Hello,Hi there and welcome. Good to hear you and your friend are taking tortoise keeping seriously and want to improve conditions. How long has your friend had the tortoise?
Another member will need to help you out with identification, but I wanted to check that the tortoise has access to a shallow water dish to drink from? It looks very dry in there with all of the sand, so I would recommend giving the tortoise daily soaks for 20 minutes or so in warm water to help with hydration. The bumps on the shell is referred to as 'pyramiding', indicating the tortoise has been kept in conditions that are too dry, with inadequate humidity. Unfortunately, many people are given misleading and inaccurate advice on how to care for tortoises, meaning many are kept incorrectly, particularly when they are young.
The glass tank it is currently in is too small for a tortoise of this size, so your friend should look to purchase/make a more suitable enclosure as soon as possible - the bigger the better, as tortoises need a lot of room to roam about safely. You've come to a good place on behalf of your friend - the forum will help you and your friend make improvements.
Hello and thanks for the help. She has had him for a few years now. She just recently reached out about it since she knows I have cared for torts since I was young and felt his home was getting too small. It is exactly as you said, she was given incorrect information and was not aware she was doing anything to harm the little guy. Once I saw the tank I knew we needed to make a change and get her hydrated. I gave my friend some of my Mazuri tort food to slowly incorporate, but I am trying to determine what her appropriate diet, heat, light and humidity should be.Hi there and welcome. Good to hear you and your friend are taking tortoise keeping seriously and want to improve conditions. How long has your friend had the tortoise?
Another member will need to help you out with identification, but I wanted to check that the tortoise has access to a shallow water dish to drink from? It looks very dry in there with all of the sand, so I would recommend giving the tortoise daily soaks for 20 minutes or so in warm water to help with hydration. The bumps on the shell is referred to as 'pyramiding', indicating the tortoise has been kept in conditions that are too dry, with inadequate humidity. Unfortunately, many people are given misleading and inaccurate advice on how to care for tortoises, meaning many are kept incorrectly, particularly when they are young.
The glass tank it is currently in is too small for a tortoise of this size, so your friend should look to purchase/make a more suitable enclosure as soon as possible - the bigger the better, as tortoises need a lot of room to roam about safely. You've come to a good place on behalf of your friend - the forum will help you and your friend make improvements.