Pet Tortoises Are Amazing Reptiles

Posted by articlelink01 on November 21st, 2014

To some people, reptiles are creepy and not many of them would consider them as pets. However, just like ecologists who like spending their time learning about vegetation, there are people who love having reptiles around them, caring for them and simply loving their presence. It is an awkward experience to many of us but pet tortoises are fun.

They are great pets for those who love sweet challenges, which are presented by the size of the pet tortoises, the food they eat, their dwellings and the care you have to take for them. The pets feed on a wide range of foods although some tortoise species feed on specific foods.

How to Feed the Tortoises

Tortoises need specific portions of foods where you have to balance phosphorous-calcium and roughage, which are very vital for the wellbeing of the pet tortoises. Some of the tortoises are greedy eaters and hence you will need to satisfy them with enough food.

The pets come in different sizes and therefore you will have to put up enclosures that fit the size of the tortoise you purchase.

How to Acquire the Right Tortoise

The best tortoise pets to get are the captive-bred ones because they have already been domesticated and hence all you will do is continue to take care of them and enjoy their company. If you go the route of capturing the tortoise from the wilderness and tame it yourself, you will face challenges like having to treat it for probable injuries; they usually come loaded with parasites that you will need to part with extra money getting rid of them.You will also need to arrange for the transportation of the tortoise that you will capture, unlike the simple case where a breeder who has the right equipments to deliver the tortoise to your premises brings it to you, with all the costs included in the price you will pay for the captivated pet.

Facts about Tortoises

Biologists have discovered manytortoise facts and they have published them in different media for you to read. However, there are other unknown tortoise facts that will fascinate you when you learn about them. For instance, we have various tortoise species but all of them have a common thing, which is the short legs that look like stumps, which they use to dig and move around.

It is very simple to tell the gender of a tortoise, simply by the length of its tail and the direction it points. A male tail is a bit long and appears to bend up towards the outer shell, while the female tail is shorter, and tends to bend away from the outer shell.

Telling the age of a tortoise is at times based on the concentric rings on the shell. However, it is not a perfect way to determine the age because the rings develop according to the availability of water and food. When you feed your tortoise well with enough forage, the rings will not be as conspicuous as on the one that struggles to feed.

You will need to understand the  Pet Tortoises  that you want to keep, ensuring that you take proper care for them. It is vital to understand the  Tortoise Facts  so that you know what it should be fed on, how to treat it and ensure that it remains comfortable in its dwellings.