usually 20 years if you carefully take care of them.
Do you love it when you step into the house and your pet dog is all over running towards you? Well, it turns out that the tortoise can also do that! According to Saint-Erne, who owns not one but nine different species of tortoises, they differ in personality from one species to the next.
“Some are very friendly and run toward me when they see me, others are more reclusive and hide when observed. Some like to be picked up, some don’t. Most will eat directly from my hands when being fed,” he says.
How to Protect Your Tortoise
As much as you are bound to have a great time with a pet tortoise, you need to have some precautions for the sake of their protection.
Provide a Safe Habitat
It’s very easy for the cats to get bored with the slow moving tortoises. The same doesn’t apply to the dogs, foxes and sometimes birds that may turn out to be quite dangerous. Your well-behaved dog will see a tortoise and get the impression that it’s a pet, mauling it in the process and damage the shell or injure the legs.
Foxes can also be pretty harmful by stealing small tortoises that appear juicy prey to birds such as magpies. One solution would be to have a run with a wire mesh over it, especially if you have small tortoise. The larger it is, the lesser it is exposed to risks.
Be Keen on the Water
Tortoises have the tendency to wade in shallow water but they are poor waters and do not like cold water temperatures. If there is a pond in the garden, it would be nice to have it covered to prevent cases where your pet tortoise tumbles in. Few garden plants are fatally toxic to tortoises in very small quantities, but the weed ragwort can kill them, thus get rid of any from the garden.
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