The Tortoise Table

HI! You've posted these photos in two threads and I've just answered the in the other thread (which is titled 'Edible Weeds'). Hope that is OK.

Nina

Oh my goodness, that is amazing, and I'm so pleased for you! So that is three weeks he's been out on his little adventure -- how wonderful that he is back with you now. And you can forget your project to train that pig to locate valuable truffles, in order to make some extra money during this lockdo...

That's great, and we'd love to see photos of your little beauties when they arrive. And I hope you have good luck with the seeds too!

Nina

Hi Yahtzdog, and apologies for welcoming you to The Tortoise Table in the last post -- I've just realised that you have posted before and been welcomed then (ahh, but you can't get too many welcomes!). So again it is really great that you are doing so much research in advance of getting your tortois...

Hi Yahtzdog and welcome to The Tortoise Table! And congratulations on getting your little hatchling Hermanns - you will love them. Regarding your questions: No, you don't have to sow seeds into organic potting soil, but what you need to do is to avoid fertilizers if possible. Even organic potting so...

Oh my, that is a really excellent table! I withdraw my comments and I think you should tell Timmie that he is acting like a spoiled brat and he needs to get his act together! :D Seriously, I can't see anything wrong or that you could improve. I would just keep getting him up and putting him underthe...

Hi Kimberley, I think your instincts are right and Timmie is just disappointed at not being able to go out and bored indoors. Can you remind me how big his table is? One thing you can do is to rearrange the 'furniture' in his table -- put rocks or bendy log thingys (if you have them) in different pl...

After a lot of thought the owners (Email details below) have come to the heartbreaking decision to allow their much loved female Hermann's to go to a home that can give her the time and space that she needs. The owner says that she is a huge character, is extremely curious and loves to roam around. ...

That's great, Lucre, and you can read that care sheet for Iberas that i posted earlier, or I'm sure that Chris Leone has lots of good care and other information on his website. Here is his section on Iberas, and you can see photos of what Jeff will look like as an adult: https://www.hermannihaven.co...

Hi Lucre, That's great, and what is funny is that Lin and I have been on the phone talking about this for the last half hour and she convinced me that Jeff is a Greek tortoise, and gave her reasons why -- lots of very specific points that she noted. So I was definitely right in saying that I am rubb...

Do have a good look at the information on that site I gave the link to. There are detailed photos on it that should help you, Hermanns certainly don't have a solid black plastron. Look, for example, and the first species on the Hermanni Haven site -- the Western Hermanns -- and you will see photos o...

Hi Lucre, Great photos and thank you. i'm sure that Lin will come in soon, but in the meantime my view is that he (or she) is definitely a Hermanns. You might want to look at a really excellent website for Hermanns -- it's called Hermanni Haven and here is a link: https://www.hermannihaven.com/gener...

Hi Lucre -- and how nice to hear from you again. I hope the weather in Italy is warmer than it is in the UK at the moment (we had two weeks of beautiful weather and now it is cold and wet again). It is really good to hear how well you are keeping little Jeff! All the things you are doing (diet, goin...

Oh dear, yes I was going to make some enquiries and I never managed to do it, but I promise I will now -- sorry, and thanks for reminding me! Nina xx Teddy28 wrote: > Hello, hope you don't mind me jumping in on this post, Nina did you manage > to find any info about using incubators for hiberbating?...

Ahh, yes, fridges are the cause of worry for all of us, as they do fluctuate. Were you measuring temperatures in a larder fridge (i.e. a fridge without a freezing compartment)? That is where you start -- it can't have a freezing compartment. Some people use those drinks fridges (I think Huskey is su...

With a tail that size I don't think there is any chance the 'he' is a 'she' :D I wouldn't use the Jackson Ratio for this -- it's really only meant to be used to judge whether a tortoise is of a sufficient weight to hibernate, and as a general measure it can be very misleading. Also, it was based on ...

Four large poos is a lot, so that’s possible, but it’s also possible that he was saving them up to deposit in the bath to save you the trouble of spot cleaning his enclosure!

Nina

Hi and thanks for the photos of the very handsome Moe! Well, he is very definitely male, isn't he? I think his shell looks pretty good, although I think I can see some small raising of scutes that go down the middle of the top of his shell, and in one of the photos the scute just above the one that ...

It is perfectly normal (in most cases) and most often happens when they are startled. In order to fit their heads inside their shells properly tortoises need to expel the air from their lungs, and when they do it quickly the expelling of air makes that hissing sound. Not sure why he is doing it whil...

Sorry, a really old photo of the torts in the garden crept in there when I uploaded the others, and I can't seem to delete it without deleting everything and starting again!
Nina

Hi Yahtzdog, Ahh, you live in the States! Whereabouts? I'm originally from the States (near Chicago), but have lived in the UK for many years. Depending on where you live, you might well have a climate that is more suitable for tortoises than we have here (England is as cold and rainy as everyone sa...

Hi Yahtzdog (sorry, I don't know your name) and welcome to the Tortoise Table! It's really great that you are doing your research and asking questions before you get your tortoise -- so many people don't and then they end up with real problems. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to house one male...

Hi Kimberley, You didn't barge in at all -- your post was really welcome. Funnily enough I was speaking with Ellie on the phone tonight and we were saying exactly the same thing -- that the rough patch could well be caused by the scute rubbing agianst the tail (and that would explain the little roug...

Hi Misty, Well done for rescuing this tortoise! Did the vet say what he thought was the cause of her problem? Regarding the vitamin injections -- do you know which vitamins they were ? It's just that tortoises usually should not have vitamin A injections, because that can cause problems. In rare cas...

Thanks for the info and the photos weilko93 (sorry, I don't know your name -- lol, or the tortoise's name). First of all, well done for giving this tortoise a good diet and keeping it well hydrated -- that is really important. Are you also giving it a calcium supplement as well? The size and shape o...