Horsfield behaviour
Posted: 21 Feb 2020, 14:23
Hi there, i'm new to the forum, so please bare with me.
My other half got me a horsefield tortoise last December. I've had tortoises in the past but in the Sourhern hemisphere where the weather allows for them to be free range outside for 5 months of the year and the free range indoors for the rest.
So i am new at trying to replicate the best environment for this lil fella here in the Western Isles, Scotland.
When we got him we were told he was around a year old. He's 9cm long. His shell is hard. But it's been getting darker and bumpier since December. I believe this is not a good sign.
We were told not to feed him any brassicas, but things like the Crispy Florette stuff, white chicory and dandelions, plantain, from outside. It'll be a couple of months before we get to have any in these latitudes, so we are sticking to the supermarket stuff.
He lives in an open table. Initially he had a dual light for heat/uvb but realised the uvb% was too low, so it now has a 10%uvb light. The heat lamp is over a slate and it's around 34.5C under it. They are both at one end of his home. At the other end is his 'bedroom'.
We started having just wood chips from our local woodland as substrate. But since his behaviour changed i've read that horsefields also need humidity in their substrate, so he now has orchid potting mix in his bedroom and 2/3 coconut coir with 1/3 woodchip in his main living area. I've read so much contraficting things about horsefield tortoises' substrate that i'm sort of trying it all. So far, his behaviour seems tge same.
Behaviour. When he joined us he would bask most of the day, eat a handful of mixed salad leaves, get a bath on tepid water every other day for anything between 10 and 25min -until he showed signs of wanting to walk off-. He'd have daily wees and a poo every 3 days or so. He'd half bury himself in the woodchips to sleep.
About 4 weeks ago, maybe less, he stopped eating but started to get mega active. He'd literally spend 5-6 hours walking around his environment, up and down his tree bark, falling backwards, getting himself on his feet, climbing again, falling again, walking around... he'd try to climb off his environment too... I do let him out ibto the room to wonder but he just spends all the time walking around pretty fast, not settling anywhere.
In the past 3 weeks he's only eaten 3 times and very little. I give him a bath as always, but he wouldn't stay for more than 3 min if at all. There's been no poo. Just a wee at his bath every now and again.
His eyes are shiny, there have been bubbles from his nose but only 3 times since he arrived.
He seems unhappy about sonething... but i just don't know what.
Would anyone be able to help me, please? I want this wee fella to be happy.
Thanks in advance. Carla.
My other half got me a horsefield tortoise last December. I've had tortoises in the past but in the Sourhern hemisphere where the weather allows for them to be free range outside for 5 months of the year and the free range indoors for the rest.
So i am new at trying to replicate the best environment for this lil fella here in the Western Isles, Scotland.
When we got him we were told he was around a year old. He's 9cm long. His shell is hard. But it's been getting darker and bumpier since December. I believe this is not a good sign.
We were told not to feed him any brassicas, but things like the Crispy Florette stuff, white chicory and dandelions, plantain, from outside. It'll be a couple of months before we get to have any in these latitudes, so we are sticking to the supermarket stuff.
He lives in an open table. Initially he had a dual light for heat/uvb but realised the uvb% was too low, so it now has a 10%uvb light. The heat lamp is over a slate and it's around 34.5C under it. They are both at one end of his home. At the other end is his 'bedroom'.
We started having just wood chips from our local woodland as substrate. But since his behaviour changed i've read that horsefields also need humidity in their substrate, so he now has orchid potting mix in his bedroom and 2/3 coconut coir with 1/3 woodchip in his main living area. I've read so much contraficting things about horsefield tortoises' substrate that i'm sort of trying it all. So far, his behaviour seems tge same.
Behaviour. When he joined us he would bask most of the day, eat a handful of mixed salad leaves, get a bath on tepid water every other day for anything between 10 and 25min -until he showed signs of wanting to walk off-. He'd have daily wees and a poo every 3 days or so. He'd half bury himself in the woodchips to sleep.
About 4 weeks ago, maybe less, he stopped eating but started to get mega active. He'd literally spend 5-6 hours walking around his environment, up and down his tree bark, falling backwards, getting himself on his feet, climbing again, falling again, walking around... he'd try to climb off his environment too... I do let him out ibto the room to wonder but he just spends all the time walking around pretty fast, not settling anywhere.
In the past 3 weeks he's only eaten 3 times and very little. I give him a bath as always, but he wouldn't stay for more than 3 min if at all. There's been no poo. Just a wee at his bath every now and again.
His eyes are shiny, there have been bubbles from his nose but only 3 times since he arrived.
He seems unhappy about sonething... but i just don't know what.
Would anyone be able to help me, please? I want this wee fella to be happy.
Thanks in advance. Carla.