The Tortoise Table

It's great to have you here, Minno. The sort of thermometer that is good to use is one of those digital fridge/freezer thermometers, with a display unit that sits outside the enclosure and then a probe on the end of a long wire that you can hang down into the enclosure so that it is below the lamp a...

Hi Minno, Oh dear -- I wrote you a long post last night and for some reason forgot to submit it and lost it, so here goes again. I agree absolutely with what Lin said -- one of the reasons we started this website, forum and Facebook page is to support people and not criticise them, because we are aw...

Hi Minno, I see that you have just posted in another thread and said he is about one year and four months, but in the other post you said he was born in June 2020, so that would make him only just one year old. 112g is a little big for one year, but it is OK. Just make sure that he doesn't grow too ...

Hi Minno, and welcome to The Tortoise Table. And congratulations on giving a home to little Esi. It is very unfortunate that the delivery person just left little Esi in a box on your doorstep, as though he was any old package, but he seems to have survived and hopefully is flourishing under your car...

Hi Saurin, No, I'm afraid I don't know what the dimensions are, but you can sort of guess by the size of the tortoise and the clear plastic propagator top that she uses for shelter. Obviously as big as possible is always the way to go. Sphagnum moss is a little different from the green moss that gro...

Hi Amber, Great news that Dynamite is eating well and enjoying life outdoors. How long will you be away on holiday? I agree with Lin that you don't need to provide a light for the enclosure that you are taking on holiday with you if you're only away for a week or two, but will this enclosure only be...

Sorry about the images -- I'll send them to you by email. Regarding the Aftercut, I'm afraid it looks rather nasty. Here is the Safety sheet from Westland, listing the ingredients, the dangers, etc. It's rather long, but you can skim down it and get a feel of what it consists of. I think you need to...

Further to my post above, I've now heard from the tortoise owner, and they have given me permission to post their photos, so here they are. I did ask about drainage and they said: It is set on concrete but I have put 4 rubber mattings on floor and attached green fence wire and weed control fabric to...

Regarding a raised bed or other enclosre -- I once used one of those pre-formed plastic fish ponds as an outdoor enclosure (something like these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Best-Sellers-Garden-Outdoors-Preformed-Ponds/zgbs/outdoors/4262946031 ) but you need to drill holes in the bottom so that water c...

Hi Saurin, This is a difficult one. Tortoises are notoriously sensitive to herbicides and insecticides, so I would be very cautious. It really does depend on what the ingredients are. If it is a surface weed killer then it's possible that lots of rain (and we did have lots in May) would have washed ...

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Hi Jody, Did you see my response to your question about diatomaceous earth on the 20th of May? Here's a link to that thread: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/siteassets/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2312&p=7440&hilit=diatomaceous+earth#p7440 As you can see, I don't know a lot about it, b...

Hi Vinny, and congratulations on your new Horsfield! They are a great species with lots of personality, as I'm sure you're finding out. Your question about how much to feed is a good one, and especially important for Horsfields, as they are a particularly greedy species and are prone to grow too qui...

Hi, and welcome to The Tortoise Table. It's a good question that you ask, and we do have a section on the website that explains the 'traffic light' system and what the terms 'feed moderately', etc. mean. Here's a link to the How To Use the Database section, and if you scroll down to the section call...

Hi Amber, Is this wooden enclosure indoors or outdoors? Indoors he really shouldn't need a heat mat in his cave, unless the temperatures drop below, say, 14C at night, and that doesn't happen too often indoors,and usually only in the middle of winter in houses that don't have heating. In the wild to...

Hope you have a great time away, and after you return I think you'll find that having the lamp on a timer is one less thing to worry about too.

Nina

Hi Bex, Love your plant protector and the enclosure is looking great! I've used an upturned wire hanging basket in the past, but they aren't very tall, so yours is much better. I once tried to grow a sedum roof on an upturned curved roofing tile when Doris was little. I put a ring of log roll around...

That looks like a very useful book! The only caveat I would make is to always be aware that plants that are perfectly fine for humans to eat might not be great for tortoises -- not necessarily toxic, but maybe not recommended. I'm thinking here of plants that are very high in protein, like legumes, ...

Hi Bec, It's always a bit stressful when you go away for the first time, but you're asking all the right questions. Yes, you're right that a thermostat will measure the temperature in the table (I would have the probe as near to the light as possible, because that is the warmest place), and it will ...

Hi Jody, I'm so glad to hear that Jemima's country estate is finished, and I hope she showed her gratitude by being well behaved. It's great that you have the lumisol shelters for her, so that she can benefit from UVB even when under cover. 1. Regarding temperature where she can go out. The loose ru...

Yes, they definitely look like greenfly to me, and they are having a great time at Mama Critter's buffet. I hope you're successful in getting rid of them. I find with greenfly that I do a squishing operation first (ugh) and then a strong spray of water (or soapy water) helps. Actually there are surf...

Excellent news! Do save that 100W bulb though, as you might need it in the winter when the ambient temperature in room is colder.

Nina

That was a brilliant idea, and it must be absolute heaven for her -- indoors and outdoors! Lol, her indoor accommodation is positively palatial, and she looks so happy in that grassy bit. It's interesting, but my Doris and Dolly (Horsfields) never touched grass until about two years ago, when they s...

Ha, ha -- I do hope you'll be victorious in your war on bugs! And if you find the ultimate cure let me know. At the moment I'm struggling with mealy bug (do you have that in the USA?) on a lot of the succulents that I grow indoors. I absolutely hate them! If you have a lot of extra seeds and a spare...

Hi CritterMama, Well, I'm finding it hard to see the insects on your first photo, but on the second one it certainly looks like aphids -- maybe whitefly. It's a really difficult problem because tortoises are especially sensitive to insecticides so you obviously can't spray them. A strong spray with ...