Dusting...

[icowden]

Hi All,

We have two Mediterranean ankle spurred hatchling tortoises which we are slowly learning to care for. At the moment they are receiving a steady diet of dandelion leaves and what I am pretty sure is nipplewort.
So I go out and hunt for weeds most days, then give them a little spread sprinkled with neutrobal and calcium powder.

Anyway....

It occurred to me today, that rather than use my fingers to try and get a pinch of each powder to sprinkle, surely someone must have invented some sort of utensil for "dusting" like a slat and pepper shaker?
Couldn't fine one though. Has anyone ever seen such a thing or have I just found a gap in the market...

 

[Yvonne G]

You use such a small amount that a "pinch" really is the best way. If you put too much, like from a salt shaker, they won't eat. Also, your tortoises are called Mediterranean spur thigh tortoises because of the large spur they develop on the back of their back thighs. Your babies probably don't have it yet.

 

[Tom]

Hi All,

We have two Mediterranean ankle spurred hatchling tortoises which we are slowly learning to care for. At the moment they are receiving a steady diet of dandelion leaves and what I am pretty sure is nipplewort.
So I go out and hunt for weeds most days, then give them a little spread sprinkled with neutrobal and calcium powder.

Anyway....

It occurred to me today, that rather than use my fingers to try and get a pinch of each powder to sprinkle, surely someone must have invented some sort of utensil for "dusting" like a slat and pepper shaker?
Couldn't fine one though. Has anyone ever seen such a thing or have I just found a gap in the market...

I see a few things in your post worth mentioning.

First and foremost, they should never be kept in pairs. Groups of juveniles can sometimes work, but not pairs.

Vitamins should only be used about once a week and calcium twice a week, and in very small amounts, as Yvonne mentioned. With a good varied weedy diet, both vitamins and calcium can be skipped entirely. Too much can interfere with the absorption of other important minerals and trace elements.

They need a lot of variety in the diet. You mentioned the two items, but I'm guessing you feed much more than just that and didn't mention it all. I hope so anyway.

Check these out:

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

tortoiseforum.org

Russian Tortoise Care Sheet

Russian tortoises have great personalities, are very hardy, tolerate a wide variety of enclosure parameters, stay small, and are generally a good "starter" tortoise in my opinion. Here is how I like to set them up: Indoor Enclosure type and size: Most people want to know the minimum size...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Maro2Bear]

Yep, variety is the spice of tort life, Lots of misc good safe greens are the absolute best. Hard on the keeper at times, but it really is best for ur tort to offer as large a variety of good greens, weeds, flowers, etc as possible. You don’t want a finicky eater....!

 

[icowden]

Ok...

So I shall cut back on the sprinkling. At the moment they have just been getting the two types of weed due to paranoia about giving them a weed that isn't good for them

I do have some seedling weeds growing but not enough to regularly give them anything interesting. I'm not a gardener by any stretch.

I have been using PictureThis to identify plants and then looking them up on tortoise table. The problem is that the recognition often isn't that great.

They seem to be happy as a pair (they are both ladies) and I can see from various sources that this is a contentious topic. We were going to get just one, then daughter 2 wanted one as well so a pair was procured .

I am now the pet dogsbody as predicted. If I post a montage of local weeds can people help me identify the good ones?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Ok...

So I shall cut back on the sprinkling. At the moment they have just been getting the two types of weed due to paranoia about giving them a weed that isn't good for them

I do have some seedling weeds growing but not enough to regularly give them anything interesting. I'm not a gardener by any stretch.

I have been using PictureThis to identify plants and then looking them up on tortoise table. The problem is that the recognition often isn't that great.

They seem to be happy as a pair (they are both ladies) and I can see from various sources that this is a contentious topic. We were going to get just one, then daughter 2 wanted one as well so a pair was procured .

I am now the pet dogsbody as predicted. If I post a montage of local weeds can people help me identify the good ones?

There's also another app besides picture this called PlantSnap. I use them to cross reference each other.

 

[Tom]

They are not happy as a pair, and females can and will fight sometimes too. Even without the obvious biting and ramming, they do not want to share their territory and resources with another tortoise. Other tortoises are seen as competitors and as insiders to be driven away. Behaviors like following, cuddling, sitting on the food, sleeping face to face, are all signs of tortoise hostility. It is very stressful on them. This is not a contentious issue. There are those who understand tortoise behavior, and those who just want two to be okay despite reality. Keep that in mind when reading about this matter. I don't mean to sound overly harsh, but this is a serious matter and your tortoises are in danger. All the arguing over this topic over all the years only serves to make some people think its okay to try, or maybe their tortoises are different than all the rest. It isn't and they aren't, and injury or sickness is likely. Some people just go ahead and do it any way, and then we see picks of missing eyes, bitten necks, missing tails and back legs, etc... Or the tortoise succumbs to illness due to a compromised immune system due to the chronic stress. They ned to be separated.

Weeds are best, and it is great that you are learning to ID your local ones, but in the mean time, the tortoises need lots of different food items. If you must, go buy some endive or escarole, and mix in other things along with those like cilantro, turnip greens, arugula, collard greens, etc... You can also add a little soaked ZooMed tortoise chow to add some variety and fiber to the grocery store foods.

 

[icowden]

You see this is where it gets confusing (and not least because in California you call all your plants by different names!)

So cilantro, arugula (rocket), endive, collard greens (kale), turnip greens and escarole are all marked as feed in moderation on TortoiseTable.org.uk, for various reasons. Whereas dandelion and nipplewort get a big green tick. UK sites also seem very down on pellets and supplements like ZooMed.

I think I am also giving them some sow thistle as well, and possibly hawksbeard.

 

[Tom]

You see this is where it gets confusing (and not least because in California you call all your plants by different names!)

So cilantro, arugula (rocket), endive, collard greens (kale), turnip greens and escarole are all marked as feed in moderation on TortoiseTable.org.uk, for various reasons. Whereas dandelion and nipplewort get a big green tick. UK sites also seem very down on pellets and supplements like ZooMed.

I think I am also giving them some sow thistle as well, and possibly hawksbeard.

Yes. It is confusing. Seems like everything you read is a contradiction. All of the above are good tortoise foods in moderation. Dandelion shouldn't be fed to them any more than any of the others. Variety is key. Endive and escarole work best as the staples, while all the others you mentioned are good to feed occasionally for variety. I used to be against pelleted supplements too, but then I learned more. Some of them are good, and can help improve the quality and variety that you are feeding to your tortoise. If you can feed your tortoise all year long with nothing but a wide variety of weeds, leaves and flowers, that would be ideal. I don't know of anyone who can do that due to climate and weather. Using the right grocery store produce mixed with the right supplements can be a good way to get through the "dry" spells.

 

[icowden]

The south of the UK is pretty good for year round weeds. I also live in an area where there is lots of common land and wild verges, so there *should* be lots of variety if I can learn what things look like.

 

[hotrodmum57]

Download plantNet app its great at helping you identify a weed/flower/plant from a photo and then you can check on tortoise table app if they can have it. That is what I do

 

[ShirleyTX]

I put calcium powder into a tea ball, the type of device you use to make tea with tea leaves. The screening on the tea ball is very fine and it is easy to sprinkle very small amounts of calcium. I store the tea ball in a plastic food saver box.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

They are not happy as a pair, and females can and will fight sometimes too. Even without the obvious biting and ramming, they do not want to share their territory and resources with another tortoise. Other tortoises are seen as competitors and as insiders to be driven away. Behaviors like following, cuddling, sitting on the food, sleeping face to face, are all signs of tortoise hostility. It is very stressful on them. This is not a contentious issue. There are those who understand tortoise behavior, and those who just want two to be okay despite reality. Keep that in mind when reading about this matter. I don't mean to sound overly harsh, but this is a serious matter and your tortoises are in danger. All the arguing over this topic over all the years only serves to make some people think its okay to try, or maybe their tortoises are different than all the rest. It isn't and they aren't, and injury or sickness is likely. Some people just go ahead and do it any way, and then we see picks of missing eyes, bitten necks, missing tails and back legs, etc... Or the tortoise succumbs to illness due to a compromised immune system due to the chronic stress. They ned to be separated.

Weeds are best, and it is great that you are learning to ID your local ones, but in the mean time, the tortoises need lots of different food items. If you must, go buy some endive or escarole, and mix in other things along with those like cilantro, turnip greens, arugula, collard greens, etc... You can also add a little soaked ZooMed tortoise chow to add some variety and fiber to the grocery store foods.

I currently own a female Redfoot that is one of the most aggressive tortoises I've ever owned.
It's why I also never say that females will always get along together.
They don't.