The Tortoise Table

Thanks so much, Tina! It was great to see you today and I'm so glad that you found the talk useful (lol, even if wasn't hugely different from the one you attended last year!). I hope that Jonny has some really tasty treats from those seeds, so best of luck with them. And the next time I see you I ex...

I hope everyone is reading this post, Joe, because your enclosures are wonderful -- a model for anyone thinking of making an outdoor enclosure. They are so full of interest for the tortoises, and so natural looking at the same time. I just love them and you could give a masterclass in outdoor tortoi...

Aww he is really tiny, isn't he? But very adventurous!

Nina

He has had a lovely day! I love it when they are curious and explore, and Speedy is certainly curious!

Nina

Ahh, that's interesting, Lin. I had wondered about Ajuga, but thought that from the photo, the plant seems to be spreading out horizontally, flat along the ground, which is a bit more like Self-Heal, but it could be Ajuga (I'm used to seeing the Ajuga that has redder leaves, although I know that the...

Nope mine come out small. LOL -- yours are a bit like "THE ALIEN SMILIES THAT ATE GREATER MANCHESTER!!!!"

Nina

LOL -- I don't want to cramp your style -- and the large smilies certainly make me smile (I just wondered how they got that way)!
I'll post one here and see if it also comes out big

Nina

Hi Natalie, Yes, it is true there are species of Buttercups that look very similar to that leaf -- especially the Meadow Buttercup, but I still think it's most likely to be a geranium. Don't worry too much, lots of tortoises nibble Buttercups and come to no harm at all, and your tortoise would have ...

Hi Natalie, The first plant looks like one of the hardy geraniums to me, and is fine to feed (although I wish I could see how it comes out of the ground as sometimes young Delphiniums look similar). http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=17#.WOjlBaLauNI or this http://ww...

My holiday is over, so all book orders paid by cheque will now be sent out as usual (within 24 hrs if possible)!

Nina

Please note that any book orders paid for by cheque and received between today, 28 March and Monday 3 April, will not be dispatched until Tuesday 4 April. We apologise for any inconvenience. There will be no delays to orders for booklets paid for online.

Nina

Good luck, Andrew, and let us know how you get on. And the mini greenhouse is a great idea, as seedlings need lots of light or they will grow straggly -- just be sure that on a hot day it doesn't get too hot inside your mini greenhouse or there is a chance that they could dry out too much).

Nina

Hi Andrew and welcome from me too. I think 1m x 1m will be ample for a young Horsfield, especially if you grow weeds like Smooth Hawksbeard, Sowthistle and Evening Primrose plants that grow tall and therefore take up less space on the ground. And of course you can do successive sowings of seed, so t...

Just a quick update. It seems more in control at the moment with much less spam coming in - so thanks to everyone for being patient while we're deaing with this.

Nina

Hi Emma, LOL -- Before and after what? Eating? I didn't think the amount looked too bad, but actually if they only weigh just over 130g and 220g, maybe it is a bit much, I really don't know. Try reducing Ptolemy's amount for a week or so and see what happens. Hopefully one of the others will come on...

I know, and it's so infuriating! So far they have all been posted in the General Care forum. The post a message, we ban their username and delete the message and then a new message with a different username comes in. We've banned over 50 messages since 7.30 this morning. So sorry if this is botherin...

Unfortunately last night a spammer posted a number of messages our Forum, and we apologise if you have read these messages before we had a chance to delete them. We have now deleted lthose messages and banned the sender, but if more messages are sent in today, please know that we are working to solv...

Aww what a great story. And this little lady surely had luck on her side when she managed to find a home with you! Now you're teasing everyone with references to the Coke tank and the Jack Daniels tank. People won't know what you're talking about -- lol, but I do . . . . . .


Nina

LOL -- snap! I don't have the template of the shell, but I definitely do the 'one plantain leaf for Doris, one for Dolly, one sowthistle leave for Doris and one for Dolly,' etc. I think we are both a bit over the top in that way :shock: What is puzzling is the one tortoise is gaining almost ten time...

Oh wow! What an amazing shell. Where was that photographed, Joe?

Nina

PMSL -- yes, stick with Jesus, it's a brill name. By the way, do you pronounce it the English way (geezus), or the Spanish way (haysoos)? The Spanish way does have a sort of flair to it

So true. I'm not particularly inventive with enclosures -- not a patch on BigJoe -- but it's sometimes fun to see what you can do with very little!

Nina

Hi Sally, Whew! So glad to hear that he is all right -- they do know how to worry us, dont they? When you do go to the vet, remember to take a relatively fresh sample of poo with you, so that it can be analysed for parasites (worms, mainly). Worms are fairly common and easy to get rid of, so no prob...

What a handsome Beardie! She is lovely and looks so healthy -- but the thought that Jesus laid eggs sort of boggles the mind! Alll the creatures in your mini zoo are so lucky to have found you Bex!

Nina

Great photo! There is a whole ecosystem on that tortoise's shell!

Nina