Meet terry

[Diane1157]

This is terry my horsfield tried him with a dandelion I picked while walking my dogs
He loves them

 

[JoesMum]

Terry is very cute

You do know that tomato, along with other sugary foods like bell pepper, fruit and carrot should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally?

Russians cannot process sugars - they cause digestive and kidney problems. So the above foods are best avoided.

 

[Tom]

Hi Terry. Nice to meet you.

Diane, its great that you post pics because we all enjoy them. Please always feel free to post more.

When we see something in a pic that might be a problem, many of us will make a comment out of concern for you and your tortoise. These comments are intended to be helpful and save you a lot of trouble, but sometimes people feel attacked or discouraged. We don't want to hurt anyones feelings, but we also don't want to see the tortoise come to harm because their owner didn't know something that someone else might have learned along the way.

Soooooo, I wanted to comment on your substrate. That Pets at Home substrate is very popular over there and lots of pet shops sell it, but it is really a very bad idea to encourage tortoises to eat their substrate to satisfy their calcium cravings. Orchid bark or coco coir will work much better and be safer.

 

[RosemaryDW]

He is adorable.

Joes Mum is right about the tomato; not a good food for a Russian.

 

[Diane1157]

Thank you about the tomato I tried it today he's left it and attacked the dandelion lol
The substrate is not pets at home it's tortoise life Mediterranean and he loves digging into it especially digging under his food dishes x

 

[JoesMum]

The problem with the substrate is the white bits. Torts eat white stuff when they need extra calcium and, while the bits may be calcium, the substrate itself is not edible and could impact in the gut. A tort cannot eat the white bits and avoid the substrate.

It's better to have plain coco coir or orchid bark and put a cuttlebone in the enclosure for casual chomping (plus a tiny sprinkle of calcium powder on food 3 times a week)

 

[Diane1157]

Terry enjoys his food fresh and pellets he's put on 20g in 8 days is this about right

 

[Squirt16]

Terry enjoys his food fresh and pellets he's put on 20g in 8 days is this about right View attachment 193111

They should put on 2-4 grams per month, however they're like humans they'll have growth spurts, try and slow it down aim for a serving the size of the baby's shell and you should be okay I would keep tabs on it just be careful because if you feed them too much their shells can become deformed

 

[Squirt16]

View attachment 191100 Thank you about the tomato I tried it today he's left it and attacked the dandelion lol
The substrate is not pets at home it's tortoise life Mediterranean and he loves digging into it especially digging under his food dishes x

I recently had that substrate, you'll find big problems with keeping the enclosure humid enough and as well I know your tortoise probably doesn't take notice of it right now but my tortoise slowly developed an interest into it luckily I'd ordered coco coir, it's very cheap and it's natural coco fuss so I suggest that too. I got mine from pets at home, they are only interested in making money trust me!