Tortoise For Sale - How to Buy and Own a Tortoise
78So you want to buy a tortoise, huh? This page will give you all the information to find, buy, and keep a new pet tortoise!
Quick FAQ:
How much does a tortoise cost? The price of a tortoise varies from $15 to $250 (average about 30), depending on the variety. However, after taking into account food, cage, vet visits, and everything else, you can expect to spend $250-500/year, just to take care of your tortoise! (Again, this depends on the variety of tortoise).
Are tortoises easy to take care of? Tortoise
ownership can require a lot of time, but it's not like owning a dog! A tortoise can live for a long time (sometimes a few decades), and will take a few hours a week to
take care of. However, they are slow, easy to play with, and friendly, so it's not really too hard.
Are tortoises family friendly? Yes! Tortoises are fun and friendly and great to have around kids!
Finding a Tortoise For Sale
The best way to find a snake to own is to go to a nearby pet store. You can find pet stores in your area by going to this Web site. This site, centralpets.com, has a search engine for finding pet stores in your area!
You can also simply search for "pet stores near [your address]" on http://maps.google.com
. For example, searching for "Pet stores near Iowa City" will show the results from the below image.
Google maps for Pet stores!
Look through the reviews of the different Pet Stores to make sure you are going to a good location. You want a good variety of tortoises to choose from and a very helpful staff, especially for your first pet!
Pros and Cons of Owning a Tortoise
There are good and bad things about owning a tortoise. Let's look at the good and bad sides of tortoise ownership.
Pros
- Tortoises don't take up a lot of space
- Tortoises don't hurt your furniture
- Tortoises can be left alone for a long period of time
- Tortoises don't make too much noise
- Tortoises are fun!
Cons
- No matter how easy the pet, you are still responsible for it.
- You will need to buy food for your tortoise. You will also need to take it to the vet.
- You can't leave your tortoise alone for too long! That means you might need someone to check up on it during a vacation.
Choosing your tortoise for sale
For your first tortoise, it's important you choose the right one--a tortoise that will be fun, easy to handle, and safe.
I recommend the Russian Tortoise. Why? They are cheap, pretty (look on the right!), easy to take care of, and fun! And they are also the first type of tortoise in space :)
A russian tortoise is 6-10 inches long, a brownish color, and very family friendly.
Below is a video of a russian tortoise eating. Look how cute it is!
Taking care and feeding your tortoise
You
can purchase a cage for your tortoise or build your own---I wouid build my own, because tortoises are fun and easy to care for. Not like snakes for sale which require a bigger enclosure, or even worse Iguana for Sale, which need a HUGE cage.
Dummies.com has a great article on constructing your own indoor terrestrial cage for a turtle or tortoise. Check out the article, it tells you how to plan, construct, and protect your tortoise habitat!
A tortoise eats a lot! You will feed it basically just veggies, but not iceberg lettuce (they don't like iceberg). Buy it some fun veggies and watch it eat!
Tortoise for Sale - Conclusion
If you want to buy a tortoise, check out pet stores near your area! Make sure you are actually really interested in getting a tortoise of your own!
Alternatively, check out Iguanas for Sale or boelen's python if you are interested in buying a different type of reptile!
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your information is good but not specific as to what amount of food to give and if they bit,the exact amount of cabbage to be feed.rest good work.
I like this hub. Good info and well put together.
Inexpensive? Yeah, right, when the animals are stolen from their *native* habitats. Buy, if you must, from **breeders** state-side! Do NOT believe pet store employees that tell you theirs are captive bred---FEW are!! Also beware of offers of many species from ONE individual or online store; for instance, the ad presented for "TurtleShack" that accompanies this discussion is WELL KNOWN for horrific practices (breeding for BLIND RES, way overpriced, poor caresheets, on and on---do NOT buy from TurtleShack or TurtleSales (same place). Research the specific animal BEFORE you bring it home.
"They don't like iceberg lettuce"
Wrong. They DO like it, it's just not very nutritious for them and shouldn't be a large part of a tortoise diet.
i like it it gave me good information so thank the people that did this
yeah men , you people are all right but you forget to know that turtioses are not like any ordinary pet in the house .do you know we call it in cameroon.? we call it sense pass king .well but actually some species are really nice to keep in the house.i think the main problem with thses animals is that we need to know ths followign about them very well :herbination,food ,care,opening times ,the law law governing their keeping ,etc. we do supply most the tropical one from the rock of RUMSIKI around WAZA park in the far north of cameroon and from the western parts of cameroon.if you are interested in geeting one then you let us know as soon as possible but be very careful if you are making any request in cameroon because there a lot of scams.thanks .and waiting to hear from you .boubaali49@yahoo.com.
Whitney05 Level 2 Commenter 2 years ago
"Tortoises don't take up a lot of space" is incorrect. Tortoises need an enclosure that is 10 times their length and 5 times their width. Small pet tortoises, like the Russian and Greek tortoises, need a minimum of a 50 gallon tote.
How can leaving your tortoise for a long period of time be a pro and con. Some species need to be fed regularly until a certain age. Red foots should be fed daily until they're older.
I'd say average tortoise price for unsexed under 4" is about $75. Sexed ones are generally more expensive, but the price really depends on the species.