New rescued-tortoise owner-advise?

[Charlane]

Hi I have been given a 9 year old tortoise after reading up on here the vivarium i've been given with her is no good at all, is possible to just put in the garden tomorrow or do i need to introduce slowly? Also hasnt been hybernated ever.. what should i do as pet shop recommended to keep up for a year and feed until i'm used to routine is this correct? currently using packed grass pellets as was told sawdust provided was dangerous for digestion.. only feeding lettice and cucumber as tortoise pellets in shop didnt appeal to me as seemed too unnatural, off to library in morning to read up but any advise really apprechiated.

[helsbells]

Hi Charlane and welcome i am sure you will find loads of help on this forum do u know what species of tortoise she is? as different tortoises have different needs such as food and how you keep them. I keep my tortoises on topsoil from B&Q. Do you know what food she has been used to in the past? Lettuce and cucumber are full of water and have no real food value, have you any weeds in your garden like clover, dandelion for example there is a good section on here about edible weeds and plants. Also the Shelledwarriors shop is an ideal place to buy weed seeds so you can grow your own. I am sure someone else will be along shortly to give you more advice. Helen

[yuna1971]

Outside is the best at the moment, if the weather is good. What species do you have? We will need to know this to advise on the kit you have for the indoor housing.
Make sure if you don't have an outdoor enclosure to be vigilant, and keep an eye on him/her. Welcome by the way! xx

[yuna1971]

I would imagine that a 9 year old is going to be quite big, no matter what species. So once we know what species...a spacious enclosure, be it a viv (if its a tropical tort) or tort table will be paramount. xx

[Pussygalore]

you can't just 'stick' the tortoise outside especially if its been used to the heat of a viv, you'll also need an enclosure or a very secure garden if its to have the run of it. The tort will also need a house of some sort, I'd start by putting it out while you are there on a nice day after its had a warm up, but this will all depend on the species of tort you have, if you don't know then post some photo,s but find out before you put it outside.

[Gem]

Tortoise generally should be fed on weeds, plants and flowers , and you are in luck at the moment there are loads around at this time of year.
No need to buy any seeds as you would be far better off going out and collecting suitable food(plant matter,weeds,flowers) and bringing it home and keeping it fresh in the fridge, this way you would only need to go out a couple of time s a week and can just store in plastic sealed bags in a salad draw. Of course you could dig out a few weeds and take them home if you wanted too....make sure you give them a good cut back though so there is hardly any foliage left, this way they will recover faster from being transferred as the goodness will go into the roots to repair any damage done and make the new foliage stronger(stops them wilting and sending water to already dead foliage) here is a web site to a site were you can identify any weeds,plants and also find out at the same tie if it is edible or not.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/s...ise_home_1.asp

You will need to also find out what species of tortoise it is as well to provide the best care for him/her also Grass pellets are expensive and can harbour very harful mould and bacteria when they get damp so I would go for something more natural personally.....like Top soil available from any garden centre and even some large super markets too.
Its usually pet shops that advise on grass pellets as they can make good monay out of selling such rubbish!

[filardimarg2]

If you were to buy weed seeds now, you might get a supply for winter if you brought them inside later in the year, when the weather got cold again.
I planted some up in December last year, they are great now but took ages to grow, great now i don't really need them, with so much in the fields!!

Marg.

[Gem]

yeah i gues if its a non hibernating species then that might be an idea, or invest in some house plants that will survive through the winter months indoors like pansy,sedum,lavatera(garden plant has leaves through most of winter)
I would think as long as you looked after weeds dug up at this time of year in a greenhouse there would be no need to buy seeds which can be very hit and miss for many.

[Pussygalore]

the trouble with growing weed seeds is that many treat them like normal plants etc and weeds just don't like being mollycoddled, they won't grow very well in rich soil. If you look where they are normally found its often where other plants wouldn't grow and if you try to 'force' them you're often left with tall spindly plants which don't last long.

[EJ]

I'm guessing you are not reading all the posts. Vivs are perfectly acceptable. This is especially true with younger tortoises.

Hibernation... is up to you because the tortoise would not normally hibernate if the environmental conditions dictated it.

Pellets might seem unnatural but they probably provide a better nutritional balance than you can at this point.

Originally Posted by Charlane

Hi I have been given a 9 year old tortoise after reading up on here the vivarium i've been given with her is no good at all, is possible to just put in the garden tomorrow or do i need to introduce slowly? Also hasnt been hybernated ever.. what should i do as pet shop recommended to keep up for a year and feed until i'm used to routine is this correct? currently using packed grass pellets as was told sawdust provided was dangerous for digestion.. only feeding lettice and cucumber as tortoise pellets in shop didnt appeal to me as seemed too unnatural, off to library in morning to read up but any advise really apprechiated.