Picking a Tortoise

Series Summary

Owning a pet can be an extremely satisfying endeavor, and so it is no wonder that millions of people around the world keep companion animals in their lives. The most common pets are by far, cats and dogs, however, the rising popularity of exotic pets has led to an increase of people owning snakes, lizards, rats, mice, and hamsters. Fish are also a popular pet for people who do not want too much responsibility. Studies have shown that owning a pet is actually beneficial to both the mental and physical health of the owner. In fact, there are now medically backed studies showing that therapy animals can significantly improve the well being of many patients.


In this free video series, our expert will show you how to care for a tortoise as a pet. This wonderful reptile makes an interesting and fun exotic pet the whole family will love. Learn how to pick a healthy tortoise, find the right tortoise cage and light and heat your tortoise cage. You will also learn about tortoise bedding, using the right food and water dish, as well as learn to properly handle tortoises. If you are interested in buying a tortoise, get all the information you need to keep your tortoise healthy and happy from our reptile expert in this free pet care video series.

Video Transcript

"Ok. Now, you decided you want to get a Greek tortoise, or maybe you're just looking at tortoises in general. A Greek tortoise is a great place to start if you're-it's your first tortoise. They are a desert species, and they don't get very big. What you're looking at here is an adult, six inches. They get six to seven inches. Again, like I said, they're a desert species. And so we've decided that we're going to get one of these guys today. How do we pick a good one? Well, like with any reptile, you want to get them out and you want to make sure he's attentive and active. You want to make sure his eyes are clear and clean. You don't want any goop or gook around them. Same with his jaw. Make sure his jaw is all intact, and there's no discoloration or breakage or anything like that. You know, check his feet. Make sure there's nothing strange going on, or unusual. And, of course, don't hesitate to flip him over and get a look at his tail and vent. Make sure there's no poop encrusted there, or it's not discolored or swollen, just so we make sure we don't have any health problems in the future. Also get a look at his shell. Make sure his shell is nice and shiny and clean, and it doesn't have any cracks or chips or what we like to call pyramiding, which is when the shell builds upon shell upon shell, and you get like little pyramids on each scoot, which is what these little scales are called on the shell. So, that's going-how we choose our tortoise for today. And next, we're going to talk about how to set up a cage for him."