What type of Tort do you reccomend?

[Relayer]

I'm thinking of getting my 4 year old a turtle or tort. Any reccomendations.
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[RevMojo]

Funny you ask...I'm in the same position. I'd like to get some input too
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[eddie]

Well, anything that lives in water, primarily, is gonna be a lot of work compared to one that doesn't live in water.
Anything that gets big can be a lot of work, especially if you live in a climate that has cold winters. Can't leave them outside then if they are a desert dweller.

Easiest way to know, is to look at pics of some, to see what you like and what their adult size will be, learn all you can on the species you like then narrow it down to one you can manage to keep in good house and health.
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[BWSmith]

Personally, I am partial to Red Foot torts. They don't get too big and have great personality.
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[JuliusSqueezer]

Russian torts are sweet, easy to care for and only get about the size of a large box turtle...and are fairly inexpensive too.
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[JuliusSqueezer]

Something to keep in mind: Reptiles do carry salmonella as it is part of their natural gut flora bacteria as it is yours. Children and people with certain illnesses may get sick from exposure. It seems to be more of a problem with young reptiles (turtles under 4 inches) and with people under the age of 21. Both humans and reptiles seem to build more of a resistance to it with age. Children should keep handling of any turtle or tortoise to a minimum and should be made to scrub up with antibacterial soap immediatly after any handling....and never bring any baby turtles or iguanas into a household with children.
[addsig]

this info is from maturtlerescue..copy/paste..

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>In the post &quot;what type of tort do you recommend&quot; I have concerns with mixing two different species of turtles and it is a much worse scenario if you are considering a tortoise with a turtle. Both have entirely different needs, foods, environment, and the like, and there would be no way that we could provide an environment where both would be comfortable. THe best thing to do is to get the same species of turtle you already have. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>


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[RevMojo]

huh?
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[maturtlerescue]

While it is a great learning experience for children to be involved with other living creatures because it can teach them to have respect for these creatures, turtles and tortoises in general do not make good pets for them. It is true that they can carry salmonella and this can be transmitted to children and adults alike, they are not easy maintenance pets and it is an abosolute that an adult be the primary care giver. Another aspect is that turtles and tortoises dont taketo kindly to a lot of handling and children love to play with them. Too much handling can cause significant stress to the tortoise and with stress comes illness. Also if you are contemplating purchasing a tortoise from a pet store most, if not all are wild caught animals. They have all endured a lot of stress prior to presenting in the pet stores and are often quite ill and riddled with parasites. I have an online article on my website that deals with pet store purchases and it can be found at: http://www.maturtlerescue.org/turtlepet_stores.htm

This article goes it to great detail concerning pet store purchases.

Debbie
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