First post! :)

[Tortle1492]

hi everyone!
I am new to the forum but excited to be here to learn more about how to care for my tortoise in the best possible ways!

I am looking for any tips and advice on heating, meals, enclosure sizes, and typical tortoise behaviors.

I was gifted a Speke’s African hingeback tortoise last April. He was under a year old when I got him but exact age is unknown. I bought tortoise food and mix it with lettuce, carrots, cucumber and squash or cabbage. I’ve also been putting calcium powder on his meals about 1-2times a week.
I’ve tried tomato and strawberries and hibiscus but he never has any interest in those. Since the weather has gotten colder he has become less active and no longer soaks himself in water, and doesn’t eat hardly ever. Even when placed in his water dish he will get out of it after about a minute. Over the summer he used to soak for a day or two at a time and when we first got him he would go in and out of his water dish almost daily.
Not sure if this is typical for winter weather or if something is wrong.

Any feedback is helpful.

I use a ceramic heat bulb and another heat light bulb from the pet store. I just bough a heating pad for under his tank yesterday, but it’s adhesive and I’m considering getting a larger tank so I didn’t apply it yet.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome.

I don't know anything about this species of tortoise I am afraid, but those that do will need a little more information.

Pictures speak a thousand words and photos of your enclosure and lighting will help us to help you. If you're using the android app it has a few problems with photo upload right now so you will have to go to your device's web browser and sign in there to upload them.
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/first-post.163446/

You need to know the temperatures in your enclosure: warm side, cool side directly under the basking lamp and overnight minimum. Can you tell us those please? Most problems with lack of activity or eating start with temperatures being incorrect.

How old/big is your tortoise? This will affect recommendations. Here's how to measure the Straight Carapace Length (SCL) of your tort
http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm

Finally, do you have a source of UVB light in your enclosure? Tortoises need to bask, heat from above, to raise their internal temperature so they can be active and digest food. They have not evolved to take heat from below and heat mats are not generally recommended. They also need UVB light so they can make Vitamin D which helps them process the calcium in their diet and keeps their bones and shell healthy. UVB comes naturally from the sun outside, but does not pass through glass, perspex (plexiglass) or mesh do those kept indoors need a special lamp.

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome.

 

[Tortle1492]

Attached is a picture of my enclosure. I don’t have a thermometer so I don’t know what the temperatures are. I can definitely get one this weekend. I keep his light and heat lamp on for 12 hours and off for 12 every day.

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Nice looking tort! I don't know anything about that particular species, but I can tell you that your enclosure is WAY too small for it. Also, I'm not a big fan of that water dish you are using. The steep sides could cause your tort to flip over over. Something a bit more shallow that can be sunken into the substrate would be ideal. I won't comment on temperature or humidity levels since I haven't a clue what they need. Regardless, welcome to the forum!!!

 

[Tortle1492]

Thank you! I wasn’t sure what to get for water dish because everything I’ve read said it needs to be deep enough for him to be fully submerged, and the one I have is not even deep enough for that. I can definitely put it deeper into the mulch though.

 

[JoesMum]

I agree about the size. A tortoise this size needs a minimum of 4’ x8’.

Those reptile bowls are not suitable for tortoises. Get a terracotta plant saucer that is just big enough for your tort to climb in from a garden centre or hardware store. It’s cheaper and safer. Sink the saucer into the substrate so the rim is level with the surface.

You should buy a temperature gun type thermometer like this one from Amazon. You can get them from hardware/DIY stores too. They are best for the accurate spot temperatures you need to know. The ones sold by pet stores typically stick to the side of the enclosure and are not accurate enough.

You may need to start a thread in the Hingeback forum to attract other keeper’s attention so you can get this right
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/hingeback-tortoises.86/

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Not too many of our more experienced members read the "Introductions" section. It would be a good idea for you to post your Hingeback questions over in the Hingeback section.

 

[Tortle1492]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Not too many of our more experienced members read the "Introductions" section. It would be a good idea for you to post your Hingeback questions over in the Hingeback section.

Hi Yvonne, I just did that this morning, thank you!

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome to the forum!