Benjamin said:Nice looking female elongate tortoise. How long have you had her?
SaveTheTortoise said:Lu Lu looks great!
Southern California might be warm but it's dry. She might be drinking too much because her enclosure is not correct. She needs high humidity and soakings. Does she pee white urates?
In the wild, The elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) typically occurs in teak forests where the humidity is higher. Tortoises need substrate, it's not right for a tortoise to walk on tile and hard surfaces. Elongates need a jungle terrain to hide in and dig in the warm moist moss and fir substrates.
The elongated tortoise is found in tropical southern and Southeast Asia, and is found in parts of northeast India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. Places that are not only warm but have frequent down pours and times of high humidity.
More about the elongated tortoise,
Asiatic tropical species
Do not hibernate
Require varying degrees of humidity
Moist substrate required
Require very large terrarium
Regular soaking or constant access to water recommended
Active at dawn and dusk - secretive
Stress very easily
I don't have a elongated myself, these are some observations from my readings and traveling to some of these countries.
SaveTheTortoise said:Substrate is important, can anyone else jump in and explain why substrate is important? What comes to my mind is foot and leg development.
Elongated may not be diggers like other tortoises but walking on a hard tile surface for long term doesn't seem right to me.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
SaveTheTortoise said:I have a good idea, start a new thread, call it "Help with substrate" include some pics of your balcony. There is many creative people here and you will get many more tortoise experts to reply with their ideas.
SaveTheTortoise said:What comes to my mind is reptile carpet or real moss, can you grow moss on and outdoor carpet? That's an idea.