Hi

maccidees2002 · #1 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 12:33 PM

Hi to everyone
I am here as a complete newbie and have to admit I am here to get as much information as possible off people who know what they are talking about.
I live in Portugal and I was looking at the possiblity of getting my first tortoise.
I know this is a uk based forum and assume most members are from the uk but i was wondering if anyone could tell me if there was any reason for me not to own a tortoise in Portugal, What I mean in regards the health and well being of the animal.
I live in an apartment but i'm on the ground floor and have a hugh enclosed balcony we also have a very large garden area which I have access to for more natural enviroment (obviously this would be supervised ).
I want honest opinions so please if this idea sounds completely crazy then tell me i dont want to look at getting a tortoise if my lifestyle and enviroment arent good enough for it.

sorry long winded and probably in the wrong place aswell.:icon_redface:

Thanks

cornmorphs · #2 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 03:07 PM

welcome to the forum

odyssey · #3 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 04:31 PM

hello and

feorag · #4 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 04:40 PM

Hello and

.

If I were you I'd post your question in the shelled section. There are a lot of tortoise enthusiasts who can help you, but they may not read this introduction thread, because there are so many introductions every day,as I'm sure you've already seen, so not everyone reads them all.

robd999 · #5 (**permalink**) 03-11-2007, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maccidees2002

I live in Portugal and I was looking at the possiblity of getting my first tortoise.
I know this is a uk based forum and assume most members are from the uk but i was wondering if anyone could tell me if there was any reason for me not to own a tortoise in Portugal, What I mean in regards the health and well being of the animal.
I live in an apartment but i'm on the ground floor and have a hugh enclosed balcony we also have a very large garden area which I have access to for more natural enviroment (obviously this would be supervised ).

Hi,
I'm just over the border from you. I'm not sure of the precise laws in Portugal but they are likely to be very similar to those in Spain. You must obtain a captive bred animal with CITES papers - otherwise you could end up in trouble as well as supporting illegal trade in locally caught wild animals. We see many tortoises on sale in Spain where the seller has "bred" the animals but has "not yet got the papers". So beware.
It would be better if you had the tortoise in the garden area so it could forage naturally but it will still need supplemental feeding. One thing we both have in our favour is that the weather is ideal for these animals here and if you provide suitable microhabitat they do really well and will breed if old enough and fed properly. It would be preferable to get a pair - one animal alone of any species is a bit of a dead end really I always think.

If you can find out the local laws I can put you in touch with breeders here who will guarantee the animals they sell are captive bred and with all the correct papers.

HTH

Rob