The Tortoise Table

Aww they are really handsome tortoises -- thanks so much for the photo! I've used the method of hiding something under something they like (like you putting something under the lettuce) when I need to give them medicine. I've spread it on a thin piece of cucumber and then turned the cucumber upside ...

Hi Ladybird, It sounds to me like you are providing a really excellent home for these litle Egyptian tortoises and that they are very lucky to have found a home with you! Tortoises can be notoriously fussy eaters, and are easily addicted to food that isn't great for them, like iceberg lettuce (which...

Hi Laura, It is very interesting about your breeder. I don't know any breeder who would sell tortoises of two different species to someone, if they weren't going ot keep them separate, and also I'm afraid the theory about UV light causing excess growth is just not correct. There are two main types o...

Hi Laura, Welcome to The Tortoise Table and I am so sorry that you are having to rehome your tortoises. Could I ask who told you that UV light will cause them to grow too quickly? I'm afraid that isn't true, and certainly indoors it is almost impossible to provide 'too much' UV light -- and in any c...

Hi Ladybird, Ahh, you are so lucky to live in Malta. We have another tortoise keeper from Malta who corresponds with us, so if I remember correctly, when we in the UK have lush foliage and lots of weeds to feed our tortoises in the summer, you are struggling with a lack of food in the wild, but in o...

Hi Bex, I think you've done a grand job, and as long as you can see what the temperature is inside Speedy's new palace and can bring her in if necessary, it should be fine. Unfortunately the website was playing up yesterday, and it was difficult for us to post things. I know that Lin will come in wi...

Hi Jody, Yes, there were big problems yesterday. Our hosting company said there was an odd glitch, and all of their websites that started with the letter 'T' were not functioning properly (now that's a first -- the letter 'T'???). Anyway, it's back now and I've deleted all your excess posts. Regardi...

Hi Ladybird and welcome to The Tortoise Table! Egyptian tortoises are a lovely species, and they will definitely have to be brought indoors out of the cold weather. What country do you live in? Here in the UK it has turned cold and rainy and so not good for tortoises to be outside (they need a tempe...

Hi Mel and Zach! Wow, great to hear from you, and to know that Tiny is thriving! Why do you think she is malnourished? I'll bet she's fine. Some tortoises -- like some people -- are just smaller. My Doris is small and although she's 6 or 7 years older than Dolly, she is now much smaller than Dolly. ...

Bex that looks absolutely brilliant, and thanks so much for the photos! Speedy looks really happy too! Do you have one of those weather station things? The sort where you have a unit outside and then another one indoors that tells you the temperature where the unit is? I was just think that if you h...

Hi Jody, I'm not sure Lin saw your photo of Jemima's set up in your previous thread, but I remember it and I think it's fine. There are a couple of options. Sitting the 1' greenhouse heater (is it one of those electric oil-filled ones?) on top of the box could work well, especially if it was on a th...

Yes, hibernation is a worrying time for all of us! If it's your first hibernation I would not do more than probably 10 - 12 weeks (am I right in thinking that Boris is about 4 now?), and I think that as long as Boris is still eating I would keep him awake a bit longer. If he goes into hibernation, s...

So he's a Thb -- isn't it exciting to know his sub-species! And there is loads of information on Chris's Hermanni Haven website about this sub-species, so you've got lots of interesting reading ahead of you.

Cheers,
Nina

Hi Claire, What are you going to use the moss for? You can make a humid hide, but putting the moss on the top of a sleeping area, but with a Mediterranean tortoise i wouldn't use it for bedding, as if it is kept damp it can harbour mould, and in general it isn't essential. The Nutrobal is absolutely...

Hi Claire, That's an excellent site that you read last night, and Chris Leone (whose site it is), is probably the best authority anywhere on Hermann's tortoises. I am really terrible at IDs. Lin might come on and have a go, but I think you would be best to ask Chris to ID Floyd. He has a Facebook gr...

Good idea, Lottie -- worth a try!

Nina

Hi Carol, I think if you want him to hibenate now then you probably should keep him inside (does he have heat and UVB inside?), because outdoors on a warm sunny day he might well have a nibble and it's really important that he doesn't go into hibernation with any food in his stomach (food in the gut...

Hi Carol, So sorry to hear that you've been having problems with hibernating Allegro. Ten days without food is a bit short if he is a very young tortoise (it should be between 2 - 4 weeks depending on size), but it was probably fine as he was slowing down and probably not eating much anyway. Althoug...

sindi21 wrote: > still that’s a pretty short life span for a plant, if you ask me Well, the flower does only last a day or so, but the plant itself lives for years and years, and just produces these short-lived flowers each year. For some reason, quite a few plants have flowers that last only a day ...

Aww, bless - he is so sweet! Regarding his sleeping preferences, I guess he just seems to want to 'couch surf' for a while until he decides on a more permanent sleeping arrangement.

Nina

Hi Marco, Welcome to The Tortoise Table and congratulations on providing a home for Donatella. It might well be that Donatella is wanting to hibernate, as Marginated torts are a hibernating species, and it's that time of year, but as she has been ill and might be underweight, I don't think I would r...

Hi Carol, The coco blocks are OK, but not great. I've used one or two of them as a small proportion of my substrate mix, mainly because they are light weight and my tortoise table is upstairs and so heavy to carry the topsoil and sand up there. The coco blocks can get really dry and dusty, and I do ...

Hi Carol, That's great -- all the right stuff! Yes, I think I might put him next to a radiator, just because he is so small and his body will lose heat quickly. He'll be fine once his new little torty palace is set up. What sort of bedding are you getting? It's best to stick with a sand/soil mixture...

I loved the photo of your with your birthday cake! And thanks for the name of the group -- it is the one I thought it mght be.

Cheers,
Nina

Thanks, Oli and good luck with the table (love the name Sergeat Bash!) Just some advice about the substrate. Coconut coir is not terrible, but it really isn't ideal. In the wild tortoises live on a very sandy soil and they really prefer that to other substrates. The bark chippings won't hurt, unless...