Henry

[froggyraine]

He has cucumber and toms only for a treat as he likes them. What would you recommend food wise he has a lot of kale and salad leaves also dandelions leaves and heads

 

[froggyraine]

He has cucumber and toms as a treat he has a lot of kale and also dandelions and salad leaves what would you recommend ?

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Dandelions are super.
Broad leafed greens in general.
look at http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/tortoise_home_1.asp
to see what's good.

 

[Lyn W]

Hi Welcome to you and Henry. You have been given good advice here re bulbs and diet - he really is too big for that table now.
I use an MVB on during the day with a CHE on a thermostat at night to keep the temps even, but if he is having outdoor time in the sun and natural uv rays you may just need a basking lamp in the day (no coloured lights as torts need complete darkness to sleep and colour distorts vision)
Have a look at the caresheet for info on temps humidity substrate and diet etc. I also found the Beginners Mistakes and Enclosures threads useful.

Pet shops don't always give correct info - their priority is profit not aftercare so double check everything you have been told here as this is the best place for up to date tried and tested information.

So read search and ask as may questions as you like and if you can follow all advise as closely as possible for your circumstances then henry should be happy and healthy for the rest of your life!

 

[froggyraine]

THANKYOU all for your advice and I'll make the changes needed and I'll let you know how Henry gets on at the vets on Friday

 

[Lyn W]

Just a thought - do you give him any calcium with his food?
You can buy it to sprinkle on occasionally.
And/or give him a cuttlefish bone which he may nibble himself when he needs to (also good for his beak)
or you can scrape some on his food instead of the calcium powder a few times a week.
That may help his shell but check with a more experienced keeper or do a search for cuttle fish and calcium to find out more.

 

[spud's_mum]

Hey, I have a hermanns tort and he needs similar care.
Here is what I do:

Enclosure:
I also have a table (I'm covering half of it over to keep his humidity up for smooth shell growth. as you can see, he has lots of room to walk around. (Don't know the measurements of the table)
For substrate, I use peat. However, I've heard that coco choir would better. He has a water bowl, fake plants and lots of hides.

Feeding:
I feed spud daily, with weeds and some spring mix.
I supplement it every other day with nutroball. He gets dandelion, sow thistle, clover, nasturtium, dead nettle, lettuce (in small amounts), kale and spring mix every now and then.
He also has a cuttle fish and a tortoise block for calcium.

General care:
Not sure about marginated, but it's probably similar:
Hot spot: 30-34 degrees with a cooler end of 24.
I use a 125w solar glow bulb (heat and UVB all in one) and for night times I use a ceramic heat bulb (no light)

Hope this helps!

 

[froggyraine]

Thank you can I ask where you get a lot of your food from ?

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[spud's_mum]

Thank you can I ask where you get a lot of your food from ?

I grow most of it and find weeds in my garden, neighbours garden (with permission) and even around the street (when I'm sure no chemicals/pest asides have been used) then I get spring mixes from the shops

Also there are great seed mixes you can buy. It. Has a mixture of weeds and yummy plants for your tort.
Have a look on the shelled warrior site

 

[froggyraine]

I'll have a look today THANKYOU for your help

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[froggyraine]

I've been to the vets today who has given him and antibiotic shot and also given me oral antibiotics to give him over the next 10 days as it's very flexible and soft if it doesn't improve then he has to be referred to the tortoise hospital .

 

[froggyraine]

Can you guys look at my latest post and give me any advice

 

[Lyn W]

I tried posting this on your other thread but it comes back as not available so wonder if your two posts have been merged.
Anyway if you read your vitamin supplement bottle it should tell you what vitamins are in there but if you are giving him a suitable, varied diet of foods as listed on his caresheet, he should be getting much of what he needs from that.
The important thing is that he is getting UVB rays from your MVB now to help him digest and absorb the good stuff. What make did you buy?
Read the Beginners Mistakes thread to see if there is anything else you should do differently, but if your vet is a good herp vet he should be giving you the best advice.

 

[froggyraine]

Arcadia is the make of the bulb and attachment and he's on a varied diet but with the antibiotics he is sleeping a lot at the moment under his lamp he's also having baths everyday

 

[Lyn W]

Mine is Arcadia Mini D3 80w, they need to be replaced annually if not before as the UV rays weaken. I'm going get a uv meter so I can see when its getting low, Lola also gets time out in the sun whenever warm enough.

 

[froggyraine]

Mines the 100w one and I'm going to get the same so I can see just how much it's pushing out x