Caring for your tortoise

Tortoises make great pets! They are easy to look after, easy to feed and are always on the move. The most common tortoises available for sale in Victoria are the Eastern Long Neck tortoise and the MacQuarie tortoise. These are animals that are predominantly aquatic animals. It is not necessary to obtain a licence to keep either of these tortoises. Most people remember the old "Penny Tortoises" or "terrapins" from their youth. These animals were simply juvenile long necks or MacQuarie tortoises. About 20 years ago the government decided that it was not going to allow trade in baby tortoises any longer, and decided that the minimum legal size for trade in tortoises is 100 mm across the shell.

The point has been raised by some American readers that this may be confusing, due to the fact that the word "tortoise" generally refers to land animals rather than aquatic animals if you live in places other than Australia. (god's own earth)

We urge you, that if you are reading this caresheet in America or elsewhere in the world, please do not attempt to keep your 25 - 30 pound dry-land dwelling box tortoise into an aquatic environment!!! He will drown.

This care sheet is a starting point for your knowledge of your new animal, and we encourage you to read as much as you can about tortoises (turtles) as they really are fascinating animals.

Housing: Tortoises spend most of their time in the water. They do however need to be able to get out of the water if they want to. Therefore an enclosure that provides both water and dry land is required. Ways of achieving this are to pile rocks in one corner of the enclosure, or to include a large floating island such as a large peice of cork bark. Glass aquariums can be modified with a shelf glued into place for the "dry" area. Glass aquariums are the most common choice for housing tortoises indoors, as they are leak proof, escape proof and easy to clean. A fine layer of gravel on the base of the aquarium gives a natural looking substrate.

Cleaning: If a power filter is used, it should be sufficient to change around 50% of the water once every two or three weeks. Without a filter in the tank it may be nescessary to change the water every five to ten days. There are products such as "Turtle Clean" by Hagen which will help to keep the water clean. Also available are Turtle Neutraliser and Turtle Health blocks which slowly dissolve in the water and help to keep the P.h. levels higher which prevents damage occuring to the tortoises shell. Tortoises can be kept outdoors in a pond which has an adjacent land area. Enclosing the pond is a good idea, to keep the tortoise in and dogs and cats out.During winter the tortoise will become very inactive and will refuse food for long periods. Once the weather warms, normal activity will resume. It is very important not to distrurb your tortoise during hibernation as this can cause death.

Feeding: tortoises prefer to feed when they are in the water. Food can either be placed in the water or hand fed or offered on a thin stick. Remove any uneaten food as this will pollute the water.A variety of food may be offered. In the wild tortoises will eat earthworms, tadpoles, small fish, small snails etc.Suitable substitute foods include lean meat, chub or minder dog food,fish pieces, earthworms, mealworms, crickets, and "tortoise mix ". As with all animals a good variety is essential. Remember that temperature will effect the tortoises willingness to feed. During warm weather feed 2 or 3 times a week. During cold weather your tortoise may refuse food, even if indoors.

Points to consider: Tortoises require calcium and vitamin D so that their shell will develop correctly and not become soft. This is especially important when the tortoise is young and growing rapidly. Access to direct sunlight, use of UV flourescent tubes and the addition of a calcium supplement to the food can overcome this problen.

If you are keeping your tortoise indoors it is advisable to use an aquarium heater in the water set around 20-22C. If you feed your tortoise and then the water temp. drops rapidly as it has a tendancy to do in a glass tank the tortoise will have trouble digesting the food .Outdoors the water temp. is much more stable.

Drilling a hole in the shell and tethering your tortoise is cruel and can leave him open to attack by cats and dogs.

In Victoria there is a legal minimum legal size of 10cm. shell length on all tortoises sold. True "terrapins" are not native to Australia and are illegal to own. If you want a tortoise under 10cm in length you will have to breed it yourself.