Ask a vet about tortoises

Tortoises are great pets, but have specific needs

As far as tom rush is concerned, tortoises make the best pets, going back to his days growing up in Dateland when he was given two desert tortoises as a kid.

Several years later, newly married and with a nice bonus check in hand, he went and bought a tortoise instead of furniture. rather sheepishly he explained that a tortoise could live to be 100 years old while a couch might only last 20 years.

it’s a measure of how much his wife loves him, he figures, that he not only survived that decision but also his wife’s continued tolerance of the 20 tortoises he now owns.

“i always liked them as a kid,” rush said. “i looked at them as the last of the dinosaurs. i was always intrigued by that.”

today they continue to fascinate him.

They make good pets, he said. “They’re docile and don’t need a lot of maintenance. if i go on a trip, i just put out food and water and they’re fine. i’m not a hands-on pet owner. i can enjoy them but they don’t take a lot of care,” he said.

tortoises aren’t cuddly like a cat or playful like a dog and they’re not suitable as indoor pets.

but rush does appreciate that each one has its own personality and his tortoises do enjoy attention.

“They’ll come up and stretch out their necks to be scratched like a dog would.”

Dr. Cheryl haugo, owner of Desert veterinary Clinic, agrees that tortoises make “great pets. They’re a lot of fun. if you have them in your yard, they’ll come when they hear you.”

There are things people need to be aware of if they’re thinking of having tortoises, though.

“reptiles are a whole other realm of pet to care for,” haugo cautioned. “Each one’s need for husbandry may be different than others. You have to do your research when dealing with a lot of species like that. There are things you need to check into.”

There are a number of good resources on the internet, including specific information on the various species of tortoises and their individual needs, she said. For example, desert tortoises hibernate while other species may not and the needs of each much be taken into account.

it’s also important, haugo said, to protect the tortoises from being injured. “i see a lot of tortoises that have been injured by dogs and vehicles. You need to remember where they are.”

They do like to dig and are escape artists, both haugo and rush warned.

“They can easily dig under an enclosure,” haugo said. “You need to take that into account … you need a deep barrier.”

That’s one reason he has so many tortoises, rush said. “people would give them to me because they kept digging up the yard.”

most tortoises are docile and tend to be shy unless two males are put into an enclosure with each other. This is not advisable as they could become aggressive toward each other and fight, haugo said.

She also noted that tortoises can’t express displeasure by hissing like a cat or barking like a dog. “Something to remember with reptiles, just because they’re together doesn’t mean they’re getting along.”

on the other hand, if males and females are together, you end up with babies, she said.

That’s something rush knows all about.

tortoises will lay clutches of 20 to 30 eggs. he would pay his kids to dig them up and bring them in the house to keep them warm. There are years he’s ended up with some 200 babies. he works with distributors out of phoenix to find homes for them.

Diet is something owners of tortoises need to pay careful attention to, haugo said.

rush said he feeds his tortoises 70 percent roughage such as hay and 30 percent fruits and vegetables he obtains from the Yuma Community

Food bank of product that has gotten outdated.

“These guys eat well,” rush said. “The Food bank doesn’t like to have to throw out expired food and i make a nice donation to them. it’s a win-win.”

his largest tortoise is a South American species that weighs about 125 pounds.

most of his tortoises are an African species called sulcata, native to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert and the third-largest species of tortoise in the world. he has one that is three feet long and weighs 75 pounds. to keep them comfortable, he has a shed for them that is heated and air conditioned. They don’t hibernate.

Desert tortoises on the other hand do hibernate by burrowing into the ground and going to sleep.

it is legal to have desert tortoises that were already in captivity and you have a permit for them, rush said. it is illegal, though, to take them from the desert.

Someone wanting to get a tortoise might be able to get one from a person who has them. but the best source is the Arizona game and Fish, haugo said. “Ask them if they have a tortoise that needs a home. it’s the best place to go to first.”

one benefit as well as a drawback of having a pet tortoise is that they can live for decades if not a century, haugo said. A person has a long-time pet but on the other hand the animal often outlives its owner. Then what does the family do with it?

unless a tortoise gets sick, they don’t need a lot of veterinarian care, she said. They may get parasites and are prone to respiratory infections. Care must also be taken to ensure the animal is getting a proper diet with the vitamins and calcium they need so their legs and shell remain strong.

rush concluded: “i like them, my kids like them and they like to show their friends. people come over because they like to see them.”

Photos courtesy of TOM RUSH Tom Rush interacts with one of his pet tortoises. He says they make docile, friendly pets that like to have their necks scratched.

It may not be a pony, but this large tortoise is big enough for a small child to ride.

These tortoises are among the 20 that reside in the backyard of Tom Rush and his family. His interest in tortoises began as a boy growing up in Dateland when he was given two of the reptiles that remind him of dinosaurs.