The Tortoise Table

We’ve been clipping mulberry branches and putting them in Buddy’s indoor enclosure - both as vittles but also an enrichment activity. It’s different from his winter salad pile. He must move along and negotiate his aim to dine. My concern is the green stick/branches. We quickly remove the branch from...

Oh, we live in Elkhart, IN. Elkhart is 15-20 minutes South from the Michigan State line and 25-30 minutes East of the Notre Dame campus (in South Bend,IN) We live in town, in an urban area, but have a lovely piece of property, fenced in, on a lone wooded knoll. It sits on the rim of the 100 year flo...

He came with the name Oppie, but my son has been calling him Buddy (Mainly because when he picks him up to take him to his bath, he finds himself saying, “Whoa Buddy.” He’s quite large, perhaps the size of a medium ottoman. I’ve never attempted to pick him up. Lucky me, my 15 year old scrubs the bat...

Thanks so much Nina! I appreciate all this info. My father will be pleased, as his ornamental installations of Northern sea oats have become quite invasive. The tortoise came to us with a profoundly pyramided shell. I fretted so at first that my teenager sagely stated that worrying won’t change anyt...

We intend to plant a small field of grass on my dad’s terraced garden (each terrace section is approximately 2x10 meters). The terraces drop two meters to the next. I fear they aren’t safe for grazing, even with supervision and a focused spotter. However, they will do just fine for growing and harve...

My 15 year old son and I are recently fostering a 20 year old Sulcata. He is our first tortoise ever. We are committed to improving his quality of life. Poor thing is stranded in the northern hemisphere. He has been raised on a woefully inadequate diet. I’ve been obsessively researching your databas...