Tortoises are not aggressive creatures. They don’t normally show aggression to humans, animals or other tortoises. Like other animals they can be territorial and moody but with the right care, the potential for tortoise aggression can be significantly reduced.
When it comes to tortoise pregnancy, things are a little more complicated and a lot more mysterious than dogs, cats (or even people!). As tortoise keepers it’s our responsibility to provide the right environment, food and care for the parents, the eggs and those adorable little hatchlings.
Tortoises are safe pets but tortoise keepers must be trained to handle and care for them safely. Tortoises (and turtles) can carry salmonella and other harmful bacteria. Other pets might also pose a safety risk to pet tortoises.
To help you pick the right tortoise for you, we’ve put together this handy list of the best and easiest tortoises to care for.
Not all tortoises carry salmonella but they are all likely to carry it. For health and safety, it is best to assume all reptiles and amphibians carry salmonella on their skin, scales, shells, or in their excrement.
Tortoises can die for a number of reasons including insufficient food, poor quality diet, unsanitary conditions, stress, and untreated infections and injuries. All these can cause your pet tortoise to die.
Tortoises cannot carry weight on their shells. As hardy as they are, they’re not meant to carry things around. Putting extra weight on a tortoise shell can hurt them as they are not designed to be pack animals.
Smaller tortoises can be kept in 8ft X 4ft (244cm X 122cm) enclosures. Permanent enclosure sides should be at least 12 inches (30 cm) higher than your tortoise while standing on his hind legs. For tortoises that are expected to get large as adults, they need more space and higher walls.
Tortoises use a combination of vocal, visual clues, and smells to communicate with other tortoises. They may also communicate through touch, either by exploring with their mouths, bumping into something, or stepping on it to feel under their feet.
A tortoise and a turtle cannot mate to produce viable offspring. They are genetically incompatible. Even if a tortoise and a turtle where helped to mate by scientific intervention, the offspring would be prone to significant health problems.