Vacation tips?

[Tortloverr]

I will be going on vacation in August for about 3.5 days and am taking Franklin with me so I'm just looking for any advice that may be helpful. I plan to take a large Rubbermaid with coco coir (that's what he has in his regular enclosure), a small spider plant, his lamp, and maybe something else to hide under. Since the holder for his lamp isn't easily moved to another enclosure, I planned to bring a coat hanger and some string/rope to make a temporary holder of sorts, not exactly sure how it'll work but I'm going to try to figure something out.

Most of what I feed him is from the garden at my house or other weeds I've planted that I won't be able to take, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with something similar. I could try picking a bunch and trying to refrigerate them like I would grocery greens, but I'm not sure how long they would last. I also bought some mazuri small tortoise diet recently but I haven't tried to feed it to him yet. I think I recall reading that pellets shouldn't be a big part of the diet, is this true? How would that work if I was only using it for a few days?

I've probably missed something I'm sure, but any travel advice would definitely be appreciated!

 

[Tom]

My advice: Leave him at home. Its a lot of stress to move them around like that, and there is no need for it.

1. Soak him for an hour a day for three or four days before you leave.
2. Your lights should be on a timer.
3. Remove the water dish the day you leave and level the area where it sat.
4. Put a couple of big opuntia pads in there. These last a long time and don't rot.
5. Go enjoy your vacation.
6. Soak him daily upon your return for a few days, and replace the water dish.
7. Resume the usual routine, and fondly remember your fun vacation. Use vacation pics as a visual aid if needed.

Its not a bad idea to have a friend or family member look in on him daily, but they shouldn't need to "do" anything. If you left today and did nothing, your tortoise would live for months.

 

[ethan508]

Another option, make some friends in your neighborhood and hire their (8-14 year old) kid to feed and water your tortoise while you are gone. A side benefit to this, is that you have someone you trust keeping a general eye on your house.

Last year I had a neighbor kid come feed our goldfish while we were gone. On the third day of our 7 day vacation our neighbor called told us their kid noticed a bunch of water on our back porch. A sprinkler valve had cracked. Our neighbor was able to turn the water off to our sprinkler system preventing landscape damage and a major water bill. Hiring someone to fed those goldfish saved me money in the end.

 

[Prairie Mom]

I will be going on vacation in August for about 3.5 days and am taking Franklin with me so I'm just looking for any advice that may be helpful. I plan to take a large Rubbermaid with coco coir (that's what he has in his regular enclosure), a small spider plant, his lamp, and maybe something else to hide under. Since the holder for his lamp isn't easily moved to another enclosure, I planned to bring a coat hanger and some string/rope to make a temporary holder of sorts, not exactly sure how it'll work but I'm going to try to figure something out.

Most of what I feed him is from the garden at my house or other weeds I've planted that I won't be able to take, so I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with something similar. I could try picking a bunch and trying to refrigerate them like I would grocery greens, but I'm not sure how long they would last. I also bought some mazuri small tortoise diet recently but I haven't tried to feed it to him yet. I think I recall reading that pellets shouldn't be a big part of the diet, is this true? How would that work if I was only using it for a few days?

I've probably missed something I'm sure, but any travel advice would definitely be appreciated!

I think the other posts on this thread have great advice and are worth considering. I liked Tom's post.

But, I'll post to answer your specific questions, just to give you more options. A lot of weeds can be frozen and thaw just fine. There are even quite a few garden greens that survive the freezing process. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/these-can-be-frozen-thawed-and-retain-good-texture.128563/ ---Look through the later comments in this thread too, because more food ideas were added by myself and other members. I also occasionally feed my tortoise soaked mazuri pellets (not mazuri LS).

I suspect every tortoise is different and some will do better than others. My tortoise travels all the time and has adjusted. She obviously recognizes the places where we usually stay and even has favorite spots in relatives' yards. She's done it enough that I see no alterations to her "personality" and she continues to eat, drink, sleep, poop, and function as she normally does at home. Here is a thread of my winter travel set up. It is way waaaaaay beyond what you will need to prepare for, but maybe you'll see something helpful. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/car-travel-set-up.134511/