Horsefield tortoise

[ashley and rosie]

Hi guys me and my girlfriend have just purchased a horse field she's currently in a viv while I'm building her a table, when we bought her 3 days ago she pooed on the lady we bought her off but has not been since, is this a worry? Any feedback would be appreciated thank you

 

[Jacqui]

Not really at this time. Has she eaten for you? What temps are you keeping her at? Do you have a lighton her and if so for how many hours a day? All this has big impact on how quickly food is digested and thus how often they "poo".

How old is she? Which also kinda goes with my next question of if your choosing to soak her or not.

Congrats on the new tortoise!

 

[ashley and rosie]

Hey jacqui she's currently in a viv with the temp at 85 and she has been eating everyday Iv got a uv10 lamp on 12 hours a day and a heat lamp set at 85 I'm just in the process of building her a table but Iv had conflicting reports the breeder I got her off said keep her in the viv but we have a local reptile shop and he says the table is the best so it's a little confusing, she's been eating rocket and carrot so far

 

[ashley and rosie]

And yes she had a little soak yesterday

 

[lynnedit]

The kind of enclosure isn't as important as the temps and size.

The bigger the enclosure, the better, so if the table is bigger, that's fine.
Temps: basking area under the MVB should be about 95f. They do need quite a warm up in the am, especially, to be able to digest. So perhaps the basking temp isn't warm enough.
They also need a cooler side around 60-70f, usually to sleep in and also so they can move back and forth to regulate their temps.
Soaking is also very important, as Jacqui mentions, perhaps daily for a week when you first get them, then 2-3x per week.

Here is a good link:
http://russiantortoise.net/care_sheet.htm

Finally, Russian tortoises (like many others) thrive most then they get to live outside (at least part of the year).

 

[ashley and rosie]

Thanks for the info guys muchly appreciated

 

[Spn785]

Lynnedit gave some good information. I want to add though that you should not be feeding a Russian carrots, it has too much sugar. Try some baby spring mix with the spinach taken out (some spinach is okay, but not a whole lot). Also try some romaine, kale, endive, raddichio, collard greens, mustard greens, and other such leafy greens.

 

[ashley and rosie]

Well I'm starting to think the guy in the reptile shop near us really does not have a clue, if a carrot has too much sugar then surely an apple will too and he's advised us to feed her both, she's been on a mix of rocket, water cress, carrot and the occasional bit of apple too..............

 

[Spn785]

Well I'm starting to think the guy in the reptile shop near us really does not have a clue, if a carrot has too much sugar then surely an apple will too and he's advised us to feed her both, she's been on a mix of rocket, water cress, carrot and the occasional bit of apple too..............

It is my experience most people in a pet shop have no idea about turtles and tortoises. Apple is not good for them either. Water cress and rocket are good, but you need a lot more variety. Check out www.russiantortoise.net for some options.

 

[Tom]

Well I'm starting to think the guy in the reptile shop near us really does not have a clue, if a carrot has too much sugar then surely an apple will too and he's advised us to feed her both, she's been on a mix of rocket, water cress, carrot and the occasional bit of apple too..............

Welcome to reality.

Sadly many pet shops don't have a clue. When you find a good one, treat them right and give them your business.

Grocery store foods are not the best. They are okay if you can't find anything better, but weeds, leaves and cactus pads are the best diet for them. I don't know about over there, but over here we have several companies that sell seed mixes, so you can grow your own russian tortoise food. There are countless weeds that are good for them. A google search for "tortoise weeds" will turn up a bunch for you and local nurseries can help you ID the weeds you already have. For leaves, look for grape leaves, mulberry and hibiscus or rose of sharon. Roses, geraniums, nasturtiums, gazanias and lots of others are suitable too. Squash plants are good... the possibilities are endless.

 

[lynnedit]

Well I'm starting to think the guy in the reptile shop near us really does not have a clue, if a carrot has too much sugar then surely an apple will too and he's advised us to feed her both, she's been on a mix of rocket, water cress, carrot and the occasional bit of apple too..............

A piece of whole carrot once a month can help them trim their beaks. A rare piece of apple won't hurt, some say te pectin can help control parasites. The trouble is that the tort develops a 'sweet tooth' and can become picky, so unless your tort is a very good eater, probably avoid the apple.

In the UK (is that where you are located?), this is a good web site for a tortoise seed mix:
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp

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Meanwhile, if you know of some parks or fields, or along hedgerows, where there hasn't been any weed treatment, look for early sprouting weeds like plantain, wild violets, dandelions...

Here is a link to a down loadable booklet of safe weeds/plants
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plant_booklet_40.asp