I need help

[Troy-BrookeB husband]

My wife is in this group, and has been for a very long time, her name is Brooke. My wife has been ill for years, but a few weeks ago her health took a bad turn. Then a two days ago her health took a rapid turn for the worse and she is currently in the hospital. I have no idea how to take care of these tortoises. We have three 4-6 inch tortoises. I don’t know what breed they are. They are black with off-white stripes. I cannot go to the hospital to speak with my wife because of Covid restrictions and she is not very lucid at the moment. I can not let her animals die.

On top of that my wife has a enclosure built for another tortoise that she was getting from someone on this forum, I don’t know how to connect with that person as her phone is currently in her possession. I’m stuck between a hard place here. Can anyone point me in the right direction.

Also if anyone knows how to take care of a cockatoo (the big white ones) that information would be appreciated as well. We have over thirty animals on our ranch that she took care of. I’m trying to get a grip on the situation before it becomes a larger problem.

 

[TeamZissou]

Sorry to hear about the situation.

Do the tortoises have lights/heat that turn on with timers? Did you ever see the food she fed them, so that you could go buy more and continue feeding them each day?

If you want, post some photos and we can identify the tortoises for you and make feeding suggestions. But, the best case scenario is that their lights are already set on timers so that you do not have to adjust anything.

 

[Troy-BrookeB husband]

Sorry to hear about the situation.

Do the tortoises have lights/heat that turn on with timers? Did you ever see the food she fed them, so that you could go buy more and continue feeding them each day?

If you want, post some photos and we can identify the tortoises for you and make feeding suggestions. But, the best case scenario is that their lights are already set on timers so that you do not have to adjust anything.

I don’t know how to post pictures. The light is important? My wife has some kind of huge greenhouse table she built. It takes up half of our spare room. Lights do seem to come on and off on their own. There is also a few lights that don’t have a normal bulb, the bulbs are flat and black, they don’t seem to be working. There is a lot of random plants in the enclosure, it looks like a overgrown field.

 

[Krista S]

I’m so sorry to hear about what Brooke and yourself are going through. I did a search of Brooke’s previous posts and the 3 she has right now are Leopard tortoises, and they’d still be quite young.

Post 17 in the link below shows the 3 tortoises….

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/life’s-been-kickin-my.191528/

I apologize, I am personally not very educated on the care of Leopards, but here is a link to the best and most current care required for the species. It was created by one of our members based on years of first hand experience. Take a look, and hopefully your questions will be answered.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you have though. There are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum.

Take care, and know that my thoughts are with you and Brooke.

 

[TeamZissou]

Yes, lights and heat are important for tortoises to function. It's a good sign that some of them turn on and off on their own.

Is there a thermometer anywhere that you can tell the temperatures of the tortoise enclosure? The temperatures that are needed will depend on the tortoise species, so it would be helpful to know what species they are.

Here's a screenshot of the 'insert image' link that you can use to upload photos. If you are on a mobile device, an option to 'click here' to select a photo should pop up.

 

[TeamZissou]

It would be good if you could check to see if the temperatures in the enclosure are above 80 F. In general, it sounds like all the lights and heat are working. The "flat and black' bulbs are most likely ceramic heat emitters, which only give off heat and no light. Don't touch them as they are quite hot and can burn instantly.

For food, get a few types of greens from the grocery store off this list:

arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find.

Give the tortoises a huge pile of them in the morning each day and they should be fine.

I have never kept birds so cannot help on the cockatoo.

 

[Troy-BrookeB husband]

I’m so sorry to hear about what Brooke and yourself are going through. I did a search of Brooke’s previous posts and the 3 she has right now are Leopard tortoises, and they’d still be quite young.

Post 17 in the link below shows the 3 tortoises….

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/life’s-been-kickin-my.191528/

I apologize, I am personally not very educated on the care of Leopards, but here is a link to the best and most current care required for the species. It was created by one of our members based on years of first hand experience. Take a look, and hopefully your questions will be answered.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Please feel free to ask any specific questions you have though. There are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum.

Take care, and know that my thoughts are with you and Brooke.

Yes that is my wife. Good to know this is the right group. It was bookmarked on my laptop. I will look at the care guide. Thank you.

 

[Troy-BrookeB husband]

It would be good if you could check to see if the temperatures in the enclosure are above 80 F. In general, it sounds like all the lights and heat are working. The "flat and black' bulbs are most likely ceramic heat emitters, which only give off heat and no light. Don't touch them as they are quite hot and can burn instantly.

For food, get a few types of greens from the grocery store off this list:

arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find.

Give the tortoises a huge pile of them in the morning each day and they should be fine.

I have never kept birds so cannot help on the cockatoo.

There are a lot of temperature monitors, her enclosure is full of them, the lowest one I’ve seen is 82 but some are quite high, 106 in one area under a bright light. Is that going to cook her tortoises?

 

[Troy-BrookeB husband]

It would be good if you could check to see if the temperatures in the enclosure are above 80 F. In general, it sounds like all the lights and heat are working. The "flat and black' bulbs are most likely ceramic heat emitters, which only give off heat and no light. Don't touch them as they are quite hot and can burn instantly.

For food, get a few types of greens from the grocery store off this list:

arugula, cilantro, kale, collard, mustard and turnip greens, squash leaves, spring mix, romaine, green or red leaf lettuce, butter lettuce, water cress, carrot tops, celery tops, bok choy, and whatever other greens you can find.

Give the tortoises a huge pile of them in the morning each day and they should be fine.

I have never kept birds so cannot help on the cockatoo.

Thank you for the warning I thought the bulb was broken.

 

[TeamZissou]

There are a lot of temperature monitors, her enclosure is full of them, the lowest one I’ve seen is 82 but some are quite high, 106 in one area under a bright light. Is that going to cook her tortoises?

It is a little hot, closer to 100 F might be better, but they should be able to leave the the area under the light and go to a cooler are if they choose. It will be fine to leave the lights how they are.

The other thing you could check is humidity—80% would be ideal, but it will not kill then if is lower. You can increase it by dumping water into the substrate.

Overall, I do not think you have too much to worry about regarding the torts since all the lights and heat are working. Just get 3-4 of the items off the food list and feed them a mix each day and they ought to be fine.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I'm fairly sure that Brooke got at least 1 or 2 of her leopards from Tom. Even if I'm wrong on that, she always followed his advice.

Let's get him involved in this as well.
@Tom

 

[Big Ron]

I am very sorry to hear about your wife,and her torts sounds like all is on auto pilot except for the salad bar that is very simple like explained before,you have enough on your hands,i wish her a speedy recovery,and get her back home to you,I wish I could do more than pray for you both but sometimes he answers if you ask him enough,sorry to meet you on this occasion,all the best to you and Brooke

 

[Tom]

My wife is in this group, and has been for a very long time, her name is Brooke. My wife has been ill for years, but a few weeks ago her health took a bad turn. Then a two days ago her health took a rapid turn for the worse and she is currently in the hospital. I have no idea how to take care of these tortoises. We have three 4-6 inch tortoises. I don’t know what breed they are. They are black with off-white stripes. I cannot go to the hospital to speak with my wife because of Covid restrictions and she is not very lucid at the moment. I can not let her animals die.

On top of that my wife has a enclosure built for another tortoise that she was getting from someone on this forum, I don’t know how to connect with that person as her phone is currently in her possession. I’m stuck between a hard place here. Can anyone point me in the right direction.

Also if anyone knows how to take care of a cockatoo (the big white ones) that information would be appreciated as well. We have over thirty animals on our ranch that she took care of. I’m trying to get a grip on the situation before it becomes a larger problem.

Hi Troy. My name is Tom. Brooke and I have been corresponding for a while now and she's bought some babies from me previously. I'm going to message you with my phone number. Call me tomorrow morning and I will help talk you through all the details. I'll help in any way that I can.

I hope that she gets through this issue and makes a speedy recovery, and I know she will be thrilled that you kept her babies alive and well for her. I'm so glad you found us, her tortoise family on the internet, and our whole community will be glad to help. Best wishes to you and your family.

 

[Yvonne G]

Make sure they're warm enough. Don't let them get cold at night. As a temporary feeding measure, buy grocery store greens. If you can find the bagged salad mixtures of greens, that's a quick and easy way to go.

Products - Cut N Clean Archive - San Miguel Produce, Inc.

www.sanmiguelproduce.com

I find this one at Smart and Final:

https://www.smartandfinal.com/shop/product/first-street-sun-harvest-santa-barbara-salad/692789

Give them clean water every morning.

I'm so sorry Brooke is in hospital. I hope it works out for you both quickly and she's back home where she belongs. Thank goodness you've hooked up with Tom. Be sure to call him.

 

[Gillian M]

I'm sorry to hear that you and Brooke are going through all this.

 

[BrookeB]

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping my husband, I’m now out of the hospital. They didn’t want me to stay in the hospital due to overcrowding and the risk that I could get Covid. Which would be a serious issue with my current health. I’m still very sick but I should be fine and I appreciate everyone helping my husband out. Especially because I couldn’t tell him everything was going to be ok because I was very out of it. Luckily because of this group my enclosure is basically automated. It regulates its temperature and lighting, it’s also planted so he didn’t have to worry about food either. All he really had to do was water my “tortoise garden” lol thank you guys!

 

[Lyn W]

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping my husband, I’m now out of the hospital. They didn’t want me to stay in the hospital due to overcrowding and the risk that I could get Covid. Which would be a serious issue with my current health. I’m still very sick but I should be fine and I appreciate everyone helping my husband out. Especially because I couldn’t tell him everything was going to be ok because I was very out of it. Luckily because of this group my enclosure is basically automated. It regulates its temperature and lighting, it’s also planted so he didn’t have to worry about food either. All he really had to do was water my “tortoise garden” lol thank you guys!

So pleased you are home, even if not fully recovered.
Take care and get well soon.🥰

 

[Tom]

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping my husband, I’m now out of the hospital. They didn’t want me to stay in the hospital due to overcrowding and the risk that I could get Covid. Which would be a serious issue with my current health. I’m still very sick but I should be fine and I appreciate everyone helping my husband out. Especially because I couldn’t tell him everything was going to be ok because I was very out of it. Luckily because of this group my enclosure is basically automated. It regulates its temperature and lighting, it’s also planted so he didn’t have to worry about food either. All he really had to do was water my “tortoise garden” lol thank you guys!

Thanks for letting us know all is well. Tell Troy he is welcome to call anytime. Its no bother. I'm glad you are home. Hospitals can be very dangerous places. You can call any time too. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we want to know you are okay.

 

[maxieboy]

What a wonderful Forum this is, well done to everyone that jumped in to help this gentleman and his wife.
Im sure that the "babies" will be fine when there is such a group of people that are happy to help out at Tortoise Forum.

 

[Chalkie]

I just wanted to thank everyone for helping my husband, I’m now out of the hospital. They didn’t want me to stay in the hospital due to overcrowding and the risk that I could get Covid. Which would be a serious issue with my current health. I’m still very sick but I should be fine and I appreciate everyone helping my husband out. Especially because I couldn’t tell him everything was going to be ok because I was very out of it. Luckily because of this group my enclosure is basically automated. It regulates its temperature and lighting, it’s also planted so he didn’t have to worry about food either. All he really had to do was water my “tortoise garden” lol thank you guys!

So glad you are home and on the mend. Also that you have such a loving husband looking out for you and your tort family. It made me realise I need to write instructions and information for my husband just in case I’m not around for any reason so he knows how to look after my tort and other things.Blessing to you both x