Search found 2022 matches

by Nina
15 Oct 2020, 21:45
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Hermann Tortoise Table advice
Replies: 7
Views: 5798

Re: Hermann Tortoise Table advice

Hi Oliman, and welcome to The Tortoise Table! And many congratulations on welcoming your Hermann's tortoise into your home. You were absolutely right to use a soil-based, rather than a wood chip substrate. Wicke's sterilised topsoil is fine, but it's probably best to mix it with children's playsand ...
by Nina
15 Oct 2020, 20:47
Forum: Diet and Nutrition
Topic: New Tortoise - Help
Replies: 11
Views: 12291

Re: New Tortoise - Help

Hi Louise, Sorry, I probably wasn't clear, but the Observation Records Booklet is a physical (rather than electronic) thing, so I need your home address. I don't want you to post your address online here, so if you could email me at nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk and give me your full address, I'll po...
by Nina
15 Oct 2020, 17:07
Forum: Diet and Nutrition
Topic: New Tortoise - Help
Replies: 11
Views: 12291

Re: New Tortoise - Help

Thanks, Louise! I'm so glad youve got a table, and it looks like a nice set-up you've made for him. As time goes on you could try to put some other little 'furniture' in the table -- things that he can walk over, under or around, just to keep his interest up. Tortoises can get bored if they can see ...
by Nina
15 Oct 2020, 15:03
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: No weight gain
Replies: 7
Views: 7407

Re: No weight gain

Hi Claire, Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. It is possible that when you weighed him on the 23rd it was before any poo, so he was carrying a bit of extra weight, and the fact that he had four poos yesterday means that he will probably have lost several grams in those poos. So I wouldn't be too alarm...
by Nina
15 Oct 2020, 14:42
Forum: Diet and Nutrition
Topic: New Tortoise - Help
Replies: 11
Views: 12291

Re: New Tortoise - Help

Hi Louise and welcome to The Tortoise Table -- and congratulations on welcoming this little Horsfield into your family. Horsfields are a great species, with lots of personality, but the way they live in the wild provides good clues to how and what to feed them. In their natural habitats Horsfields t...
by Nina
14 Oct 2020, 17:28
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating
Replies: 9
Views: 8618

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Aww they are really handsome tortoises -- thanks so much for the photo! I've used the method of hiding something under something they like (like you putting something under the lettuce) when I need to give them medicine. I've spread it on a thin piece of cucumber and then turned the cucumber upside ...
by Nina
13 Oct 2020, 14:52
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating
Replies: 9
Views: 8618

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Hi Ladybird, It sounds to me like you are providing a really excellent home for these litle Egyptian tortoises and that they are very lucky to have found a home with you! Tortoises can be notoriously fussy eaters, and are easily addicted to food that isn't great for them, like iceberg lettuce (which...
by Nina
13 Oct 2020, 09:10
Forum: Rehoming
Topic: Herman and spur thigh females needing new home
Replies: 4
Views: 4982

Re: Herman and spur thigh females needing new home

Hi Laura, It is very interesting about your breeder. I don't know any breeder who would sell tortoises of two different species to someone, if they weren't going ot keep them separate, and also I'm afraid the theory about UV light causing excess growth is just not correct. There are two main types o...
by Nina
12 Oct 2020, 22:28
Forum: Rehoming
Topic: Herman and spur thigh females needing new home
Replies: 4
Views: 4982

Re: Herman and spur thigh females needing new home

Hi Laura, Welcome to The Tortoise Table and I am so sorry that you are having to rehome your tortoises. Could I ask who told you that UV light will cause them to grow too quickly? I'm afraid that isn't true, and certainly indoors it is almost impossible to provide 'too much' UV light -- and in any c...
by Nina
12 Oct 2020, 22:11
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating
Replies: 9
Views: 8618

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Hi Ladybird, Ahh, you are so lucky to live in Malta. We have another tortoise keeper from Malta who corresponds with us, so if I remember correctly, when we in the UK have lush foliage and lots of weeds to feed our tortoises in the summer, you are struggling with a lack of food in the wild, but in o...
by Nina
12 Oct 2020, 17:39
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Overnight heat
Replies: 20
Views: 18590

Re: Overnight heat

Hi Bex, I think you've done a grand job, and as long as you can see what the temperature is inside Speedy's new palace and can bring her in if necessary, it should be fine. Unfortunately the website was playing up yesterday, and it was difficult for us to post things. I know that Lin will come in wi...
by Nina
12 Oct 2020, 17:35
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Overnight heat
Replies: 5
Views: 5921

Re: Overnight heat

Hi Jody, Yes, there were big problems yesterday. Our hosting company said there was an odd glitch, and all of their websites that started with the letter 'T' were not functioning properly (now that's a first -- the letter 'T'???). Anyway, it's back now and I've deleted all your excess posts. Regardi...
by Nina
12 Oct 2020, 12:47
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating
Replies: 9
Views: 8618

Re: Egyptian Tortoise Lighting & Heating

Hi Ladybird and welcome to The Tortoise Table! Egyptian tortoises are a lovely species, and they will definitely have to be brought indoors out of the cold weather. What country do you live in? Here in the UK it has turned cold and rainy and so not good for tortoises to be outside (they need a tempe...
by Nina
11 Oct 2020, 16:29
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Tiny
Replies: 8
Views: 8565

Re: Tiny

Hi Mel and Zach! Wow, great to hear from you, and to know that Tiny is thriving! Why do you think she is malnourished? I'll bet she's fine. Some tortoises -- like some people -- are just smaller. My Doris is small and although she's 6 or 7 years older than Dolly, she is now much smaller than Dolly. ...
by Nina
11 Oct 2020, 16:11
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Overnight heat
Replies: 20
Views: 18590

Re: Overnight heat

Bex that looks absolutely brilliant, and thanks so much for the photos! Speedy looks really happy too! Do you have one of those weather station things? The sort where you have a unit outside and then another one indoors that tells you the temperature where the unit is? I was just think that if you h...
by Nina
11 Oct 2020, 16:01
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Overnight heat
Replies: 5
Views: 5921

Re: Overnight heat

Hi Jody, I'm not sure Lin saw your photo of Jemima's set up in your previous thread, but I remember it and I think it's fine. There are a couple of options. Sitting the 1' greenhouse heater (is it one of those electric oil-filled ones?) on top of the box could work well, especially if it was on a th...
by Nina
10 Oct 2020, 10:29
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: Hibernation Dithering
Replies: 6
Views: 6357

Re: Hibernation Dithering

Yes, hibernation is a worrying time for all of us! If it's your first hibernation I would not do more than probably 10 - 12 weeks (am I right in thinking that Boris is about 4 now?), and I think that as long as Boris is still eating I would keep him awake a bit longer. If he goes into hibernation, s...
by Nina
09 Oct 2020, 22:16
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Identifying Floyd!
Replies: 4
Views: 5409

Re: Identifying Floyd!

So he's a Thb -- isn't it exciting to know his sub-species! And there is loads of information on Chris's Hermanni Haven website about this sub-species, so you've got lots of interesting reading ahead of you.

Cheers,
Nina
by Nina
09 Oct 2020, 12:36
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: My questions.
Replies: 6
Views: 5041

Re: My questions.

Hi Claire, What are you going to use the moss for? You can make a humid hide, but putting the moss on the top of a sleeping area, but with a Mediterranean tortoise i wouldn't use it for bedding, as if it is kept damp it can harbour mould, and in general it isn't essential. The Nutrobal is absolutely...
by Nina
09 Oct 2020, 11:00
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Identifying Floyd!
Replies: 4
Views: 5409

Re: Identifying Floyd!

Hi Claire, That's an excellent site that you read last night, and Chris Leone (whose site it is), is probably the best authority anywhere on Hermann's tortoises. I am really terrible at IDs. Lin might come on and have a go, but I think you would be best to ask Chris to ID Floyd. He has a Facebook gr...
by Nina
08 Oct 2020, 21:14
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: Baby herrman tortoise not eating
Replies: 11
Views: 8777

Re: Baby herrman tortoise not eating

Good idea, Lottie -- worth a try!

Nina
by Nina
08 Oct 2020, 12:20
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: Hibernation Dithering
Replies: 6
Views: 6357

Re: Hibernation Dithering

Hi Carol, I think if you want him to hibenate now then you probably should keep him inside (does he have heat and UVB inside?), because outdoors on a warm sunny day he might well have a nibble and it's really important that he doesn't go into hibernation with any food in his stomach (food in the gut...
by Nina
08 Oct 2020, 11:14
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: Hibernation Dithering
Replies: 6
Views: 6357

Re: Hibernation Dithering

Hi Carol, So sorry to hear that you've been having problems with hibernating Allegro. Ten days without food is a bit short if he is a very young tortoise (it should be between 2 - 4 weeks depending on size), but it was probably fine as he was slowing down and probably not eating much anyway. Althoug...
by Nina
08 Oct 2020, 10:25
Forum: Identification of Plants from outside of the UK
Topic: Hylocereus flower
Replies: 3
Views: 13390

Re: Hylocereus flower

sindi21 wrote: > still that’s a pretty short life span for a plant, if you ask me Well, the flower does only last a day or so, but the plant itself lives for years and years, and just produces these short-lived flowers each year. For some reason, quite a few plants have flowers that last only a day ...
by Nina
07 Oct 2020, 15:13
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Liner and sleeping area!
Replies: 7
Views: 6286

Re: Liner and sleeping area!

Aww, bless - he is so sweet! Regarding his sleeping preferences, I guess he just seems to want to 'couch surf' for a while until he decides on a more permanent sleeping arrangement. :lol:

Nina