Everything good?

[Hector108]

I will tell you guys exactly how i care for my tortoise.

I am a proud owner of a gopherus berlandieri (Texas tortoise), she spends the whole day from 11 am to 7 pm outdoors. Has an indoor enclosure where she gets put to sleep at night, and gets soaked one day yes, one day no. If it is a really hot day it gets soaked two times a day. She does not eat any supermarket food. Her diet consists of weeds and grasses that are always availible here in brownsville. Just to make sure she is eating enough, i go outside and pluck out weeds and grasses that i know are safe for her twice a week. She likes around 6 types of weeds and 3 types of grasses. She has access to cuttlebone at all times. I feed her 1 pad of spineless prickly pear cacti each day except for Wednesdays and Saturdays (she gets aloe on those two days). On one part of her outdoor enclosure she has sand which she loves to be walking on.

Her indoor enclosure is lighted and heated with an incandescent light bulb which right under it it is 92, warm side is 87, and cool side is 83. She does get actual sunlight during the day.

Any advice or questions are welcomed and appreciated.

 

[wellington]

@tortadise might be able to help you out with if things are good.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome

 

[tortadise]

Welcome. Well sounds good. I'd just put her outside if at all possible all the time. ours hibernate in the "winter" what's her size and how long have you had her?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Hector. I have 1.4 Gopherus berlandieri. They live outside year-round, hibernating in a dry house that I cover with leaves for more insulation. I don't feed any extra, but, like you, I offer opuntia occasionally. I also give them a branch full of leaves off the mulberry tree once in a while. Their yard is planted in bermuda grass and there are plenty of weeds growing in there too. When the weeds get too tall, I step on the stem to bend them over and the tortoises finish eating them off.

 

[Hector108]

She is still small thats why i dont have her out all day

 

[Hector108]

Hi Hector. I have 1.4 Gopherus berlandieri. They live outside year-round, hibernating in a dry house that I cover with leaves for more insulation. I don't feed any extra, but, like you, I offer opuntia occasionally. I also give them a branch full of leaves off the mulberry tree once in a while. Their yard is planted in bermuda grass and there are plenty of weeds growing in there too. When the weeds get too tall, I step on the stem to bend them over and the tortoises finish eating them off.

You made the house? I have been wanting to do something like that but i dont have any ideas.

 

[Hector108]

She gets hibiscus leaves and flowers occasionally

 

[Yvonne G]

You made the house? I have been wanting to do something like that but i dont have any ideas.

This is a duplex. The side pictured is where the desert tortoises are. There is a plywood fence going through the middle and the Texas tortoises live on the other side.

First I put down a layer of masonry caps:

These are rectangles of cement that are used to top a cinderblock wall. I make the floor as big as needed all across the whole area, not just the edges. Then I place cinderblocks around the edge. I only went two high. Then I put a 1" plywood over the top that I can open or close. I fill the inside with leaves, and even though it is under a nice tree and doesn't get any sun, I still pile more leaves on top for added insulation.

 

[Hector108]

Okay i know the perfect spot for it. I have a tree where a lot of dead leaves are but under those leaves i have found roaches. Will they do anything to my tortoise?

 

[Tom]

Your routine and diet sounds great to me. Keep adding more variety to the diet.

Does she get to cool off and have it dark at night in her indoor sleeping quarters?

Roaches will not harm a living animal, so no worry there. This is one reason that roaches make good feeders for captive lizards, because they won't bother the lizard at night, unlike crickets which will chew on your animals. Yvonne and I both have lots of Blatta lateralis scurrying about our places at night. They don't bother the tortoises.

Care and feeding for russian tortoises is very similar to all the Gopherus. Check out what I did here for my russians. I like this because it gives them a cool retreat in summer and well as keeping them warmer in winter. With this set up, you could leave him out all spring, summer and fall:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/semi-underground-russian-box.98590/#post-922226
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/heating-an-outdoor-russian-night-box.116180/#post-1077261

The sand makes me nervous. I would not want that in any of my tortoise enclosures. Many tortoises die of sand impaction and many tortoises get eye and skin problems from living on sand. I would dig it out and remove it. At the very least, be sure that there is nothing to eat anywhere near the sand section.

Here is a list of other foods that would be good:
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

Other good stuff:
"Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes
Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html
Homegrown alfalfa
Mazuri Tortoise Chow
ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food

 

[Hector108]

Okay by next week i will have an outdoor retreat for her. She does have plenty of shade. There is no vegitation in the sand area. I will see how i can remove that though.

 

[Hector108]

Oh and thaks for the roach info i was concerned about that.

 

[Hector108]

@Tom i got rid of the sand