Looking after a tortoise - what else do I need to do?

[sunshineuk]

Hello,

I have recently started looking after a male tortoise, he is 10yo and had not been kept properly - I’ve discovered now that I’ve done a lot of research. This site has been very helpful!

This is his set up now - substrate is top soil and coco coir and I am aiming to soak him every other day. He has a bit of outside time but it’s been quite a cold wet summer here in Somerset UK. I’m getting to grips with all the weeds in my garden to work out what he can have!

My main question is around light/heating - how often should the lamp be on (it’s on all day atm), where and when should I put heater on? I don’t have a thermometer - what sort should I get? I’m spraying substrate regularly to keep it moist. How often should he poo? It seems very irregular to me - once a week if that? How often should I change his substrate?

Finally any observations on his general health? I understand why how he has pyramiding. If we keep him possibly we could build an outside enclosure, that’s TBC at the moment

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello,

I have recently started looking after a male tortoise, he is 10yo and had not been kept properly - I’ve discovered now that I’ve done a lot of research. This site has been very helpful!

This is his set up now - substrate is top soil and coco coir and I am aiming to soak him every other day. He has a bit of outside time but it’s been quite a cold wet summer here in Somerset UK. I’m getting to grips with all the weeds in my garden to work out what he can have!

My main question is around light/heating - how often should the lamp be on (it’s on all day atm), where and when should I put heater on? I don’t have a thermometer - what sort should I get? I’m spraying substrate regularly to keep it moist. How often should he poo? It seems very irregular to me - once a week if that? How often should I change his substrate?

Finally any observations on his general health? I understand why how he has pyramiding. If we keep him possibly we could build an outside enclosure, that’s TBC at the moment

View attachment 378495

Hello and welcome!

He needs different kinds of lamp (each serves its own purpose) with different timings to more or less mimic the sunlight. It's described in details here: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

In a few words:
1. Basking lamp (heating at the basking zone) - all day long, 12-14 hours.
2. UV lamp (UVB light at the basking zone), 4-5 hours around noon for a decent UVB lamp like T5 tube with 12% UVB output.
3. Ambient LED lights (overall brightness and visible light) - all day long, maybe a bit less than basking lamp, 11-13 hours
4. Ambient heating (ceramic heat emitter) - on all the time, set on a thermostat. You need one if room temperature falls below 65F at night.

With a good appetite, hydration, correct temperatures, proper diet and decent amount of exercise he should poo every day (skipping one day is not a problem).

For temperature measurements you need 1-2 digital thermometers/hygrometers (2-10 pounds at hardware stores) and optionally (but recommended) a temperature gun (around 20 pounds).

To maintain humidity misting substrate is not very effective - pour some water in the corners to wet lower layers and make sure the substrate is firmly packed (just with your hand).

Usually, you don't need to change substrate often - it can serve you well 6 months or several years. It depends on a few factors: how often tortoise goes to bathroom and where (soaking container, outside), incidents (like intestinal worms, mold outbreaks) and presence of the "cleaning crew" (small detrivore invertebrates like springtails and isopods).

He looks more or less healthy for a tortoise with 10 years background of poor care. A few things can't be clearly seen from the photos: if his beak needs trimming (looks like yes) and if he has troubles walking (fully lift his body off the ground).

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome!!

Just to add to Alex’s good advice, I’d remove the substrate and replace with just coir, trouble with top soils, there’s no way of knowing what plants have gone into them unless you’ve composted it yourself, it could be something toxic.

As soon as you’re able, as you’re from the uk where we can’t get our torts out as much as we’d like, he’s going to need a much bigger indoor enclosure, we’re talking 8x4 foot minimum.
I’d change that dish out for a large shallow terracotta saucer, the kind you’re using has been known to be a bit of a hazard.

Hopefully this thread below will help you with what kind of equipment and materials to avoid🙂

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[sunshineuk]

Thank you for your replies this is very helpful. I have a balcony which is sheltered but also gets direct sunlight through the day. I was thinking this could be a great spot to build a new enclosure for an indoor/outdoor sort of experience - what do you think?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you for your replies this is very helpful. I have a balcony which is sheltered but also gets direct sunlight through the day. I was thinking this could be a great spot to build a new enclosure for an indoor/outdoor sort of experience - what do you think?

Sounds good! You’ll just have to make sure it’s not getting too hot with the direct sunlight, you could build a heated night box that can be locked for overnight, or bring them inside at night🙂
Also it might not be warm enough out there sometimes as our weather is so unpredictable and wet😣, so I’d have an indoor enclosure as a back up for those times, curse our uk rain lol

 

[sunshineuk]

Sounds good! You’ll just have to make sure it’s not getting too hot with the direct sunlight, you could build a heated night box that can be locked for overnight, or bring them inside at night🙂
Also it might not be warm enough out there sometimes as our weather is so unpredictable and wet😣, so I’d have an indoor enclosure as a back up for those times, curse our uk rain lol

At what temperature do they need to be brought indoors? I wonder if it’s worth it or if we should just invest in a bigger inside enclosure given the weather here

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

At what temperature do they need to be brought indoors? I wonder if it’s worth it or if we should just invest in a bigger inside enclosure given the weather here

I wouldn’t personally want them out during the day if it’s below 75f, even then though they’d probably be more active if it’s more in the 80 range, and a spot around 95 where they can bask🙂, just make sure that any where with direct sunlight for a few hours isn’t getting hotter than 100f, a few degrees over is ok, but make sure there’s lots of shade.

Personally, because I’ve found even our summer this year to be pretty rubbish, I’d invest in a good sized indoor set up as first port of call, at least then you have a safe space to put them for prolonged periods when our weather can’t make its mind up🥲then I’d work on a nice outdoor space for them to enjoy where possible, because there’s nothing like some natural uv for them to soak up🥰

 

[TammyJ]

Does he have a hide?

 

[sunshineuk]

I wouldn’t personally want them out during the day if it’s below 75f, even then though they’d probably be more active if it’s more in the 80 range, and a spot around 95 where they can bask🙂, just make sure that any where with direct sunlight for a few hours isn’t getting hotter than 100f, a few degrees over is ok, but make sure there’s lots of shade.

Personally, because I’ve found even our summer this year to be pretty rubbish, I’d invest in a good sized indoor set up as first port of call, at least then you have a safe space to put them for prolonged periods when our weather can’t make its mind up🥲then I’d work on a nice outdoor space for them to enjoy where possible, because there’s nothing like some natural uv for them to soak up🥰

Yes I think I’ll scrap that short-lived balcony idea, as nice as it was - not sure we’ve even seen 75f this year 😆 I’ve had a quick look for large vivariums and can only find 4ft - are there any recommended sites I can look at? Or plans I can buy for a carpenter friend to build? (I think I might be keeping this tortoise 😂)