Hello from England

Gillian M

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Yep just sprinkle a little bit of water on his shell just to keep it clean and hydrated. This may sound cruel but I drag mine out of bed each morning if they are not already up and place them straight in the bath, it really gets them hungry and excited for breakfast though. You can keep the water warm by placing it in the enclosure near the heat lamp. Hope this helps. :)
I wait till Oli wakes up. I soak him, then feed him.
 

Ben02

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Yes I do have a garden but I wanted them as house pets really I would probably put them out in the summer but a think it may be too cold for them yet, am a softie a would be out there putting a blanket on them lol
Yes absolutely, I would do exactly the same thing. My torts haven’t been outside this year yet. If you could give us a pic of their enclosure this may help.
 

TammyJ

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Welcome and all the best to you and Flash! Any reason for that name?o_O
 
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Hi Joanne
I’m new to tortoise habitat n habits to be honest, there are loads of people more knowledgeable than me on this forum, so can’t help you with their living arrangements sorry. I was just told don’t get 2 because they can fight n bully/get bullied and stress.

I give Flash, spinach, kale, water cress, rocket, round lettuce, chard, cabbage, carrot for a treat. I want to grow dandelions in a large pot I’ve bought. Calcium powder 3x week over food.

I’m an obsessive to be honest, if the food looks a bit dry I change it
(Sometimes 2-3x a day)

I’m with you on cold! I’d never have him outside here in Newcastle! It’s freezing
I’m renowned for covering my kids with blankets when they were babies n young , so couldn’t have Flash getting cold!

I hope you find a solution you’re happy with for ur 2 torts
[emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]
 

Lyn W

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I’m an obsessive to be honest, if the food looks a bit dry I change it
(Sometimes 2-3x a day)


[emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]
A good tip for dry looking food - especially leafy food - is to put it into very cold water and let it rehydrate - it will soon bounce back and look appetising again.
 
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Lyn W

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Thanx Ben, what’s a cuttle bone? Is it to reduce peak formation? Where would I get one from?
You would buy cuttlebone from the bird section of Pets at Home.
They are attached to cages to let the birds wear down their beaks as well as provide calcium.
Make sure to completely remove any plastic or metal cage clips from the cuttlebone before putting in your tortoise enclosure (even the bits that may be sunk into the cuttlebone)
 
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Lyn W

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Hi my name is Joanne, I am from Whitley Bay in England I have 2 Horsefield tortoises 1 called Shelby & 1 called turbo. Just thought I'd say hello to everyone. I've really enjoyed reading what people have to say & have found it quite interesting. I havent had my tortoises very long was given them by a friend. I am looking for a new house for them to live in. Shelby is quite big she is 9yrs old & is quite big & turbo is 4yrs. Hes not as big as her but he keeps pestering her so I need another home. All the tortoise tables are too small ?
Have you seen the enclosures thread yet - lots of great deas there.
Good idea to separate the torts the one on the receiving end of all the attention must be pretty miserable and stressed which can make them ill.
Torts are solitary creatures and don't need or like friends so you would be doing both a massive favour.
Some people use bookcases on their backs with shelves removed and lined with plastic as a starting point.
 
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You would buy cuttlebone from the bird section of Pets at Home.
They are attached to cages to let the birds wear down their beaks as well as provide calcium.
Make sure to completely remove any plastic or metal cage clips from the cuttlebone before putting in your tortoise enclosure (even the bits that may be sunk into the cuttlebone)

Thank you! I will definitely go and get a cuttlebone [emoji4]
 

Ray--Opo

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You would buy cuttlebone from the bird section of Pets at Home.
They are attached to cages to let the birds wear down their beaks as well as provide calcium.
Make sure to completely remove any plastic or metal cage clips from the cuttlebone before putting in your tortoise enclosure (even the bits that may be sunk into the cuttlebone)
Lyn the hard side of the cuttlebone. Is that alright to leave on? I was told it slowly dissolves in water. Is it safe for tort to eat?
 

Pastel Tortie

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I was thinking something like this....
View attachment 267115
Those are good artificial plants to use in an enclosure, PROVIDED that your tortoise doesn't eat them. I'd buy ONE and try it out, sometime when you're home and can observe the way your tortoise interacts with the artificial plant.

Out of curiosity, your tortoise will probably try to sample it. Then one of two things will happen:
1. Your tortoise tastes the plastic leaf, realizes this isn't food, and leaves the plant alone. Congratulations, you can leave the artificial plant in the enclosure and maybe get more if you want.
2. Your tortoise tastes the plastic leaf and either eats it or tries to eat it. Then you have to remove the fake plant because your tortoise either can't tell or doesn't care that it isn't real food.

It just depends on the tortoise, and we don't have a reliable way to predict how an individual tortoise will react. With that in mind, the safest, most conservative advice is not to risk it.

I would not risk it without me being there to observe, so if the tortoise incorrectly decided it was edible, I could remove the artificial plant "hazard" immediately. (Undoubtedly less nerve-wracking than watching for green plastic pieces in tortoise droppings!)
 

Pastel Tortie

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My other guidance on choosing artificial plants...

If it goes IN the enclosure where the turtle or tortoise can reach it, get the plastic artificial plants designed for use with reptiles. Shop around and compare prices, but getting artificial plants designed for reptile enclosures, from someone like Zoo Med or Exo Terra, is worth the peace of mind (in my personal opinion). Like I said above, I'd get ONE to start with.

The other thing is to avoid getting plastic plants that closely resemble food items, including any plants that your tortoise is likely to graze on. My underlying assumption here is that it's easier to tell apart if it doesn't look like in the first place.

For example, I have used artificial plants with my young three-striped mud turtles. I knew their breeder had used plastic plants with them previously. I observed to make sure that they could tell the difference between the fake plants and the variety of real foods on the menu. They learned to work around the fake plant parts to get to food pellets that gathered there, and they never bit off any plastic parts, even though they sometimes put their mouths on it because there were turtle pellets stuck in it. That being said, I made sure NOT to purchase any plastic anacharis or duckweed to put in with turtles, because I knew I wanted the option of using real anacharis and/or duckweed (that the species has been known to graze on) later.

I used some of the same risk assessment and other considerations when choosing plants for my juvenile box turtle's indoor enclosure. Not too many real plants can withstand the heat of a PowerSun 100W, so there's a mix of real and artificial plants in her enclosure. However, I have stayed away from using anything artificial that LOOKS like sedum, especially ground cover sedum, because that's the one plant my boxie has ever expressed any interest in.
 
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Thank you for your advice
I’ve noticed my tortoise stresses with new things in his enclosure
I tried cuttlefish and he looked scared of it, previously tried tortoise block n again looked scared, had to remove both.
So I’m not getting anything yet
Not worth him stressing [emoji846]
 

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