Should I change his lifestyle?!

[roxy8203]

Hello. New member and new torty owner here.

I've inherited an old boy from my aunty who suspects he is around 100ish. I'm pretty sure he is spur thigh. Anyway, he has always lived outside in my aunts garden, no indoor shelter or heat lamps, as far as I know he did get warm baths or put away at night. And his diet wasn't ideal from what I've read either. So should I just carry on treating him the same as he is used to or should I change it to why everyone says he should get. I'm going to try and get him eating more weeds and away from cucumber which he loves. But I'm not sure about the rest. I guess he must be pretty happy to have lasted so long and may not appreciate me messing with his life at such an old age. Any suggestions?!!
Devon, UK

 

[wellington]

I would change it for the proper way. They didn't know anything different back when she got him, we know better now. However, I would do it slowly. I would leave him outside, but give him a warm hide for nights that you can lock him into and make it big enough that on really nasty days he would have room to roam around if he didn't want to go out side.
I would also slowly change whatever part of his diet is bad. Slowly adding new better things and slowly removing the bad.
We would love to see a pic of the old guy too.

 

[wellington]

Oh, hello and welcome.

 

[roxy8203]

 

[roxy8203]

Thanks. I'l have to try and add a smallish house to his run so he can stay inside. I don't have electricity outside though so at the moment I can't hear it unless anyone knows of a solar powered way?? I'm trying to introduce weeds to his diet and I'll gradual reduce the cucumber that he is used to.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome to the forum.

Wow! We're tortoises imported to the U.K. that long ago? I had no idea.

At a hundred years I think he's got it figured out but no harm in trying.

He might take to it and benefit; you'll feel better for sure.

Pictures of an elderly tortoise are always a treat.

 

[JoesMum]

Hi @roxy8203

More than likely you have a Testudo Graeca tortoise (Greek) of some sort.

They were wild imports to the UK pre CITES and ours - a graeca graeca called Joe - was bought in 1970.

There are quite a lot of these torts in the UK that are being inherited as their owners pass away before they do. Sadly Joe got a tumour and had to be put to sleep a couple of months ago after 47 years with us.

Typically they live in gardens in the summer and hibernate in the winter. The less manicured the garden the better. I supplemented Joe's diet with shop bought salad leaves and and particularly good weeds I found while out, but 90% of his diet was weeds from the lawn. Our lawn is not bowling green perfection!

You might find this thread about outdoor accommodation in the UK that I put together useful
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/outdoor-accommodation-in-a-colder-uk-climate.140866/

If you make a list of the plants that grow around you and those that you can get in the supermarket, you can look them up on The Tortoise Table Plant Database for suitability to feed
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

Your tort cannot digest sugars properly - they cause digestive and kidney problems - so fruit, carrot, tomato and peppers should only be fed very sparingly and very occasionally if at all.

 

[roxy8203]

@RosemaryDW
Thanks for taking the time to reply. My parents got T from a pet shop in the 70's but didn't know how old he was then, he has been living with my Aunt for about 38 years. My uncle has tried to age him based on his weight and size etc but I'm not sure he is actually that old. I don't even know which breed he is which is something I hope someone get can shed some light on for me.
I think your right, I'm sure he has it sorted after so long but I think he could benefit from a bit of extra heat, especially this week being so wet, he's slept a lot the past 2 days and I don't think he has eaten today. I'm hoping it's warmer tomorrow and he is a bit more active, I'll feel better then

 

[roxy8203]

@JoesMum
Hello, thank you so much for replying, it's hard to find info for older Tortys which live outside. He has lived outside for years and I think a drastic change would be too much for him especially as he has just moved in with me.

I've read your article, that helped put my mind at rest a bit, I just need to get him eating a bit more now and get him into weeds. I think I'll have to do more research on his breed but his shell is so old his markings aren't very visible. He does have spurs on his hind legs though, I don't know if other species have this.

Do you think he appreciate a warm bath a couple times a week, this week has been so wet and miserable I think I should be trying to help him warm up but again I don't think it's something he is used to so it might just upset him....I'm clueless

 

[JoesMum]

Post photos on here of him from above including his head and then flip him over gently and take a photo of his underside including his tail and we'll identify him for you. We go on far more than colouration.

Most likely TGG like Joe or Hermann's. Could be Testudo Ibera. They were the 3 main imports in the 70s with TGG dominant.

It's also useful to know his weight and his Straight Carapace Length. Here's how to measure SCL
http://www.tlady.clara.net/measure.htm

Soaks would do no harm. Do them first thing in the morning before he's warmed up properly. Use a large washing up bowl, or even the kitchen sink or bath (thoroughly cleaned and rinsed to get rid of soap and chemicals), so there's plenty of room for him to turn round.

I would be using the outdoor basking lamp in this weather. Joe was a nightmare inside, so I only ever brought him in if I really had no choice. The important thing is that your tort has somewhere dry to hide out. The cold frame did that job for us.

Being cold and damp brings on respiratory infections.

 

[roxy8203]

Thank you so much @JoesMum. this pic is him from above, I'll take his measurement and picture of his underside tomorrow when he's up and about. The forecast tomorrow looks better so hopefully a bit of sun will charge his batteries again.
I don't have electricity outside but I'm going to research some sort of solar powered heating option and put it in a chicken coop I have that has never been used by any animals so he can warm up if he's feeling chilly.

 

[JoesMum]

The cold frame in a sunny spot will act as a greenhouse for warming up.

I need to see the plastron and a clearer picture of the head before I plump for a species

 

[roxy8203]

He has an upturned glass fish tank in his run but hasn't been in it yet. He just climbs on top of it. His head is in the profile picture but I'm not sure if you can enlarge that so here he is again


I will defiantly take more pictures tomorrow and add those as well.

Thank you again for taking your time to reply

 

[RosemaryDW]

Don't know what he is but he is a looker!

 

[roxy8203]

@RosemaryDW I'll tell him tomorrow. He's a bit of a poser

 

[roxy8203]

@JoesMum as promised a picture of his belly to hopefully help ID his kind. Thanks

 

[MPRC]

He definitely looks like an old man. Hopefully you can get him set up and he'll last until your kids need to figure out what to do with him.

 

[roxy8203]

@MPRC he is an old boy, my parents who got him from a pet shop in the 70's think he is coming up to 50 but not really sure how old he is. He had a lovely day yesterday in the sun and had lots to eat, he's found the slate basking spot and loves that. I just feel he needs somewhere to warm up when the weather isn't so good, I'm going to insulate his little home where he sleeps to try and make that a bit warmer. He doesn't drink but has been raised eating cucumber so I think he gets his fluid from that, I'm tempered to stop the cucumber and see if he will drink water from his tray.
It would be nice to know what breed he is too

 

[JoesMum]

Looking Greek to me. @HermanniChris are you about to take a look?

 

[Kasia]

View attachment 207974
@JoesMum as promised a picture of his belly to hopefully help ID his kind. Thanks

Out of topic... I just love him I'm a sucker for elder torts...