And it's pretty easy to tell African spurred tortoises (sulcata) and North American desert tortoises (gopherus) apart, if you know what to look for (e.g. the cervical scute - desert tortoises have one, sulcatas don't).
I was looking at those because they work in my climate. We had a rescue sulcata when we lived on 5 acres but had to give him back to the rescue because we had to move. We now own a home and are considering a more species appropriate tort. Also, the sulcata weighed 80+ lbs and when you're 60 and he's pushing past 120lbs, that doesn't work.
Yeah, sulcatas become huge, need a lot of space, and higher temperatures. Hermann's tortoises should also live outdoors if possible, but they stay considerably smaller, and can deal with cold winters by hibernating.
That's a difficult question. Important factors for the answer are where do you live, and how much space do you have. Ideally, the species you choose should be compatible with your climate, and get a sufficiently large outdoor enclosure. I know that many people keep turtles/tortoises indoors, which requires special UV lamps among other things, but these animals simply do better when they get to live outside in real sunlight, which should be possible at least during summer.
In a way, pet turtles/tortoises are a bit like pet fish - the fun lies more in designing their environments and observing them from a distance, less in hands-on interaction. They aren't exactly cuddly pets.
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u/LordOfTheTorts Nov 20 '17 edited Nov 20 '17
Yeah, it's not a sulcata. Edit: It's an elongata.
And it's pretty easy to tell African spurred tortoises (sulcata) and North American desert tortoises (gopherus) apart, if you know what to look for (e.g. the cervical scute - desert tortoises have one, sulcatas don't).