taking on a horsefield tortoise

[Raemillsy]

The previous people used a mix of sand, top soil and then some timothy hay. I've poured water on to make it damp for him now. He is currently having a soak in luke warm water. Has only hissed a ccouple of times, otherwise he normally is fine

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Sand can cause impaction if ingested. A trace amount could be okay, no more. Hay is wrong because it will mildew & mold if the substrate is properly damp. They won't eat it.

The previous owners probably think the length & shape of his beak are normal, too.

 

[Angel Carrion]

Sand can cause impaction if ingested. A trace amount could be okay, no more. Hay is wrong because it will mildew & mold if the substrate is properly damp. They won't eat it.

The previous owners probably think the length & shape of his beak are normal, too.

You know, I wanted to say something about his beak, but I wasn't sure if it was my phone not letting me see the beak properly or if possibly it was a thing with this species, since I'm not familiar. Plus no one else had said something, so it made me think that I was wrong. So I kept quiet.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

No it doesn't have a lid, didn't know they needed one :S will look into that now thanks

For indoors, I don't like covers so they get the air they need; outside, if there for extended periods, something that will still let UVB solar rays in but will keep "predators" out is a good idea.

 

[Raemillsy]

So what is wrong with his beak?

I've done some research and couple of the sights said said etc is fine and that they eat timothy hay. Tomorrow on my day off I am going to a reptile breeder to get advice and buy different things for him

 

[johnsonnboswell]

I'm having trouble opening new posts, so forgive me if this response misses the mark.

Three of my RTs have the same beak as yours. Looking at pictures might lead us to think this is normal or typical. It is not the ideal, it is overgrown and slightly deformed.

What can we do? Not much. Offer a good diet and proper husbandry. Maybe file the beak if it is too long. The real takeaway from my observation is that the animal's previous life was not ideal, so the care of the previous owner has room for improvement, and their advice is suspect. It is probably a mixture of good and not so good advice, hard for a newbie to tell which is which.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Does your tortoise actually eat that timothy? In any case, the substrate should be damp. Damp timothy will mold or mildew.

 

[Raemillsy]

He hasn't eaten anything for a while, even before i got him on Monday. I've tried different foods and scattered them around the enclosure and nothing has taken his fancy. What substrate do you use and what are your tortoises diets? Thanks and sorry if I am being nieve, just want to get it right for the little guy

 

[johnandjade]

He hasn't eaten anything for a while, even before i got him on Monday. I've tried different foods and scattered them around the enclosure and nothing has taken his fancy. What substrate do you use and what are your tortoises diets? Thanks and sorry if I am being nieve, just want to get it right for the little guy

have you read the care sheet yet? i've read russians can be funny with eating, every couple days or so. he may still be settling in and adjusting. are you soaking him?

 

[Raemillsy]

Yeah I have, just wondered what you personally fed yours.
He was soaked for 15minutes yesterday, he didn't do anything though. I read somewhere that most urinate, could be wrong though. He just keeps burying himself amd staying away from the uv lamp

 

[johnandjade]

Yeah I have, just wondered what you personally fed yours.
He was soaked for 15minutes yesterday, he didn't do anything though. I read somewhere that most urinate, could be wrong though. He just keeps burying himself amd staying away from the uv lamp

yes, soaking encourages them to 'void the waste' as they hydrate during. just keep track of water temp.

i have a hermanns and unfortunately have to feed store mainly due to weather. I believe diet is essentially the same, general rule is dark leafy greens... dandelions are a favourite. google search 'the tortoise table' , they have a great plant data base.

sorry can't help more but I'm sure someone with more experience will be along soon


keep on tortin'

 

[Russianuncletwo]

And after they void in a soak, often they want to eat shortly thereafter.

 

[Raemillsy]

Right his basking area is 33°c and his quiet dark area is 21°c. He has got fresh water, and food wise is carrot, fennel, cress, dandelion leaf mix all mixed up. He is still not eating or excreting. I don't know what else to do. He just wants to sleep all the time

 

[Russianuncletwo]

I still wonder if he's just scared. Did you try romaine lettuce? They'll often eat that when they won't eat anything else-use full large leaf/leaves. Can you post a photo of his head so we can check to see if he looks healthy?

 

[Raemillsy]

I would but he tucks it in, his eyes are bright and his nose is clear. Will go out and buy some lettuce see if that helps. Is it best to leave him alone rather than putting him in the heat etc?

 

[Russianuncletwo]

I would but he tucks it in, his eyes are bright and his nose is clear. Will go out and buy some lettuce see if that helps. Is it best to leave him alone rather than putting him in the heat etc?

Particularly after the experiment of the romaine lettuce, I'd leave him alone for a day or two and hopefully he's out of a "high traffic" (high foot travel) area of your home-some are much more sensitive to noise and vibrations than others My Luna's more comfortable if he can see what the activity is around him (assuming it's me and and he knows/sees it's me, not someone else) as opposed to something (noise) in another room.

 

[Raemillsy]

Okay so the lettuce didn't work, so I left him for a couple days. He just stayed by the door of his hide bit, eyes closed and tucked up, when I picked him up he didn't move so I touched his leg and thankfully that woke him up, I've put him under his heat/uv lamp and he is just sat there with his eyes open. Can he be going into hibernation? I rather he didn't because he hasn't eaten anything for 2 weeks now & he has only pooped once which was in the garden. When I put him in the garden on Tuesday he was quite active but didn't eat anything, put him back in his table and he went straight into hiding.
I don't know what to do, just want him to be happy

 

[Russianuncletwo]

Okay so the lettuce didn't work, so I left him for a couple days. He just stayed by the door of his hide bit, eyes closed and tucked up, when I picked him up he didn't move so I touched his leg and thankfully that woke him up, I've put him under his heat/uv lamp and he is just sat there with his eyes open. Can he be going into hibernation? I rather he didn't because he hasn't eaten anything for 2 weeks now & he has only pooped once which was in the garden. When I put him in the garden on Tuesday he was quite active but didn't eat anything, put him back in his table and he went straight into hiding.
I don't know what to do, just want him to be happy

Bare with me I am using speech recognition here. The fact that he is active outside that does not sound like he's sick that is good news. Temperature is too warm or too cool can affect their eating as well. I wouldn't try hibernation although when they do that is when they're supposed to have empty bellies. I'm still wondering if there is too much noise that is scaring him and that's why he stays in the high too much maybe he is not getting enough sleep I have seen this. I hope others join in and meanwhile I will hopefully add more later. Also may recommend checking another site.

 

[Russianuncletwo]

Bare with me I am using speech recognition here. The fact that he is active outside that does not sound like he's sick that is good news. Temperature is too warm or too cool can affect their eating as well. I wouldn't try hibernation although when they do that is when they're supposed to have empty bellies. I'm still wondering if there is too much noise that is scaring him and that's why he stays in the high too much maybe he is not getting enough sleep I have seen this. I hope others join in and meanwhile I will hopefully add more later. Also may recommend checking another site.

I'm also having similar issues with my male right now but when noise levels go down and temperature gets back to normal in his environment he gets back to normal. You however may have totally different circumstances

 

[awesomecs]

Hello all,

I am new to owning a tortoise. We had one come to my works and I decided to take him home. I know he is boy because of his tail. However I have a couple of questions if you guys could help

What is the normal behaviour?
What are the signs of ill health?
Do you have to hibernate them?
The ideal weight of an adult?
Can you tell how old they are?
what plants can I plant in the accommodation?
Does he need both a uv lamp and a heater? Uv lamp seems to kick out quite a bit of heat.

Thats it at the moment. Any help would be great, I've done research but always find it best to talk to people