# Adopted 25 yr old DT in Laughlin, NV



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

Hello everyone,

I recently got a house where the previous owner had raised a DT for the last 25 yrs he has his own underground lair on the side of the house made of a 2x4 shoot going down into the ground and a huge mound he has built in front to stop water from flooding his cave. The previous owner gave me his feeding schedule of every morning at 8 am he comes out and stares in the sliding glass door waiting for his food which I was told to give him 2 1/4 in. slices zucchini chopped into cubes, 2 1/4 in. slices cucumber chopped into cubes, 1 leaf of Romaine and 1 leaf of Kale torn into scraps, so I have now for about 3 months he devours it every day at 8 am like clockwork then disappears into his underground lair.

So I have a few questions...

1. I did some reading about diet and I read that romaine lettuce or any lettuce has no nutrients for him and should be not used and Kale should be used more sparsely and to use more like turnip greens mustard greens or collard greens instead, also I read that cucumber and zucchini should be used sparingly and that butternut squash or Acorn squash is better. Now if he has been living on this same diet for so long is there any reason I should change it or just stay with it?

2. All the pictures I see of these Tortoises they are all so clean looking my DT is very, very dusty like he has never touched water before and I read that people are soaking them in water should I be giving this guy water to bathe in or should I hose him down with slow running water in the mornings when he is done eating? Now also the previous owner did not have anything about water on his feeding schedule he wrote down for me, so do these guys not drink water either? I tried to put a shallow dish of water by his food 1 day and he just walked over it, spilled it, then ate his food and left.

Any way I will get some pics of him up soon as he comes out again to better show you his dusty appearance.

but here is a pic of his lair entrance...




Thanks for any responses


----------



## Gillian M (Jul 14, 2016)

What about a pic of your tort?

Please give him daily soaks in warm water, particularly if the climate back there is dry.

And read the "Beginners Mistakes Thread" as well as the care sheets available.

And.....welcome to the forum!


----------



## Yvonne G (Jul 14, 2016)

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

It may be hard to get him changed over to a better diet, but it's worth trying. They have the potential to outlive their keeper, but eating as he has been may void that potential.

Your picture shows a very barren landscape. Is there any grass or weeds in the yard? The best diet for a desert tortoise is grass and weeds. If you have none, it would be a good idea to plant a small area for him.

Second choice would be good grocery store greens. I fall back on endive, escarole, turnip greens, dandelion, then some of the edible plants like rose of sharon, hosta, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, etc. Here's a nice list:

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds: 
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

Thanks for your reply and information. that is the side of house where his underground lair is built he can wonder and does all over the property where there are some spots I see him stopping for a munch in areas of ground cover the rest of my back yard is landscaped with trees bushes wild clover fruit trees ( tangerine and ruby red grapefruit) many different cactus lots of stuff very green but he seems to go for the dried dead grasses that come up in the rock surrounding our tall palms


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

Gillian Moore said:


> What about a pic of your tort?
> 
> Please give him daily soaks in warm water, particularly if the climate back there is dry.
> 
> ...


as I said the pic of him will have to wait till he desides to come out seems he likes his lair very much...


----------



## Rue (Jul 14, 2016)

I would nail down those loose nails or screws or whatever they are. Never know when an 'oopsie' is going to happen and you don't want him/her to rip open a wound.

But thanks for adopting a new friend! Hopefully you can make things even nicer for him!


----------



## Gillian M (Jul 14, 2016)

cubsfan79 said:


> as I said the pic of him will have to wait till he desides to come out seems he likes his lair very much...


Alright.


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

Rue said:


> I would nail down those loose nails or screws or whatever they are. Never know when an 'oopsie' is going to happen and you don't want him/her to rip open a wound.
> 
> But thanks for adopting a new friend! Hopefully you can make things even nicer for him!



I was thinking the same thing previous owners were in there 70's I think the last 10 yrs or so have been rough on him


----------



## Razan (Jul 14, 2016)

Congratulations on becoming a new tortoise owner (yeah, and on getting a house too). But wow, a tortoise ! 

Welcome to the tortoise forum


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

as promised here is Buddy


----------



## Rue (Jul 14, 2016)

He looks very good!


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

Rue said:


> He looks very good!



thanks we really enjoy him as we moved here from Iowa and having a pet tortoise in your back yard is pretty cool


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 14, 2016)

Razan said:


> Congratulations on becoming a new tortoise owner (yeah, and on getting a house too). But wow, a tortoise !
> 
> Welcome to the tortoise forum



Thanks yes Wow indeed they are soooo cool!!


----------



## Kenno (Jul 14, 2016)

Buddy looks great! 

You're in the right place to learn about what he needs.


----------



## Gopherus Guy (Jul 15, 2016)

cubsfan79 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I recently got a house where the previous owner had raised a DT for the last 25 yrs he has his own underground lair on the side of the house made of a 2x4 shoot going down into the ground and a huge mound he has built in front to stop water from flooding his cave. The previous owner gave me his feeding schedule of every morning at 8 am he comes out and stares in the sliding glass door waiting for his food which I was told to give him 2 1/4 in. slices zucchini chopped into cubes, 2 1/4 in. slices cucumber chopped into cubes, 1 leaf of Romaine and 1 leaf of Kale torn into scraps, so I have now for about 3 months he devours it every day at 8 am like clockwork then disappears into his underground lair.
> 
> ...


Your so lucky, you'll have a loyal friend for quite a while. He should be s happy-boy. Try using a drip-tray for water, a large one 18" x 24" x 1" deep. He'll disk in it and drink from it. I have 3 around the yard. Try giving him some dried leaves or Timothy Hay mixed with Collard Greens, and maybe a few flowers! He sounds like he has a good parent!!


----------



## Momof4 (Jul 15, 2016)

Buddy is very handsome!!! 
Yvonne G gave you the best list for foods. I guess you can sneak some in with his regular foods and gradually eliminate the not so nutritious stuff. 

That's cool that you guys took him with the house? 
We're you guys like, whaaat a tortoise?!?!?


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 15, 2016)

Gopherus Guy said:


> Your so lucky, you'll have a loyal friend for quite a while. He should be s happy-boy. Try using a drip-tray for water, a large one 18" x 24" x 1" deep. He'll disk in it and drink from it. I have 3 around the yard. Try giving him some dried leaves or Timothy Hay mixed with Collard Greens, and maybe a few flowers! He sounds like he has a good parent!!



Thanks, I am so lucky he is very cool my whole family adores him! So yea that is what I was thinking as well like a large water heater drip base from home depot big and round and shallow enough for him climb in/out. Today I tried turnip greens he didn't care much for those then some acorn and butternut squash I threw in a few cubes of apple as well he munched those all down fast, then I made a shallow pool bout 3/4" deep out of a large tote lid and wow did he go for that sat in it and drank for about 5 mins straight.


----------



## cubsfan79 (Jul 15, 2016)

Momof4 said:


> Buddy is very handsome!!!
> Yvonne G gave you the best list for foods. I guess you can sneak some in with his regular foods and gradually eliminate the not so nutritious stuff.
> 
> That's cool that you guys took him with the house?
> We're you guys like, whaaat a tortoise?!?!?



Yup was totally like what? really? there is a tortoise living out back under ground how cool and at first they were going to give him to another family member but after I met him I instantly offered to adopt him and let him stay in his home where he is accustomed to and they agreed the best place would be for him to stay. We are so glad they did he brings us lots of joy. However I think our dog is a bit Jealous.


----------



## Yvonne G (Jul 15, 2016)

I love your tortoise's color. I notice that quite a few of the Gopherus morafkai are more yellow than gray. This is what I usually see:


----------



## Carol S (Jul 15, 2016)

Welcome to the Forum. Buddy is a very handsome tortoise. I love his coloring.


----------



## Momof4 (Jul 15, 2016)

I love his coloring too!!


----------



## ascott (Jul 16, 2016)

cubsfan79 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I recently got a house where the previous owner had raised a DT for the last 25 yrs he has his own underground lair on the side of the house made of a 2x4 shoot going down into the ground and a huge mound he has built in front to stop water from flooding his cave. The previous owner gave me his feeding schedule of every morning at 8 am he comes out and stares in the sliding glass door waiting for his food which I was told to give him 2 1/4 in. slices zucchini chopped into cubes, 2 1/4 in. slices cucumber chopped into cubes, 1 leaf of Romaine and 1 leaf of Kale torn into scraps, so I have now for about 3 months he devours it every day at 8 am like clockwork then disappears into his underground lair.
> 
> ...




Beautiful tort....and after reading the entire thread there thus far, the food offerings that you are giving are something that tortoise likely counts on as part of his routine....you also say that he has access to other parts of the yard where there is patches of items he grazes on right? Well, the grazing is likely where he gets some nutrition and the food offerings you give/prior owner gave are good for the soul....and likely keep him happy and do no harm...romaine, green leaf, red leaf lettuces are all fine and they do indeed have nutritional value...also, the food items that he is use to are high water content items which is likely why he is fine in regards to hydration....adding the water soaking dish I a beneficial item and they do love to walk into and soak in the water, they also like to muck about in a low running sprinkler, tortoise height water....

Sometimes the best thing we can do for a tortoise who has established his "world" within out yards is to allow the tort to remain doing what has worked...sometimes the nicest/kindest thing we can do is to simply offer up the things the tortoise can use to be healthy and let them do what they have been doing and in this tortoise case, all appears good....

Oh yeah, this is a burrowing species...so a dusty tortoise is a sign of a happy tortoise...also, a lot of the "clean" looking tortoise you see here have been wet down or waxed for appearance and is in no way what they naturally are designed to look like which is indeed a dirt loving/living animal...

Please also take care with your dog within the same space as the tortoise....what we see as jealous, curious, friendly and all the nice human words we use are all signs that a dog is interested in the tortoise and if ever left alone together, the tortoise always will lose...many tortoise have had limbs chewed off, shells chewed on and bit into and cracked clean in half....more times by the family dog that is not bad but is naturally curious and use their teeth and jaws to satisfy that curiosity...


----------



## Razan (Jul 16, 2016)

What kind of dog do you have? Please never leave a dog alone with a tortoise. So many many times we read about the friendliest family dog ever, so unexpectedly, killed a tortoise. Completely out of character for this dog...Very sad preventable incidents.

On a lighter note, your tortoise is beautiful ! Thank you for posting pictures.


----------

