Firstly, thank you in advance for reading my post, I know it's long!
Just a bit of background before I ask my questions. My family has had our marginated girl, Nelly, for about 44 years and she was fully grown when they got her. She was given to my mum when she was a young child so Nelly is quite a bit older than me! She lives outside in the garden and hibernates every year. She didn't hibernate in 2019 due to needing surgery to remove her ovaries after a malformed egg caused a prolapse but she recovered very well. She has lived with my Granny up to this point but Nelly has recently gotten sick and it has become apparent that my Granny is no longer able to give her the care and attention she needs. Unfortunately my family haven't really looked into tortoise care and I feel that her diet up until now hasn't been the best (mostly lettuce, cucumber, strawberries and dandelions). I think this is probably what they were told to give her when they got her many years ago and whenever I try to talk about it they says "well she's been fine for 44 years!". I have just bought a variety of tortoise friendly plants from a few tortoise websites and will also start to plant things for her and will work hard to get more variety in her diet.
She is sick with a respiratory infection at the moment and this means she will not be able to hibernate this year so I will need to keep her indoors over the Autumn/winter months, She is currently on antibiotic injections and has been having weekly trips to the vet. About 2 weeks ago they kept her in for 5 days to syringe feed her. They took an x-ray and bloods and found that her kidney and liver function was good but she was dehydrated and had an infection. She is still not eating properly but luckily has started to eat a little bit. I soak her every day and have been alternating between adding Reptoboost and Exo Terra Electrolyte supplement drops to the water. She is now well hydrated and has gained back a good amount of weight, which the vet seemed very positive about, but she is still not herself and is still not eating properly.
I will now be taking Nelly in and caring for her. I am currently in the process of building an indoor set up for her over the winter until it is warm enough for her to go back outside and then hibernate again once healthy. She is a big girl and after researching online it looked like a tortoise table was a better choice than a vivarium. My dad is building a large one at the moment and I'm hoping it will soon be ready. I'm really trying to educate myself and provide her the best care I can. There is so much conflicting information out there though, and most is for other breeds or tortoise, and I'm finding it confusing and stressful trying to figure out the right things I need to get.
Question 1 - Substrate :
I've been trying to research the best substrate to use and was advised by the vet to use coconut coir. I was also told it shouldn't be fine or be big chunks but in between however I can't find that. I've ordered some online and made it up but it feels and measures (using a hygrometer) to be too humid (its at about 80% or higher and online its says she needs 60 - 70% humidity). Also, when it dries out a bit it doesn't pack down well and I think it might not be great when she walks over it. Does anyone have any advice on this? I though about mixing it but i've seen that sand is a no no due to impaction and topsoil might contain toxic plants and other things.
Question 2- Tortoise food :
I know fruit isn't advisable to give her but it is literally the only thing she is willing to eat at the moment. I've been cutting strawberries into quarters and wrapping dandelion and plantain around then as its the only way to get her to eat them. The vet recommended adding some dry tortoise food and I was thinking I could mash some strawberry into it as a way to encourage her to eat it but I'm not sure which would be best for marginated tortoises. They all seem to contain lucerne ,which the tortoise table plant database says should not be fed to tortoises. Can anyone recommend a good dried food for marginated tortoises?
Question 3 Lighting/heat:
I have a 100W D3 Arcadia Basking lamp which provides UVA UVB and Infrared heat. At the moment she is just sitting under the lamp and sleeping all day and barely moving. We had a couple warmer and sunnier days at the weekend and when she is outside she walks around and seems so much happier but it is not too cold and cloudy for her to be outside. I'm wondering if this type of lamp is the most suitable of it its better to get separate heat and light sources. I've seen the UV tube lights and CHE. I have bought a 50W CHE and a thermostat plug for when winter comes and the temperature is colder but i'm also worried about the fire risk they pose. Please can anyone advise me on the best heat/ light set up.
Question 4: I've noticed that her shell has developed some dark lines of what I'm assuming is new growth since a few years ago. The vet didn't mention anything about this but is that normal or something I should be concerned about? I have attached before and after pictures
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm new to all this and am trying my hardest to do what's best but feeling more than a little overwhelmed at the moment. I just want my Nelly to be happy and healthy!
Just a bit of background before I ask my questions. My family has had our marginated girl, Nelly, for about 44 years and she was fully grown when they got her. She was given to my mum when she was a young child so Nelly is quite a bit older than me! She lives outside in the garden and hibernates every year. She didn't hibernate in 2019 due to needing surgery to remove her ovaries after a malformed egg caused a prolapse but she recovered very well. She has lived with my Granny up to this point but Nelly has recently gotten sick and it has become apparent that my Granny is no longer able to give her the care and attention she needs. Unfortunately my family haven't really looked into tortoise care and I feel that her diet up until now hasn't been the best (mostly lettuce, cucumber, strawberries and dandelions). I think this is probably what they were told to give her when they got her many years ago and whenever I try to talk about it they says "well she's been fine for 44 years!". I have just bought a variety of tortoise friendly plants from a few tortoise websites and will also start to plant things for her and will work hard to get more variety in her diet.
She is sick with a respiratory infection at the moment and this means she will not be able to hibernate this year so I will need to keep her indoors over the Autumn/winter months, She is currently on antibiotic injections and has been having weekly trips to the vet. About 2 weeks ago they kept her in for 5 days to syringe feed her. They took an x-ray and bloods and found that her kidney and liver function was good but she was dehydrated and had an infection. She is still not eating properly but luckily has started to eat a little bit. I soak her every day and have been alternating between adding Reptoboost and Exo Terra Electrolyte supplement drops to the water. She is now well hydrated and has gained back a good amount of weight, which the vet seemed very positive about, but she is still not herself and is still not eating properly.
I will now be taking Nelly in and caring for her. I am currently in the process of building an indoor set up for her over the winter until it is warm enough for her to go back outside and then hibernate again once healthy. She is a big girl and after researching online it looked like a tortoise table was a better choice than a vivarium. My dad is building a large one at the moment and I'm hoping it will soon be ready. I'm really trying to educate myself and provide her the best care I can. There is so much conflicting information out there though, and most is for other breeds or tortoise, and I'm finding it confusing and stressful trying to figure out the right things I need to get.
Question 1 - Substrate :
I've been trying to research the best substrate to use and was advised by the vet to use coconut coir. I was also told it shouldn't be fine or be big chunks but in between however I can't find that. I've ordered some online and made it up but it feels and measures (using a hygrometer) to be too humid (its at about 80% or higher and online its says she needs 60 - 70% humidity). Also, when it dries out a bit it doesn't pack down well and I think it might not be great when she walks over it. Does anyone have any advice on this? I though about mixing it but i've seen that sand is a no no due to impaction and topsoil might contain toxic plants and other things.
Question 2- Tortoise food :
I know fruit isn't advisable to give her but it is literally the only thing she is willing to eat at the moment. I've been cutting strawberries into quarters and wrapping dandelion and plantain around then as its the only way to get her to eat them. The vet recommended adding some dry tortoise food and I was thinking I could mash some strawberry into it as a way to encourage her to eat it but I'm not sure which would be best for marginated tortoises. They all seem to contain lucerne ,which the tortoise table plant database says should not be fed to tortoises. Can anyone recommend a good dried food for marginated tortoises?
Question 3 Lighting/heat:
I have a 100W D3 Arcadia Basking lamp which provides UVA UVB and Infrared heat. At the moment she is just sitting under the lamp and sleeping all day and barely moving. We had a couple warmer and sunnier days at the weekend and when she is outside she walks around and seems so much happier but it is not too cold and cloudy for her to be outside. I'm wondering if this type of lamp is the most suitable of it its better to get separate heat and light sources. I've seen the UV tube lights and CHE. I have bought a 50W CHE and a thermostat plug for when winter comes and the temperature is colder but i'm also worried about the fire risk they pose. Please can anyone advise me on the best heat/ light set up.
Question 4: I've noticed that her shell has developed some dark lines of what I'm assuming is new growth since a few years ago. The vet didn't mention anything about this but is that normal or something I should be concerned about? I have attached before and after pictures
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm new to all this and am trying my hardest to do what's best but feeling more than a little overwhelmed at the moment. I just want my Nelly to be happy and healthy!
