I am all about unusual pets.  I have had them all.  Dogs (Dachshund, Lhasa Apso, Akita, Shiba-Inu, Pomeranian)  Rabbits, Exotic Fish, Koi, Turtles (Musk, Painted, River Cooter, Red ear Slider, Alligator Snapper, Sulcuta, Box) Chinchilla, Red eyed tree frog, Green tree frog, Geckos (Flying, Giant Day, Peacock, Gold Dust, Leopard, Tokay) Savanna Monitor, Snakes (Carpet Python, Copperhead, Green, Gardener) Vail Chameleon, Anoles and now my newest addition to my pet list is the Leopard Tortoise. 


My new pet "Myrtle the Turtle"  aka: Leopard Tortoise

She is currently only 2in. so I have her in a tank.  This is not suggested.  Tortoises need tons of free space to roam around.  The ideal thing to do is have a room set up for them.  This is just not possible in a NYC apt. (unless the tortoise starts paying rent)  But once she gets bigger I will have her walkin around the apt.  It is suggested that you let the animal have access to outdoors.  Theses animals love to graze and bask in the sun.  Make sure that your tortoise does not have any access to pools or ponds because the Tortoise unlike the Turtle can not swim and will drown.  Also make sure about the plants that you have in your yard because some of them my be toxic for the tortoise.  Man, I have never heard so many mixed opinions about the care for an animal in my life.  Well someone is full of crap here because I keep hearing so many different ways on how to take care of this thing.  Its basically "experts" contradicting other "experts" and websites as well.  The best thing to do if you are interested in getting any animal is to talk to several people that "own" the animal.  As well as do research of the animal on your own.  Experts might be experts in their particular field but most of them usually have never owned the animal in question before.  Even so, still try to find a local herpetologist in case your pet has a emergency. 



The main thing that is important about the tortoise (besides the obvious heat and light requirements) is the diet.  Even so your tortoise will love and tear up some veggies from the grocery store.  This can be hazardous to your tortoises future!  These animals do not encounter these things in the wild and are not adapted to eating so much wet food.  So do your research on the proper diet for your tortoise.  There are so many different directions you can go with this.  I called one of my friends mom that I knew that owned a tortoise for help on this issue.  She owned several different kinds of tortoises for the past 55 years so she definitely had plenty of personal experience with this animal.  She suggested that I start my tortoise on Mega Diet.  Which can be purchased on TortoiseGroup.org.  This is also a great place to go and get information about tortoise care.