Tortoise Tank
The Tortoise Tank and Its Discontents
When we think of getting pet tortoises, the image that first comes to mind is that of the tortoise tank. Usually this tortoise tank is a clear glass terrarium with green carpeting and an area with some rocks. You probably imagine heat lamps on top and perhaps a long table where you can proudly display your beautiful tank with happy tortoises.
The truth, however, is that the tortoise tank is far from the ideal method to store a tortoise. Tortoises are simply not well suited to the terrarium or vivarium set-up. Although you may be advised otherwise by those who have a financial interest in getting you to buy tortoises and affordable tanks and accessories for pet tortoises, the truth is that these are not adequate accommodations for long-term housing of tortoises.
Why not?
Size
Even the largest of tanks is generally too small for even the smallest of turtles. Turtles, as you no doubt know, are cold-blooded creatures who adjust their body temperatures by moving themselves to the appropriate climate zone.
This is not just a matter of getting the temperature right inside the terrarium. There must be different temperatures throughout the terrarium. Turtles need different temperatures at different times. That is why in the wild turtles move to shaded areas at times, into the water at times, and into the sun at other times.
The other problem with size has to do with tortoises themselves. When you first buy a tortoise at the pet store, you may not realize how big they grow. They may look fine in that fifty-gallon tank when they are just little babies. However, some tortoises grow quite large, to the point where they will simply not fit in a fifty-gallon tank.
So before you even begin looking into getting a tortoise tank, you need to research the tortoises that are available in your area to find out which ones would be best suited to your living conditions. If you live in a small apartment, however, there may not be any tortoise perfectly suited to your living conditions.
Climate
As you do your research on your type of tortoise, the next thing to consider is climate. Is the climate in your area similar to the climate in your chosen tortoise’s area? Let us take the desert tortoise as an example. These cute little guys are quite small as babies. They grow to about a foot in length full grown, which makes many people think they might be able to keep them in a tank.
As far as tortoises go, these are some of the better tank-adapted species, but even so, you need to let these tortoises loose outside for at least part of one season every year. Desert tortoises have adapted to the extreme temperatures of places like the Mohave Desert. They do well because in the extreme heats they burrow underground to escape the desert sun. In the winter, the often hibernate to escape the cold.
If you live in Arizona, and you have a large backyard you are willing to devote to these tortoises, then you might very well be able to keep them as pets. But if you live in coastal Maine, or in foggy San Francisco, in an area where even in the summer, it never gets far higher than 70 degrees, and the fog never lets the sun heat the earth much, you will have few days where your tortoise feels at home.
If your plan is to keep your tortoise in the terrarium and let him out in the summer time, this may not be enough to keep your tortoise from becoming despondent and sickly.
What is the ideal enclosure?
Tortoises of all varieties do best in large outdoor pens that protect them from predators but that you open during the day while you are supervising. These pens should be in similar climates zones to their native habitat and you should set up your yard to mimic their ecosystem so that they can lead full happy lives.
This may sound to you like a bunch of animal supremacist mumbo-jumbo. After all, you don’t let your dog live in packs and wander the hills by your house hunting for prey; however, dogs have had thousands of years to adapt to living with humans and are perfectly happy to go to the park on weekends and lay around during the week. Tortoises have not had this luxury. They are simply not well suited to human caretaking. Therefore, if you are going to take control of them, you need to do all that is in your power to help them have happy lives.