Too much food and pet sitter

[kaneki28]

I have three questions:

1) My tortoise Pebbles seems to have gotten a bit bigger in the 2 months that I’ve had it. Pebbles went from 2.5 inches to 3.25 inches. Am I feeding it too much?

2) I’m leaving for 10 days in April and wanted to know if anyone knows if a reputable pet sitter in the la/San Gabriel valley area. I got the food and water down, but not sure about the daily soaks. Pebbles would be about 6 months old.

3) How can I tell if the shell is not growing properly? What would be the first signs.

Thank you in advance!!!

 

[SinLA]

Hi @kaneki28 I live in Burbank, would be happy to help you out if you don't find someone. Would be more than happy to "trade" sitting...

 

[wellington]

As long as they have a proper size enclosure to get enough exercise, and fed the proper diet, they can not be over fed.
SinLA offered a great deal. I'd take it if I were you.
The shell is already pyramiding so you need to keep the humidity up. 80% for about 3 years and under and 50% for adults.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

10 days without a soak is not a problem

 

[Lyn W]

Hi @kaneki28 I live in Burbank, would be happy to help you out if you don't find someone. Would be more than happy to "trade" sitting...

That's great - would work well for both of you!!

 

[Tom]

10 days without a soak is not a problem

I don't agree. Maybe for an adult tortoise in Florida, but not for a baby Russian in our dry climate. They are highly prone to bladder stones here because it is so dry all the time. Skipping a few days should be okay if well soaked before and after the gap, but 10 days is outside my comfort zone for a 6 month old.

 

[Tom]

I have three questions:

1) My tortoise Pebbles seems to have gotten a bit bigger in the 2 months that I’ve had it. Pebbles went from 2.5 inches to 3.25 inches. Am I feeding it too much?

2) I’m leaving for 10 days in April and wanted to know if anyone knows if a reputable pet sitter in the la/San Gabriel valley area. I got the food and water down, but not sure about the daily soaks. Pebbles would be about 6 months old.

3) How can I tell if the shell is not growing properly? What would be the first signs.

Thank you in advance!!!

1) There is no such thing as feeding it too much. That is old wrong info from the wrong sources.
2) I've met SinLA. Good person. I would take that deal too. In fact...
3) Pyramiding. Your is.

This thread will help you:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[SinLA]

wow I passed the @Tom test, I’m honored LOL

In all seriousness if your setup is portable she can come to my place and easily get soaked once or twice per day.

 

[TammyJ]

wow I passed the @Tom test, I’m honored LOL

In all seriousness if your setup is portable she can come to my place and easily get soaked once or twice per day.

If it was me, I would take you up on that, as I know you would observe all the hygiene and quarantine protocols.

 

[jsheffield]

I'm a big fan of Trusted Housesitter, an organization that connects people with petsitting and housesitting needs with people who would like to help out in exchange for a place to stay while away from home.

I've done it a lot as a housesitter, normally so that I can do some writing on whatever project I'm working on... I have some repeat customers on the coast of Maine with a big and lovely house right on the ocean (along with two super dogs and a cat named WillieNelson), and last September I housesat for ten days in London for a couple and their cat, Thomas. My sister does it as a houseowner when she travels for work or play.

TH does housesits for reptiles, although I haven't found any in spots/dates that I want to travel as yet, but I think it's a great outfit, where everyone benefits.

The link below will get anyone interested 25% off the annual fee (and me two free months added to my account)... please reach out if you have any questions:

Pet care that takes you places | TrustedHousesitters

Use this link to join with 25% off

www.trustedhousesitters.com

I think that ten days is fine for a tortoise to be without food, but not great for a young tort to go without soaking (unless they're in a closed system with permanent high humidity levels).

Jamie

 

[kaneki28]

wow I passed the @Tom test, I’m honored LOL

In all seriousness if your setup is portable she can come to my place and easily get soaked once or twice per day.

Thank you so much for the offer!!!! I really appreciate it. I will reach out to you if needed. And yes, the enclosure is portable. It's a rubbermaid bin.

 

[kaneki28]

Thank you all for the responses. I am now trying to figure out how to keep the setup more humid as the plexiglass is not working. It's a little frustrating to do so much research and prepping prior and still failing at it. =(

 

[Cathie G]

Hello and welcome to TFO. 🤗 It's definitely frustrating trying to make sure you research everything just to find out they're wrong. I did that too. To the point that I stopped going online about tortoises... but I was having tortoise nightmares and got desperate and found this site. I've never been able to go one day since without their input.☺️