The Tortoise Table

That sounds really excellent, Vanessa, and it sounds like you've got everything well in hand! You are right to protect them from predators, and we know of one incident where a magpie took a baby tortoise. There are, of course, rats and foxes about, but if the torts will be indoors at night (or in a ...

Hi Vanrose, Thanks for sending me your photos -- and here they are. What lovely little torts you have! And a very nice set-up too. It's good that you have different textures for them to walk on, as that provides variety. Also the spider plant looks good too. I had one in my table two days ago, to we...

Hi Vanrose, and welcome to The Tortoise Table! And many congratulations on getting your two spur thighs. We'd love to see photos of them and of your set-up. If you can't reduce the photos in size, then just send them to me at nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk and I will reduce them and post them here for...

Hi Oli, So sorry to be late in gettng back to you! Sergeant Bash is a handsome little Horsfield, and you're right that it is too early to sex him/her. Horsfields tend to look like females until they are about 5 or 6 years old and then the males suddenly grow their tails and become obviously male. Yo...

Hi MIchelle -- great to hear from you, and I hope that Hector is thriving! It's a thorny (ha, ha no pun intended) question about whether or not to remove spines. In the wild tortoises (for example desert tortoises) do eat cacti and don't seem to have any problems, so theoretically it should be fine....

Hi Bex, So sorry this is late! I was waiting for Lin to have a look at the photos, because it was she who suggested them, but I forgot that her TTT email isn't working, so she doesn't get notices of people posting on the Forum. I've emailed her to tell her the photos are here, and I'm sure she will ...

It looks to me like Khalid has a serious prolapse and that is his penis. If it hasn't gone back after a very short time you really need to see a vet. This is because his penis is in serious danger of drying out and becoming necrotic, which could mean amputation. You can try a very strong solution of...

Yippee! So glad that they've come through with flying colours. Do give them both a nice long bath in warm water up to their chins (or where the top shell meets the bottom shell), at the temperature you would bathe a baby in, and in something they can't see out of (like an old washing up bowl), for 1...

Yes, that is definitely the sign of a female, so you're probably right. I don't know about Marginateds, but Horsfields tend to look female until they are about 5 or 6 and then their tail grows and the asterisk shape of the cloaca becomes noticeable. It will be interesting to see the photos. Flashina...

We might be able to sex her at 5 years (not sure though as it's usually at about 5 or 6 that you can sex them). If you can post a photo of her underside, clearly showing the tail, we'll have a go. Great that you've bought seeds to grow. I always think a good thing is to grow seeds in succession -- s...

I like those names! Much more interesting than my Doris and Dolly (but they were named because they're like two little spinsters, very well mannered and not great risk takers -- although Dolly has pulled some amazing escape adventures). They send greatings to Kahlid and Kame (lol they're still in th...

Aww, Marginateds are lovely tortoises -- especially the males with those beautiful flared scutes in back (have attached a photo to show what I mean). It sounds to me like you have got everything sorted! How super to live in a rural area where there will be meals just waiting to be gathered. The Test...

What a sweet photo! Ha, ha yes, they do love strawberries, but they aren't good for them because the digestive systems of tortoises don't cope well with the natural sugars in fruit, and it can upset their gut flora (and tomatoes count as a fruit too). I always think of it like giving a baby lots and...

Aww, that is so kind of you to say that. I know what it is like, as I struggled when I got my first tortoise, and there is an awful lot of misinformation out there. One of the reasons we started The Tortoise Table was because of the conflicting information (especially about diet) and we wanted to he...

Hi Jackcaj, and welcome to The Tortoise Table! It is great that you are looking for fresh, natural food for your tortoise, and we'll do our best to help you. What grows wild in any particular month depends on where you live. Are you in the UK, and if so are you in England or further north? Outdoors ...

Here is a care sheet for Hermanns, but if you want to be absolutely sure, send us some photos of them (from the top looking down and also from the side so that we can see the heads and shell) and we'll give you an ID. Also, if you are not completely sure of their sex, send us photos of their undersi...

Hi, Glad you found the article helpful, and it's great that you've got an insulated and heated area for them outside. Do check before you put them out there, if when we have sub-zero temperatures that the temperature will not drop below the mid-20s in the daytime and no colder than about 12C or 14C ...

And the leaves

Nina

Keelymc1 wrote:
> Hi Nina thanks for your reply. I will keep the girls away from the flowers.
>

Hi -- great to hear from you, and how super that both Bella and Berta have come through hibernation with flying colours. And so sorry you have had to re-register! It's strange that Sweet Pea didn't come up on our database (did you type Sweet Pea into the search box?). Anyway, unfortunately this is n...

Hi Kahlidandpal and welcome to The Tortoise Table. If they have been in the fridge since mid-November then it is time to wake them up. Current thinking is that for medium-sized tortoises (what species are yours?) that 12 weeks is about right, but a week or so longer is possible. Do you have an indoo...

Hi Gemcas, Welcome to The Tortoise Table and it was really good of you to adopt this Horsfield! They are a lovely species with lots of personality. I am so sorry that you have been having problems with him, but hopefully we can help you to get him eating again. First of all, you were right in not hi...

Hi Bex, Yes, I think you're right -- there was a photo at some point and it might have been one of the posts that got deleted. Because she was so young when you got her (I think you said 10 months), if she'd had a bad injury before she came to you, you'd have seen seen some signs of it, so I think t...

Hi Bex, Her plastron does look very cracked and deeply worn in places, and it's a mystery because you said she walks tall and holds her shell off the ground, so it's not as if it is being constantly scraped on the ground. Obviously they do scrape it walking over stones and things, but that wouldn't ...

Hi Charlotte, Welcome to The Tortoise Table. Just to check -- when you sa you were told that 'this isn't suitable material for a humid hide', were you talking about the moss (I assume it is sphagnum moss) or the wooden box? I think a wooden box could present problems because if it is very damp over ...

I think that if he has grown them from seed in the autumn, then they will have used up a lot of any fertiliser that was in the compost by now, and as he hasn't added any more fertiliser I don't tihnk it is much of a problem. Actually fertiliser, while not good, is not super dangerous --- it is much ...