Roderick update
So he’s roaming about but seems to still be either partially or completely blind. I feed him rocket to supplement the grasses in the field, and he now has a pond nearby although I’m not sure he sees it. Aside from fattening him up with greens and ensuring he doesn’t dehydrate...
So I went with white mulberry leaves and some fruit. He ate two fruits but wasn’t enthusiastic about leaves. He’s pooping at least so he must have eaten some grass in the interim. Not sure I want to confine him, but this morning I found him wedged stuck between a wall and a log.
OK so rather than resort to chemicals, I’ll just keep picking at them with my fingers while giving Roderick a bath each day. He is improving, drinking a lot and getting heavier, and enjoys lettuce but refuses most other foods including the ubiquitous grape leaves growing everywhere along the...
…on the subject of ticks, can you recommend a better way to remove clusters of small (tiny) ticks that would be more efficient than plucking them out one by one? The big ones are easy, but some of the tortoises I have treated have patches of 30-40 or more tiny ticks all clustered together on the...
Thanks. I should add that the two I rescued from the highway (about 3km from my property) were emaciated, covered in ticks and not long for this world, which is why I took them, de-ticked them (believe me that was a hard job) and fattened them up with broccoli, mulberry leaves and ubiquitous...
So I live in a remote mountainous area in southern Turkey in a fenced off plantation. I had a few tortoises on the land already but rescued a couple more from a highway nearby last year. This summer is starting off terribly hot and dry, so I’ve found some of the critters quite underweight and...
Hi Yvonne. Thanks for that, I'm having a read of it now. I will have to keep these critters indoors this winter now I guess. Oddly though these animals are native here and we get below freezing days with several days of snowfall every year, much of which stays on the ground for up to a week...
Hi. Thanks for getting back to me so fast.
I've uploaded two pics. The smaller one with its head out is still active and appears to be eating a bit. The second one is the floppy legs one with its head withdrawn. He was very sweet. I hope he's just comatose or something. Is there any reason you...
Hello. This is a long one. I'm trying to care for two young tortoises about the size of a full hand in my garden in Istanbul Turkey over the winter. They were given to me by a former neighbour in the middle of summer. I've seen many larger tortoises (native to this part of the world) living...