New: Hi everyone from Scotland

NellAbram

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Sep 19, 2020
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Hi all, new here but want to be a decent tortoise owner and definitely need a bit of advise with a few things. I inherited the family tortoise over the summer but live in Scotland so know the climate isn’t ideal but also know of tortoises that live a happy life here. Anyway “hi” and here’s a pick of our little lady Titus. (I actually told my mum when she first got her 9 years ago “what if it’s a girl”...and a name like that I mean Titus sounds like... lol...BUT somehow she rocks it and this girl has character !...I was amazed when my sister first brought her up how “alive” she was, I was expecting her to be cold and disinterested but she has even bonded with my daughter and always heads towards her when she hears her voice/becomes aware of her presence without reward).

So, firstly, her journal (We’ve kept one since birth) doesn’t say what breed she is so can anyone identify her for me please x

Secondly, calling all Scottish owners, i’d particularly love to connect with yous as the climate here is a little less friendly for our fellows and I’m sure you will be able to offer me advise and support specific to our climate which eventually I hope I might be able to pass on...

Thanks all, happy to be here !
Nell (and Titus)

C0B47319-6BE5-486C-AEB0-A0BAAFF4919D.jpeg
 

Maro2Bear

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Greetings & Welcome to the Forum.

Well, as far as a proper ID, I’m SURE someone will pop in with that, but, it’s not a Sulcata and not a Russian.

I‘ll guess it’s one of the many Greek types..

Take a look through...

 

KarenSoCal

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Hello, and welcome to TFO!

I think Titus might be a Burmese Mountain tortoise, but I'm not very good at ID'ing. I'll tag someone who will know. It's hard to tell from the picture...how big is she? What does she weigh?

We have members in England and Wales, as well as one or two in Scotland. Hopefully they will see this and join in.

@Tom
@Markw84
 

Maro2Bear

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Hello, and welcome to TFO!

I think Titus might be a Burmese Mountain tortoise, but I'm not very good at ID'ing. I'll tag someone who will know. It's hard to tell from the picture...how big is she? What does she weigh?

We have members in England and Wales, as well as one or two in Scotland. Hopefully they will see this and join in.

@Tom
@Markw84

Wow...a Burmese Mountain tortoise in Scotland! That might be a first. I’m still putting $1.00 on a Greek.
 

Yvonne G

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No, definitely not a burmese mountain. I'm also going with Greek.

Hey, Nell! Welcome to the Forum! May we please see more pictures of Titus, including the underside? She's a beauty and I love her color!

I'll tag one of our more knowledgeable members to help with i.d. @HermanniChris
 

KarenSoCal

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Wow...a Burmese Mountain tortoise in Scotland! That might be a first. I’m still putting $1.00 on a Greek.

OK, it's a long shot. But I've read that they are more popular in Europe. And the color...she's so black, even her skin on her legs.

I concede...but not mailing a dollar! ?
 

NellAbram

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And the winner is....


HermanniChris (I think?). My mum found the purchase documents from the lady she bought her from and she’s an Iberian spur thighed tortoise (which is the same as a testudo graeca ibera?)

Thanks so much for all the warm welcomes and helpful information everyone !


And hey Karen, yes she is quite dark, I love her little yellow stripes too...I’ll get some more picture to put up tomorrow.

I have a few dilemmas/queries about her current situation regarding brumation and keeping her indoors (previous owners lived down south and simply left her out till October then put her straight to brumation when she was ready of course, but it’s already too cold for her to be outside here and my instincts told me she’d be happier indoors. She’s got no light or enclosure as yet because not knowing I didn’t manage to budget for it and previously she didn’t need it so as you can imagine I’m having to learn fast. Been looking for old wardrobes I can convert etc in the FB marketplace etc but no joy so far.)

I appreciate any reassurance, cautions, suggestions, anything that will help me be a good owner really...
 

KarenSoCal

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The care sheet posted above, written by HermanniChris, should tell you most anything you need to know. You can also trust the info in this care sheet.

Generally, keepers don't brumate a tortoise the first year they acquire it. But I'm going to let folks more familiar with Greeks advise you on that.

 

NellAbram

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The care sheet posted above, written by HermanniChris, should tell you most anything you need to know. You can also trust the info in this care sheet.

Generally, keepers don't brumate a tortoise the first year they acquire it. But I'm going to let folks more familiar with Greeks advise you on that.

Wow that’s amazing Karen thank you ! There’s a lot more to think about than I was told, I realise I should have “studied up” but I was put into a kind of false sense of confidence by the things I was told. Luckily my instincts have worked quite well and I’ve been doing things that I think are hitting a lot of those categories. But the big change I need to make is a light and an enclosure.

It speaks of Scuttle (which my mum and sister used to give to), but I’m sure I read something on here about egg shell being preferable? I let her roam freely now and then (she has an outdoor enclosure) and she independently took herself to the veg patch and started munching on all my snail repelling egg shells...

Such a great article though thanks for sharing x
 

KarenSoCal

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Wow that’s amazing Karen thank you ! There’s a lot more to think about than I was told, I realise I should have “studied up” but I was put into a kind of false sense of confidence by the things I was told. Luckily my instincts have worked quite well and I’ve been doing things that I think are hitting a lot of those categories. But the big change I need to make is a light and an enclosure.

It speaks of Scuttle (which my mum and sister used to give to), but I’m sure I read something on here about egg shell being preferable? I let her roam freely now and then (she has an outdoor enclosure) and she independently took herself to the veg patch and started munching on all my snail repelling egg shells...

Such a great article though thanks for sharing x

It sounds like she is needing calcium. You can get cuttlebones at any pet store that has birds. It has a hard shiny side...scrape that sharp stuff off with a knife, and put the soft part where she can find it. Hopefully she'll eat it. If she doesn't you can get a calcium supplement to sprinkle on her food 2x/week. A tiny pinch only. Or, you can let her eat eggshells.

For a basking light, get an incandescent flood light, try a 65 watt. You do not want a "replacement" flood. They are LED, and don't produce heat. It needs to be in a ceramic socket since they get so hot. Hang it somewhere safe, low enough that if she lays under it, it will be 95°-100°F. If she's cold, she should use it. It's not wasted money...you will be using the light in your indoor enclosure.
 

NellAbram

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Hey all, here’s a few more pics as promised of our little lady, and one of the toddler bed I’m getting on Tuesday to turn into an indoor enclosure L164cm W84, could be bigger but will do the job until next year. It was hard finding something that was big enough to keep her happy but small enough to fit in the house. Getting a light to rig to it this week as well. I’m really looking forward to getting it sorted this week ?

Note that I don’t allow my daughter to pick up and play with Titus all the time. Titus always seems to approach her though, she loves sniffing her feet. My daughter is very gentle with her, she’s always seemed to understand that animals are living beings like her and not toys, it was one of her baby superpowers, you know, how all kids have superpowers haha.
 

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NellAbram

New Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2020
Messages
5
Location (City and/or State)
Scotland
Hey all, here’s a few more pics as promised of our little lady, and one of the toddler bed I’m getting on Tuesday to turn into an indoor enclosure L164cm W84, could be bigger but will do the job until next year. It was hard finding something that was big enough to keep her happy but small enough to fit in the house. Getting a light to rig to it this week as well. I’m really looking forward to getting it sorted this week ?

Note that I don’t allow my daughter to pick up and play with Titus all the time. Titus always seems to approach her though, she loves sniffing her feet. My daughter is very gentle with her, she’s always seemed to understand that animals are living beings like her and not toys, it was one of her baby superpowers, you know, how all kids have superpowers haha.
Oh, and I’ve made a few tortoise friends locally one of which is giving me some spare supplies until I can get myself some. It’s all coming together ! ??
 

Pastel Tortie

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@JoesMum lives a bit south of you, but you might find the thread she made about tortoise keeping in a colder (UK) climate helpful.
 
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