The Tortoise Table

Oh dear, this isn't my day, as I did loads of research (without many results) and wrote nearly a whole reply and then deleted it by accident! So I'll start again. Schizachyrium scoparium. As far as I can see this should be OK. I found one scientific study that showed the plant took up arsenic from i...

Hi and thanks for posting. I'm sorry to be so late in responding, but we've been inundated with questions via email from people at the moment and I'm a bit behind on my research. Hope to get back to you before the day is out.

Nina

Hi Emma, It does depend a bit on the species, but Horsfields like it pretty dry. The thing is that indoors the lights are very drying, and so it's recommended that the substrate be kept just the tiniest bit damp -- not at all wet. It should be that if you have some substrate in your hand, and clench...

Sounds perfect -- happy hibernation!
Nina
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Hi Emma, Good to hear from you! You can sometimes encourage a poo by soaking her, which you're doing anyway, and it sounds like you're doing a great job (15 - 20 minutes in nice warm water will often produce a poo, but I wouldn't worry too much if it doesn't happen, as at the end of her fasting peri...

Hi Ambrosius, I'm glad that you found the care sheet useful. I can't remember if it mentioned it, but please, please cancel your order for the vivarium if you can, as they are very bad environments for tortoises. I can point you to lots of articles on why vivariums are bad for tortoises (they are fi...

Good luck, Emma, and let us know how you get on. If you only got him on Saturday, it's very probably just a settling in period.

Cheers,
Nina

When I got my Doris she had very visible pyramiding, but I tried hard and her subsequent growth has been pretty smooth, so although pyramiding doesn't go away, it shows up much less when the majority of the shell is smoother. I've attached a photo of Doris take when I got her in 2005, and also one o...

Hi Emma, I'm so glad that you weren't put off by that long post of mine! :) It could well be that he is just settling in (how long have you had him?), or it could be lots of other things -- temperature, hibernation mode, etc. It might be that the temperature at the warm end of his enclosure is too w...

HI Emma and welcome to The Tortoise Table! Love the name Kimchi and I love Horsfields (but I'm a bit prejudiced there because I keep Horsfields and they are a species with a great personality. I've just re-read this message before posting and I do apologise for the length in advance!! His weight at ...

Hi Amanda, Well, I think maybe it is starting to pyramid a little bit, but nothing terrible. Are you keeping a record of his growth? I can't remember now if we discussed this before, but you should be aiming for an average weight gain of about 1g - 3g per month, and if he is consistently gaining mor...

Hi Ambrosius and family, If your tortoise was a year old in May, then he is 18 months old, and 86g isn't underweight at all, so basically you're doing fine. In fact it's a teeny bit more than you would expect, so do be sure that he doesn't gain weight too quickly. As I mentioned earlier, aim for abo...

Hi Ambrosius and welcome to The Tortoise Table! It's difficult to put an exact number on how much he should weigh because tortoises are a bit like people -- some are just naturally bigger or smaller than others, and it also depends on much he weighed when he was hatched, but I would think that somew...

So cute! And your table is looking great too.

Nina

Hi and thanks for contacting us! I didn't know much about this species but have looked at the scientific literature and elsewhere, and I think it is not one to plant in a tortoise enclosure. It contains high levels of dangerous glycosides that affect cattle and sheep, among other animals. Here is so...

Thanks, Emma -- I'll look forward to hearing a great success story this year! Mine are in their first week of wind down, and I've got my fingers firmly crossed . . . . .

Nina

Well, the fungus gnats aren't going to do the girls any harm, they're just a nuisance to people, but not harmful in any way (except to maybe very young seedlings of plants where they might nibble on the tender roots -- but to ordinary plants they do no harm). The thing is that unless you have an abs...

Yes, I think the boiling water should help, but be sure you aren't left with a substrate that is too wet for tortoises -- especially if it gets cool or cold at night, because tortoises are fine with warm and wet but they really don't do well if it is cold and wet (you want the substrate to be no mor...

Honestly, Emma, you're doing really well, and I know it's scary (I get more stressed about my tortoises than I ever did about my son when he was growing up!), but you'll be fine. The thermometer I use is this one -- but there's no particular reason why I use that brand, and you can get similar ones ...

Hi Emma, Sorry to be a bit late in replying, but I wanted to read through the old posts, so that I can remember what happened last year. You did have a stressful time of it, didn't you! I think your winding down time sounds good. I can't remember now, but did I send you a copy of the little sheet th...

I do hope you're able to get Timmy eating again -- please let us know how it's going, and also if you want to chat about it (just contact me at nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk if you want to exchange numbers).

Nina

I do envy you having all that sunshine and UVB for your tortoises! We have to provide UVB lights because of our climate, but also we are so far north that the UVB that does reach us is not as strong as it is further south. Do you have your Hermanni yet? Are people breeding tortoises in Indonesia, or...

I think a tiny bit mixed in with other food would do no harm, as it is not super high in oxalates, but it is sometimes better to be cautious and avoid any problems. Oh my goodness, what gorgeous little tortoises Momon and Mimin are! And it looks like they are living in a wonderful environment too. W...

Hi Anjarys, and welcome to The Tortoise Table. I've had a look at the scientific literature on limnophila aromatica, and it seems to be non-toxic, but it does contain oxalates (although the levels of oxalates in it aren't super high). We usually recommend avoiding all plants with oxalates as they bi...

Such an interesting experiment -- looking forward to the results!

Nina