new owner Please help (detailed info in description)

[bella8272737]

Hi everyone, (im new to the site) and a sudden new spur thighed tortoise owner 4 months today! after a friends sudden desperate change in circumstance. I had one as a child however times have changed and i want to be perfect for him. Photos attached
I would really appreciate some input on whether alfie’s care/ health is good from all of you tortoise experts! Sorry ik it’s a lot of info
Any advice appreciated.
Alfie is a 6 year old spur thighed greek
tortoise. Owner had him from 4 months. Here are the new things i have had so far:
Housing
summer/ warm temps- outdoor 4 by 6 metre enclosure
winter- 1 by 2 metre wooden custom table basking uva area 30 degrees with seperate UVB white strip, table has substrate, temp away from basking it’s around 21 degrees and he also has a heat mat. In both enclosures he has some hides and tunnels.
Diet
mainly green veg and weeds, fruit as a treat only
cuttlefish bone in both enclosures
verark Nutrobal every other day
Water always filled and clean

He seems happy, i took him to the reptile vet when he first arrived who said he was fine but only just fine if that makes sense but recently cleared health wise . His eyes are bright, beady and clear and his nose is clear, tongue has pinked up even more and is great color. Very active animal and affectionate. I measured him to be around 21 cm top of shell to end.
I hold him daily and he knows his name now! Outside enclosure is moved 1x week and inside encl is cleaned 1x a week, substrate fully changed once every 2 weeks
QUESTIONS:
previous owner wasn’t the most informed and to my knowlage he has never been hibernated! Please help me on how to go about that in the future? and i’m scared that it has affected his health not being hibernated before? Should he be wormed? How much food, and if any other supplements? How friendly of a breed is he meant to be?
Thank you, sorry it’s a lot of questions and info

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Please read this, this is for all our new members: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

Here is the care sheet for your species: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-best-way-to-raise-any-temperate-species-of-tortoise.183131/ It is most important that you check your lighting set up, since many stores sell the wrong products for tortoises.

This thread is a good starting point for hibernation research: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/toms-brumation-thread.201823/

If he was kept properly up AKA overwintered, not hibernating won't have any severe effect on his health.

Tortoises don't need to be wormed if they don't show any symptoms.

This website is great for food info: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

 

[Ink]

Welcome to the forum. I would stop feeding Alfie fruit, too much sugar.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi everyone, (im new to the site) and a sudden new spur thighed tortoise owner 4 months today! after a friends sudden desperate change in circumstance. I had one as a child however times have changed and i want to be perfect for him. Photos attached
I would really appreciate some input on whether alfie’s care/ health is good from all of you tortoise experts! Sorry ik it’s a lot of info
Any advice appreciated.
Alfie is a 6 year old spur thighed greek
tortoise. Owner had him from 4 months. Here are the new things i have had so far:
Housing
summer/ warm temps- outdoor 4 by 6 metre enclosure
winter- 1 by 2 metre wooden custom table basking uva area 30 degrees with seperate UVB white strip, table has substrate, temp away from basking it’s around 21 degrees and he also has a heat mat. In both enclosures he has some hides and tunnels.
Diet
mainly green veg and weeds, fruit as a treat only
cuttlefish bone in both enclosures
verark Nutrobal every other day
Water always filled and clean

He seems happy, i took him to the reptile vet when he first arrived who said he was fine but only just fine if that makes sense but recently cleared health wise . His eyes are bright, beady and clear and his nose is clear, tongue has pinked up even more and is great color. Very active animal and affectionate. I measured him to be around 21 cm top of shell to end.
I hold him daily and he knows his name now! Outside enclosure is moved 1x week and inside encl is cleaned 1x a week, substrate fully changed once every 2 weeks
QUESTIONS:
previous owner wasn’t the most informed and to my knowlage he has never been hibernated! Please help me on how to go about that in the future? and i’m scared that it has affected his health not being hibernated before? Should he be wormed? How much food, and if any other supplements? How friendly of a breed is he meant to be?
Thank you, sorry it’s a lot of questions and info

Hello and welcome!

You are definitely on the right track with caring for him. A few answers to your questions (besides answered above) and suggestions:
1. "How much food, and if any other supplements?" - feed him every day as much as he wants, leaving the food bowl through the day (by the end of day only a few pieces should remain). Nutrobal should be added only once a week, also once a week you can sprinkle a tiny pinch of calcium powder over greens. In the winter you can offer him calcium with D3 and add some pellets daily or every other day as an amendment to grocery foods. Good pellets are: Agrobs PreAlpine (if you are in EU/UK), ZooMed Grassland, Mazuri Tortoise Diet LS (sold as Nutrazu outside US).
2. Heating and lightning in the indoors enclosure needs some improvement: incandescent basking bulb, T5 tube for UVB/UVA, no heat mat.

Feel free to ask questions!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I can’t answer all the questions on his specific care because I’m not as familiar with these guys.
However definitely stop feeding the fruit, even as a treat, they aren’t built to digest it like fruit eating species, you could cause health problems down the line unfortunately

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Oh and definitely get rid of the heat mats! They can be very dangerous if the tortoise has access to them

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

If you could possibly upload some photos of both your set ups that’d be great!
For a basking bulb you want an incandescent floodlight, and for indoor uv a t5 fluorescent tube light, like these

Also in his outdoor enclosure does that wire cage cover the entire floor? It just doesn’t look very comfortable for him to walk on, I imagine it might become a bit abrasive on his shell over time potentially, he’d be better directly on the grass

 

[bella8272737]

If you could possibly upload some photos of both your set ups that’d be great!
For a basking bulb you want an incandescent floodlight, and for indoor uv a t5 fluorescent tube light, like these

Also in his outdoor enclosure does that wire cage cover the entire floor? It just doesn’t look very comfortable for him to walk on, I imagine it might become a bit abrasive on his shell over time potentially, he’d be better directly on the grass

 

[bella8272737]

Thanks for your response and advice, it’s greatly appreciated! He has a mat that covers ontop the wire floor outside,(that was an old photo) from april. The vet recommended the floor as he kept burrowing underneath the metal and either got stuck or escaped! I’m currently on shift so will upload set up tommorow

 

[Yvonne G]

Thread closed at OP's request