My Tort is LOOSING it.....i think. I need help from you guys.

[GreekTortoiseGuyinNYC]

Alright. I have asked these questions before but i havent been around for a while and totally forgot your advice. I really need your best personal experience advice. I have a Greek tortoise. 5in in length. I need new bedding. I am using alfalfa pellets for now. That stuff stinks and EVERYONE is telling me to dump it. The enclosure is 4 foot length 2 feet width. Ramp to the second floor for just chilling out. I use Sunbulb uva/uvb from 7am to 7pm. There is an enclosure i built for him with a small heat pad. I feed him mazuri soaked in water to soften it. Mixed salad which consists of lettuce, spinach, fruits vary. usually i mix the mazuri with the salad. Now for the real issue. Honestly. He sits at the corners and just crawls into the corners for HOURS!!! He will not even go NEAR the water dish i had for him. I can even say i ever saw him even drink water or bathe in it. I need some help here. I am starting to feel very bad and thinking of selling him cause i may be doing something wrong. I cant bring him outside cause i live in NYC. I was thinking of building an outside basic enclosure but NYC weather is so freakish i dont want it to downpour. What should i do. I really love my animals. But this is my first Tort. I own Brazilian rainbow boas and ball pythons. Easy to take care of. Any suggestions are welcomed. And advice is appreciated. Ill put in some pics of the enclosure.

 

[John1982]

I did a quick search for your questions earlier, hope this helps.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Suggestions-suggestions-about-my-Golden-Greek#axzz1TjQmqHNW

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-I-think-my-tort-has-some-psych-issues#axzz1TjQmqHNW[hr]
As to the water dish, it's not so easily accessible to your tortoise maybe, seems a bit high. Clay pot saucers(glazed) are pretty easy for torts to navigate, could try using one of those.

 

[lynnedit]

Alright. I have asked these questions before but i havent been around for a while and totally forgot your advice. I really need your best personal experience advice. I have a Greek tortoise. 5in in length. I need new bedding. I am using alfalfa pellets for now. That stuff stinks and EVERYONE is telling me to dump it. The enclosure is 4 foot length 2 feet width. Ramp to the second floor for just chilling out. I use Sunbulb uva/uvb from 7am to 7pm. There is an enclosure i built for him with a small heat pad. I feed him mazuri soaked in water to soften it. Mixed salad which consists of lettuce, spinach, fruits vary. usually i mix the mazuri with the salad. Now for the real issue. Honestly. He sits at the corners and just crawls into the corners for HOURS!!! He will not even go NEAR the water dish i had for him. I can even say i ever saw him even drink water or bathe in it. I need some help here. I am starting to feel very bad and thinking of selling him cause i may be doing something wrong. I cant bring him outside cause i live in NYC. I was thinking of building an outside basic enclosure but NYC weather is so freakish i dont want it to downpour. What should i do. I really love my animals. But this is my first Tort. I own Brazilian rainbow boas and ball pythons. Easy to take care of. Any suggestions are welcomed. And advice is appreciated. Ill put in some pics of the enclosure.

You are right. Change the substrate as soon as you can. A mix of organic top soil with some play sand mixed in, or cypress mulch, or coir mixed with top soil and/or sand are all much better. Keep it moist, so that the top layer is drier but it is moister underneath. Make a mound in the middle or along an edge, add a rock or log for interest.
You can put just Timothy Hay alone in his hide so he can burrow in it.
Because tort tables tend to be drier due to the needed lighting, you should consider soaking him in a shallow tub 2-3x per week.
You will need to let people know the temps on the warm and cool side, measure with a digital thermometer (some come with probes so you can measure different areas). Should be about 95 under the basking light, and 70 or so on the cooler side.
If you can make a small outdoor enclosure for your balcony and have him out when you are home, even an hour of sun is far better than artificial light.

Yes, and here is your other thread where you asked questions, there are some good links too.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Suggestions-suggestions-about-my-Golden-Greek#axzz1TjV4iaas

 

[GreekTortoiseGuyinNYC]

oh wow...thank you guys. Ill come back with temps. I dont use air conditioning cause of the temps i need for all the animals. Ill get back to you on that. I am going to use your suggestions lynn...and john THANK you.

 

[lynnedit]

oh wow...thank you guys. Ill come back with temps. I dont use air conditioning cause of the temps i need for all the animals. Ill get back to you on that. I am going to use your suggestions lynn...and john THANK you.

Yes, until you can get substrate, you can dump the old stuff and even use several day old newspaper layers until you can get him settled.
I don't think you need the heat mat either, they do like to cool off during the night even down to 60.

 

[bikerchicspain]

Your temps should be in between the 90s up to 100, do not use the heat mat, they are really no good except for making your pet stay in one place,
the substrate needs to changed to something like top soil mixed with play sand,
If you don't see him bathe then you will have to do it yourself, about 3 times a week at 15/20 a time.

Do not feed too much spinach, contrary to it being high in calcium too much can be bad for them, mix in flowers with his diet.
They love hibiscus flowers,leaves and rose petals.

Your tort is actually easier to look after than your ball python, the regius when stressed is willing to starve to death, and as you know they can get stressed quite easily.

Keep trying we all have our problems when we first start out, that's why we have this brilliant forum.

 

[GreekTortoiseGuyinNYC]

thank you guys....thank you so much for your help

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Today i took out all the pellets, lined it with paper towels till i return from florida ill put in some newspaper till i get some top soil with the sand. I soaked him for 15 in a little tub. I would love for you guys to just check out my progress...and give me some more tips. Thank you guys.

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I also made a rock pile in one corner underneath the light so he can climb and such......

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sorry....few more things. I took out the ramp so he dont fall off while im in florida. Ill keep the top floor to just plants and stuff......What do you guys think of feeding schedules. I feed him daily. salad with mazuri pellets.

 

[lynnedit]

This thread has a good list of plants for torts including Greeks.
If you give salad, make sure it is 'spring greens' so there is a mix. Weeds and varied greens are best.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ated-Greeks-Russians-Sullys-etc#axzz1TpdKLhqH.
Take out the heat mat.

You can also search TFO by entering key words in the search box in the upper R hand side of the page.

 

[jackrat]

Sounds like some time outside is in order. Probably getting a little stir crazy.

 

[GreekTortoiseGuyinNYC]

Thank you for all your feed back guys. The heat mat is out. the alfalfa pellets are out. When i get back im gonna try and really set it up nice for him. When i get some more experience beneath me Im thinking of getting him a mate. This tort really means alot to me cause i remember growing up in Greece i used to collect tortoise and bring them to my house and kept them in a caged area my grandfather made for me. I collected like 10 of them. lol. Anyways....thank you all.