New to the site! Help?

[Fulala26]

Hi my name is Natalie, I'm from the not so sunny Scotland and have recently became the proud owner of a pet horsefield tortoise. Our tortoise was purchased for my little girl who has just turned 4 years and we are all completely smitten! My little girl has named out tortoise Mikey, although we don't know "his" sex yet as he is only 8 months old.

As I am new to tortoises, I have spent forever researching diets, housing set ups etc.
He is housed in a tortoise table, with a mix of tortoise sand/soil, coconut husk and some grass. I plant fresh herbs and leafs in his table for him on a regular basis so it keeps things fresh. We have recently purchased a combined uv basking bulb.

He has been growing well and we have been weighing and measuring him regular.

I was wondering if someone could have a look at his pics and tell me if they think he looks healthy...

Would just like a little reassurance that our new addition to the family is doing well....

 

[gtc]

Hi my name is Natalie, I'm from the not so sunny Scotland and have recently became the proud owner of a pet horsefield tortoise. Our tortoise was purchased for my little girl who has just turned 4 years and we are all completely smitten! My little girl has named out tortoise Mikey, although we don't know "his" sex yet as he is only 8 months old.

As I am new to tortoises, I have spent forever researching diets, housing set ups etc.
He is housed in a tortoise table, with a mix of tortoise sand/soil, coconut husk and some grass. I plant fresh herbs and leafs in his table for him on a regular basis so it keeps things fresh. We have recently purchased a combined uv basking bulb.

He has been growing well and we have been weighing and measuring him regular.

I was wondering if someone could have a look at his pics and tell me if they think he looks healthy...

Would just like a little reassurance that our new addition to the family is doing well....

He is looking fine. Good job. Thr only problem I see is his food. Tomatos and carrots are not good for him (especially the tomatoes). Check out thetortoisetable website for good info on what to feed.

When fresh weeds are not available I really recommend:

Prealpin testudo herbs
Cactus pads
Edible flowers
Spring mix

 

[Fulala26]

Thanx, feel so much better knowing Mikey is looking well to others. We want to ensure he(or she) is given the best home possible. I had purchased a book on horsefields with my little one and tomatoes where on it hence why I began feeding him them, I have since read that tomatoes are a no-no so our little one now no longer is fed these. I had called his breeder, who is highly recommended, regarding his sticky eyes a few weeks back and they had advised a mix of grated carrot along with a varied leafy diet and assured me this was common. He also sent me out some eye and she'll ointment free of charge. He hasn't suffered from this since and loves having his little shell rubbed with this ointment. Is this advice about carrots wrong??? There is so much conflicting information out there that it is scary!

Thank u again

 

[Moozillion]

Mikey is a little beauty! You're getting him off to a good start!

 

[milkandsam]

There is so much mixed information out there! From what I have read on here, most published books have outdated information ! The people on the forum are amazing though! And you know when they give you advice it is from years of experience and mistakes that they don't want you to make!! enjoy your new baby!

 

[WillTort2]

What a nice looking tort, I really like his distinctive scute pattern. I'm not sure about your substrate, you mentioned a combination of sand/soil and coco coir with grasses.

Sand has been suspected of causing impaction in tortoises. The younger Russian torts need a warmer and more moist environment. I've seen good results using a mix of plain top soil and coco coir for my Russians.

What are your temperatures and humidity?

 

[Cvu]

Looks goof

 

[Tom]

Your tortoise looks fine and dandy, but your substrate and diet need some help.

Here is a care sheet: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-80698.html

The eye thing is not "normal", and it indicates a problem of one sort or another.

Finally, split scutes like the one on your tortoises carapace are usually the result of high incubation temperatures. If this is the case, your tortoise is most likely a female, but this is not 100% for sure by any means. This is not harmful to them and shouldn't cause you any problems.

 

[Fulala26]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone can help.

My little Mikey recently has been making a little hiss sound. He's now also started to open his mouth very couple of minutes just slightly. He's still been eating but only small amounts and he has passed any stools in a few days. He has dry nostrils and there has been no signs of any bubbles.
I'm really quite concerned as the temperatures in Scotland have been exceptionally cold recently. We have his light on from we wake first thing in the morning 6/7am-10/11pm. The temps in his tort table is 33•c.

Due to the cold weather we recently changed his sand & soil blend back to tortoise wooden chippings and hay for bedding. I had originally thought this behaviour was perhaps due to the change is his environment as he took a while to adapt to the sand/soul mix.

PLEASE HELP!!!

 

[Tom]

Cold temperatures outside should have nothing to do with a properly regulated indoor enclosure.

There are four temperatures to be concerned with: Warm side, cool side, basking area and overnight low. Can you tell us those?

You are housing your baby too dry. Sand is not a good substrate to use and neither is hay or wood chips.

Having eye problems is NOT "normal" and should not happen. It is an indicator that something is not right. The three most common reasons are: Too dry, sand, and coil type cfl UV bulbs. Sickness from chronically low temperature can be a cause too.

Everything you need to know to fix this is right here in these threads:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...or-other-herbivorous-tortoise-species.107734/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Mikey is a cute little guy!! I just loved looking at the pictures.

 

[Yvonne G]

Very nice-looking little Russian tortoise!

(I'm tagging @Yellow Turtle01 just for the heck of it)