Greenfingers
New Member
I’ve just joined the forum today for advice and guidance re our Horsfield tortoise. I believe Tortilla is a female and we think should be approaching her 2nd birthday in October. My main concern is her shell appears to be pyramiding though when I compare it to photos from when we acquired her, it doesn’t appear that different. I’m worried we’re not giving her what she needs to reduce the risk of this getting worse. She’s relatively active and is fed on weeds that I pick whilst I’m out with the dog from local fields and the garden. I use tortoise table for guidance on this dependent upon what’s in season at the time. I bathe her once a week for 15-20 minutes. Her substrate is top soil only and tends to be very dry though the humidity in the table is usually records around 60% at the back of the table, I’m not sure whether it’s so high because of our open lounge with conservatory (no doors, poly carb roof). I suppose it would be less under the lamp where she sits a lot. She has an all in one uva/uvb 100w bulb and her light remains on for maybe 13-14 hours daily. In hot weather (25deg plus) she spends a little time (few hours) in the garden enclosure though we don’t often get this opportunity. She seems to be gaining weight fine, currently weighing 190g. I’m not sure what’s normal for her age. She tends not to venture down the cooler end of the table much, this would be about 20deg. I’m wondering if I should move the stone slab from underneath the light to the opposite end of the table and feed her there to encourage her to use more of the table? We’ve owned Tortilla approx 14-15 months now, we were advised she was around 8 months when we got her from a teenager who sold her to raise funds for a new mobile phone. I hope someone can offer guidance or reassurance that at least some of the things we’re doing correctly and help with the rest. Reading other listings, I’m thinking maybe I need to increase her humidity?
