Hello!

[piano]

Hello!

I have a tortoise named Sweetpea. She's been a family pet since before I was born. I'm 26 and I estimate she's around 40. I'm not sure what kind she is, but she is around 8 inches long and 6 wide.

Nice to meet y'all!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi piano:


Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like for us to call you?

Also, when we know approximately where you are, it helps us design our answers to better fit your questions.


I'd love to see pictures of your tortoise. Does it just live in the garden? Do you feed it anything special?

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Hello, And welcome! Post a pic of little Sweetpea and i'm sure she/he will be identified by someone the more pics the better. there is tons of good people on here to give you trucks loads of info !

 

[wellington]

WELCOME . Pics. Please

 

[Arizona Sulcata]

Welcome!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[ascott]

Welcome to the Forum and we LOVE PICS

Also...maybe someone here can tell you what species of tortoise you have if you post a pic...?

 

[tortuga_please]

Welcome!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[evlinLoutries]

40? Wow..

Could u pls upload ur tort pict?

Anyway, welcome to the forum!

 

[piano]

Thanks for all the welcomes.

By popular request, here is some more information and a couple photos! The one on the rug is one that I just took, and the next one of her eating is from last summer. Her front legs look really big in both pictures since they are extended, but in reality they fold in neatly just as the rear ones do. In the first photo, she's a little groggy and stiff cause I had to haul her out from her spot nestled in among a row of shoes in the laundry room, where she's hibernating! We keep that room cool for her so she can sleep, although she generally gets the run of the ground floor of the house.

She eats mainly lettuce, tomatoes, cobs of corn, and dandelions. Sometimes she gets green beans, cucumber, watermelon, bean sprouts, mixed greens, clovers... or anything else that would appeal to a tortoise. We don't feed any special food. As mentioned, her favourite thing is dandelions (used to be clovers, when I was little), but year by year her preferences towards them seem to change. Some years she favours the flowers more, sometimes she goes more for the leaves, and sometimes she's less fond of dandelions altogether. She only eats for about 6-8 months of the year, and in the winter she hibernates. Sometimes if we have a REALLY hot fire that wakes her up, she has a way of homing in on a heat source and makes her way all the way to the other corner of the house to plonk herself directly in front of the fireplace. Perfectly centred and facing it. She's so funny.

If you lay yourself down on the floor to read the newspaper or a have a game of cards or something, chances are good she will see if she can walk all over it. It's her way of saying hello She likes a good scratch under the chin, and sometimes even asks for one — you kinda know she wants something when she follows you around the kitchen as you make dinner and sort of props herself up on her front legs and stretches out her head to peer at you. And while she will always eat her food on her own, she does prefer being hand fed (I think she's getting a little blind... is that possible? Her aim seems off a bit when I watch her eating, but it could be that tortoises just don't see all that well to begin with.)

When she's not in hibernation, she lives in the garden. We put her out in the morning and bring her in at night to protect her from racoons.

 

[Zamric]

1st of all....
Welcome To the Forum!

....and now...

WOW! Very nice tort you got there! I would have loved to growup with one of these guys (Tortoise in general) and still have it today. I've had lots of heartbreak with my cats and dogs over the years... and to think 1 giant tortoise would have saved all that! or 1 med sized like yours.

I dont know what kind it is as I have WalkingRock my Sulcata and I'm starting a couple of leopard hatchling now. I look foward to this one being identified.

BTW...YES... they do go blind but it is usually light related and with yours being keeped in natural lighting, I don't think would be the issue