Interest in pets

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I have finally! With much tears and frustration persuaded my
Mum to buy me a rescued tortoise for my birthday. I am totally thrilled but her words are still ringing scarily in my chest. She said she's scared it would be a 'two minute wonder' and I would lose interest in it. I know what she is saying. I often have mini-obsessions where I am hugely interested in something for a while and then sort of lose interest. I am also scared I do this with my tortoise. She will hopefully be with me for the rest of her life, and that could be another thirty/forty years.
Does anyone have any tips on how I can make sure I maintain a love for this animal once the novelty of it has worn off a bit? I am very scared of letting my mum down after she allowed me to do this. I am so grateful to her and I am desperate to love my tortoise for forever. Please give me suggestions. Thank you

greetings all,

congrats! from my perspective it is not about your mom. if this little creature brings you joy, then so be it. you never have to give up on it or lose interest! make it more that you are taking care of another life form! look at it, embrace it and show it unconditional love... good luck!

a name for it?

with peace,

JanusOne

Dont worry too much, once you get the hang of caring for your pet you will bond. A pet can be the best friend you will ever have.

Ive been caring for Hedgehogs for the past 5 years now, ive had 2. A female named Rose who passed away in 2013 and a male albino named Silver. I enjoy it a lot and i also have a 9 year old lab named Lola and a 11 month old cat named Pumpkin.

I'm glad for you that your mum has finally consented to let you have a pet, as I've been in your other threads and know this was a big issue. You will bond with your pet once it's home with you; do your research and study-up on everything you can find out about its care and diet and ideal housing.

There's just one thing though -- since a tortoise can live for the next forty years possibly, that's rather a huge commitment for you to make, as you don't know how things may change in your circumstances over the next thirty or forty years. Are you sure you want to take on such a life-long commitment? That would be daunting for a lot of people. A pet that might live for ten or fifteen years might be less daunting a prospect, as it's a more manageable time period to contemplate committing to, especially if it's the first time you've been fully in charge of the care of an animal.

Not trying to put a damper on your tortoise getting his or her new home! Just a bit worried about the long lifespan, as it's going to take you well into your middle age and who knows where you will be housed then, what other people will be living with you, etc.

I'm still glad your mum has relented, as I know whatever pet you get is going to make you very happy.

We've had tortoises - the only regular maintenance is feeding and cleaning. With a sufficiently large enough enclosure, cleaning isn't so bad. It's the feeding that has an impact on your day. I found that adding the prep for the tortoise food into my own (or our family's) breakfast prep worked best. If it is blended into your daily habits, it has little impact.

With very long term pets like this, it's okay to drift in and out of interest, so long as you take care of them even during the down times. If you or your mom are really worried about losing interest, consider that at a later date adding a second tortoise is a possibility. They can be quite content without our daily intervention when they have a 'friend'.

Also, as it is a rescue I don't see any moral or ethical issues with providing a good, loving home for a limited number of years if you end up taking the time to find it *another* good home at some point in the future.