A day in the life of Phoebe - Am I doing this right!?

[Lyn W]

Hi , glad Phoebe's OK after her little accident. I'm always on the look out for bargains in the UK for tortoise supplies and 'The Range' was the cheapest for sphagnum moss the other week. They also had some heart shaped slates (supposed to be hung up to chalk on ) but they were only about £2 I cut the rope hanger off and use that for my torts food but would be fine for basking on too. They were also a bit cheaper than Pets at Home for different bulbs and che's etc. She is lovely by the way.

 

[Yvonne G]

I love it when "mistakes" are corrected before I have a chance to mention them. Just for other new tortoise keepers' benefit I'll state why those type waterers are not suitable for baby tortoises: On the inside, the sides are straight up and down. A tortoise can't bend, so when he tries to climb out of a straight up and down wall, even though it's only a half inch tall or so, he sometimes overbalances and tips over backwards, landing upside down in the water. The inside walls of a terracotta plant saucer are at an angle, allowing the tortoise to climb out without having to get his stiff shell at a straight up angle.

I really have no experience with the substrate that contains limestone pieces, so I can't speak with any authority, but just for my own peace of mind, I wouldn't use any substrate that might cause a baby tortoise to try to eat any of the particles. Limestone won't hurt him, but who's to say he also won't ingest some of the dirt at the same time? So I don't use anything like that.

 

[SUPER TURTLE ME]

beautiful