Need Tortoise Suggestions and Lots of Questions!

[MarkS]

I believe Russian torts stay relatively small. And the various box turtles (which are actually torts) also stay small and would probably be much more suitable to an indoor enclosure.

Sorry Judy, Box turtles are actually true turtles and not tortoises. Yes they're land dwelling, but they're skeletal design is closer to turtles then to the tortoises. Box turtles are actually fairly closely related to blandings turtles. A good rule of thumb is that tortoises walk on their toes, while turtles walk on their wrists.

Russian tortoises are a very good beginner tortoise and stay quite small, personally though I like the Red foot tortises better. They get larger then the russians but don't get so big that you can't pick them up (like some sulcattas) They do like a more humid climate though so maybe Houston wouldn't be a good fit. Another good one to research would be Leopard tortoises which are much better suited to dryer climates and do grow much more slowly.