We got our Horsfield tortoise Mishka (who we assume is a boy) a few weeks ago from an animal rescue centre. Nothing was really known of his background or age, he weighs 550g. He is living in a tortoise table inside with soil, and we are building him an enclosure for outside. He has a combined UV/Heat lamp - with the temperature at shell height at around 30c. He is being fed a varied diet of tortoise safe plants and weeds from our garden.
He gets a supervised wander round the garden every few days and bath once a week. He has some signs of damage to the top and underside of his shell and there is some 'frilling' of his shell too.
We have taken him to the vets and she seemed pretty happy with how healthy he seemed, considering the damage to his shell and lasck of history. She advises to hibernate, but not the first winter, as we will still be getting to know him.
I do have a few questions though:
- how often should we give nutrobal? Should we be giving calcium too? He hasn't shown any obvious interest in his cuttlefish bone
- he never goes into the bed area of his table - he just stays half buried in the soil, under where the lamp had been switched on. Should we move him to his bed area? The couple of times we put him in his bed area, he didn't come out until around 11am the next morning!
- He does seem to spend a lot of his day sleeping - is this normal!? He does eat nearly everything we give him each day, but he never seems to be anywhere other than under his lamp
- We are giving him enough leaves/flowers to make a blanket to cover his shell every day - is this too much?
- The soil in his tortoise table dries out so quickly, even with a spray every day, sometimes twice a day - is this ok?
Thank you so much in advance for the advice!
ps - tried to add a photo, but it's saying they are all too big!
New tortoise - a few questions!
Re: New tortoise - a few questions!
Hi Sarebear36 (sorry, I don't know your name), and welcome to The Tortoise Table!
First of all, let me say that you have made a great start. All of the information you gave in the first part of your email is spot on for care: tortoise table/uvb/light, substrate, not hibernating in the first year, etc., so that is really encouraging. If you don't have one already, here is a link to a care sheet for Horsfield tortoises:
https://www.tortoise-protection-group.o ... 014New.pdf
Here are some answers to your questions. I would give Nutrobal every other day. Wet the leaves, etc. that you give him, so that the powder sticks to them, and remember that the dose is 'one pinch per kilo of tortoise', so yours should have about half a pinch (whatever that is -- I find the Nutrobal instructions maddening!). On days when you don't give Nutrobal I would give another calcium supplement, like food grade calcium carbonate that you can buy cheaply on the internet, or you could ditch the Nutrobal and give something like Arcadia's Revitalise D3 every day. Many tortoises don't like cuttlefish bone until it is sitting outdoors in the rain and all of the elements and is beginning to go green and manky, and then they devour it. But you can also use your fingernail to scrape some of the cuttlefish onto his food. They do need a lot of calcium to support all of that growing shell and bone.
Bed area. Lol, they do this on purpose. No matter how nice a bed area you make, they choose their own place and sometimes it's where you would like them to sleep and sometimes not. Usually though, they do seek out a corner or something. They quite like a tight, cramped place to squeeze into, so you could try half a flower pot on its side or something -- but they will still choose their own.
You mention that it is 30C under the light at shell height, which is great. How are you measuring that? Also, what it the temperature at the cooler end of the table? Temperature is super important to tortoise behaviour, so it's usually the first thing we ask about.
It's good that he is eating, and it sounds like you are feeding the right amount, but he really should be a bit more active. When you took him to the vet, did she do a parasite test? You just need to take a recent poo sample with you and they can test for worms, which are very common and easily treated. A light wormload doesn't need to be treated at all (and the latest thinking is that it is actually slightly beneficial to their digestive system), but a heavy wormload can cause lethargy and does need to be treated. There is an online service were you can have a test done yourself (they send you the materials and you send the poo sample off and get a full report back-- I can give you a link if you're interested).
Substrate. Yes it does dry out really quickly under the lights indoors. What I do is every couple of days I pour water onto the substrate and mix it up really well. The result you want is just the teeny tiniest bit damp -- not at all wet -- just so that a clump of soil in your hand starts to hold together a bit if you close your hand up, making a fist.
Baths, when he is indoors, I would bathe him two or three times a week, especially if he doesn't drink from his water bowl (which some tortoises don't). That will keep him well hydrated.
Photos need to be reduced in size to be uploaded, and if you can't do that, then just send them to me -- nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk -- and I'll reduce them for you and upload them into this thread. It would be good to have a photo of the tortoise, showing the damage to the shell and also his underside, clearly showing the tail, so that we can confirm the sex. And also some photos of your set-up would be great, as sometimes it only takes a small tweak to bring about great changes.
It sounds to me like you are doing really well with this tortoise, and we will help you all we can.
Nina
First of all, let me say that you have made a great start. All of the information you gave in the first part of your email is spot on for care: tortoise table/uvb/light, substrate, not hibernating in the first year, etc., so that is really encouraging. If you don't have one already, here is a link to a care sheet for Horsfield tortoises:
https://www.tortoise-protection-group.o ... 014New.pdf
Here are some answers to your questions. I would give Nutrobal every other day. Wet the leaves, etc. that you give him, so that the powder sticks to them, and remember that the dose is 'one pinch per kilo of tortoise', so yours should have about half a pinch (whatever that is -- I find the Nutrobal instructions maddening!). On days when you don't give Nutrobal I would give another calcium supplement, like food grade calcium carbonate that you can buy cheaply on the internet, or you could ditch the Nutrobal and give something like Arcadia's Revitalise D3 every day. Many tortoises don't like cuttlefish bone until it is sitting outdoors in the rain and all of the elements and is beginning to go green and manky, and then they devour it. But you can also use your fingernail to scrape some of the cuttlefish onto his food. They do need a lot of calcium to support all of that growing shell and bone.
Bed area. Lol, they do this on purpose. No matter how nice a bed area you make, they choose their own place and sometimes it's where you would like them to sleep and sometimes not. Usually though, they do seek out a corner or something. They quite like a tight, cramped place to squeeze into, so you could try half a flower pot on its side or something -- but they will still choose their own.
You mention that it is 30C under the light at shell height, which is great. How are you measuring that? Also, what it the temperature at the cooler end of the table? Temperature is super important to tortoise behaviour, so it's usually the first thing we ask about.
It's good that he is eating, and it sounds like you are feeding the right amount, but he really should be a bit more active. When you took him to the vet, did she do a parasite test? You just need to take a recent poo sample with you and they can test for worms, which are very common and easily treated. A light wormload doesn't need to be treated at all (and the latest thinking is that it is actually slightly beneficial to their digestive system), but a heavy wormload can cause lethargy and does need to be treated. There is an online service were you can have a test done yourself (they send you the materials and you send the poo sample off and get a full report back-- I can give you a link if you're interested).
Substrate. Yes it does dry out really quickly under the lights indoors. What I do is every couple of days I pour water onto the substrate and mix it up really well. The result you want is just the teeny tiniest bit damp -- not at all wet -- just so that a clump of soil in your hand starts to hold together a bit if you close your hand up, making a fist.
Baths, when he is indoors, I would bathe him two or three times a week, especially if he doesn't drink from his water bowl (which some tortoises don't). That will keep him well hydrated.
Photos need to be reduced in size to be uploaded, and if you can't do that, then just send them to me -- nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk -- and I'll reduce them for you and upload them into this thread. It would be good to have a photo of the tortoise, showing the damage to the shell and also his underside, clearly showing the tail, so that we can confirm the sex. And also some photos of your set-up would be great, as sometimes it only takes a small tweak to bring about great changes.
It sounds to me like you are doing really well with this tortoise, and we will help you all we can.
Nina
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HermitHeals
- Posts: 1
- Joined: 18 May 2023, 12:34
Prickly ox or ...
Hello apologies I'm Jo just joined so navigating newbie...Ihave realised that google search is poor and until i start my herbalism course your site is a godsend - was going to add a photo on this plant but I do think it was helpful someone said the idea teasel has white centres in leaf my plant has more reddish and in more industrial land maybe I'm right in thinking its the ox leaf - my useless comment for the day as no photo so I'll try add image later if a facility - but I do hope it is this as loads of teasel bfn. In SE of UK
Re: Prickly ox or ...
\Hi Jo and welcome to the Tortoise Table!
We'd be happy to ID your plant for you, and if you can upload a photo of the whole plant, growing in situ, a close-up of some of the leaves, and any flowers or seedheads that might be on it, that would be great. You will need to reduce the photos in size a bit in order to upload, and if you can't do that, then just send them to me at nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk and I will reduce them and upload them for you.
In general, if you want a plant ID'd it's best to start a new thread in the Plant ID section, rather than in this General Care section. Here is a link to the UK Plants ID section: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/sit ... um.php?f=7 and here is a link to the Plant ID for plants from outside the UK section: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/sit ... um.php?f=8. Just click on the New Topic button and start a thread.
We look forward to seeing your photos, and in the meantime, here is our entry for Teasel on our plant database: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... GZEwaXMIZY
A herbalism course sounds like a great thing to do! What species of tortoise do you have? We are happy to send you a care sheet (if you don't have a good one already) for your species.
Another tip in using our Forum. When you are typing a post in the box, underneath the box are a series of options that you can tick. If you tick the one that says 'Notify me when a reply is posted' then you'll get an email when someone posts an answer to your questions.
Nina
We'd be happy to ID your plant for you, and if you can upload a photo of the whole plant, growing in situ, a close-up of some of the leaves, and any flowers or seedheads that might be on it, that would be great. You will need to reduce the photos in size a bit in order to upload, and if you can't do that, then just send them to me at nina@thetortoisetable.org.uk and I will reduce them and upload them for you.
In general, if you want a plant ID'd it's best to start a new thread in the Plant ID section, rather than in this General Care section. Here is a link to the UK Plants ID section: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/sit ... um.php?f=7 and here is a link to the Plant ID for plants from outside the UK section: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/sit ... um.php?f=8. Just click on the New Topic button and start a thread.
We look forward to seeing your photos, and in the meantime, here is our entry for Teasel on our plant database: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/pla ... GZEwaXMIZY
A herbalism course sounds like a great thing to do! What species of tortoise do you have? We are happy to send you a care sheet (if you don't have a good one already) for your species.
Another tip in using our Forum. When you are typing a post in the box, underneath the box are a series of options that you can tick. If you tick the one that says 'Notify me when a reply is posted' then you'll get an email when someone posts an answer to your questions.
Nina
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Sarebear36
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 06 May 2023, 20:19
Re: New tortoise - a few questions!
Hi Nina
Thank you so much for al the really useful information. I am sorry it has tajen me so long to reply!
Temperature is with a digital thermometer probe at shell height. Cool end is about 20- 21 degrees.
He has stopped eating as much, as has been getting less and less active, so we have done a poo sample and the vet said he had a moderate worm load and have recommended 2 doses of Panacur given 2 weeks apart - he got bhis first dose on Saturday. So we are hoping this improves things.
We have increased his bathing too.
Photos of him, the marks on his shell and his tortoise table (outside enclosure is almost complete!) are attached.
Thank you again
Sarah
Thank you so much for al the really useful information. I am sorry it has tajen me so long to reply!
Temperature is with a digital thermometer probe at shell height. Cool end is about 20- 21 degrees.
He has stopped eating as much, as has been getting less and less active, so we have done a poo sample and the vet said he had a moderate worm load and have recommended 2 doses of Panacur given 2 weeks apart - he got bhis first dose on Saturday. So we are hoping this improves things.
We have increased his bathing too.
Photos of him, the marks on his shell and his tortoise table (outside enclosure is almost complete!) are attached.
Thank you again
Sarah
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Sarebear36
- Posts: 6
- Joined: 06 May 2023, 20:19
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