cuttle fish n tables?

[linda]

thanks darren & sandy you explained the fruit problem so much better than me

[madness]

i cant understand why you got tortoises when you havnt a clue how to keep them or feed them .i think you should have a very good read of the posts on this exellent site before you go any further

[Pussygalore]

Thats why our site is such a good one, but we don't want to put people off asking questions or make them feel unwelcome however many mistakes they may have made, we were all first time owners at one stage and many are given the wrong advice by the petshops so if anyone is to blame its the shop not the new owner, hopefully the message will slowely get out there to do some research before getting any animal but if the advice that is given is the wrong sort and there are a lot of conflicting sites and sources to be found then its hard to decide who to go with. Please don't be to harsh on people who have found their way on here as we don't want to frighten them away, no one is perfect and all have to learn.

[Caroline McI]

When I got Cookie from a "breeder" he told me he'd been
breeding for over 50 yrs and I was to follow all his advice,
which I did and she's now got terrible pyramiding.

I used to look up stuff on the internet and phone him to ask
about it, he said not to pay attention to it as people could say what
they wanted on a computer.

I discovered SW and have never contacted him again, and through the
advice given here she's living a much better life, thank god!

Everyone was very helpful and never made me feel inadequate,
apart from one comment about me having to accept responsibilty for
the way Cookie was and that not knowing was no excuse.

It's very hard when you follow what you think is expert advice, and if
I were to go back I'd find out alot more beforehand, but keep asking lots of
questions and read through the threads and you'll be on your way.

I've found most people to be very patient and helpful.

[Jimmy]

I have to say i honestly dont think the owners are to blame with poor keeping. A tortoise is a very expensive animal so it is something that you would have to really want and want to look after so i believe 99% of owners want to do what is right by their pet.

Because they are expensive pet shops want to sell them, in order to sell you tell half truths. Also why sell a £60 tortoise table when you can sell a £150 viv! When i bought my tortoise i was given a care sheet and followed it to the letter because i love my pets and i want to do what is best for them. If you want me to post it on here i can scan it in as it does not identify the store but needless to say it was the biggest load of crap i have ever read knowing what i know now.

Pet shops are to blame for 99% of owners treating a tortoise wrongly not the owner. Yes research is needed before owning a pet but when someone is giving you info as fact by someone you assume knows what they are talking about this is when problems occur.

I may be wrong but i like to see the best in people and don't believe anyone is cruel enough to get a pet then purposely mistreat by buying unsuitable equipment at a higher price.

PS I would love it if pet stores sold bags of weeds it would beat the crap out of standing in a muddy field in the freeeeezing cold lol

[Jason1]

Thank you for the detailed reply darren. I'm not one for just taking statements as gospel. My guys dont have fruit very often but in the wild I would imagine shortly before the cold we\ther comes along fruit is plentiful and eating this may actually help in clearing them out ready for hibernation. It's just a thought and I have no proof to this. I have to say the amount of fruit I give is small but relatively often (every couple of weeks at the most). I have never noticed any difference in the stools because of this. Infact they are more runny when they have had some aloe or ocpuntia. As with the reference to kids a little does no harm.

As for young people being lazy and reaching for the salad draw if they choose to do this when they know the alternative then it is upto them. To be honest I very rarely pick weeds as the enclosure is full of them. I either put some nutrobal on some flowers and if I have no flowers I do use a small amount of crispy florette to ensure they get there nutrobal. I have tried doing this with weeds but with no avail. Why eat the picked one's when there are plentiful fresh rooted weeds outside? If anyone considers this to be wrong I'd be interested in what they condsider to be the alternative.

Jason

[Pussygalore]

I'm also lucky that the garden the torts have isn't a very good lawn being full of WEEDS which suits me fine I rarely need to pick anything unless I find something that isn't growing in there, its left wild but Kevin does strim the tops occassionally else I can't find the torts, they don't have extras very often unless its really hot and dry when they like a peice of cucumber or strawberry from the garden, I haven't had any runny poos and they all seem to be doing well without any obvious health problems or vet trips, the only problem I have is the sun doesn't get to the garden as early as I'd like it.

[Caroline McI]

On the caresheet I'd been given with Cookie it said they could have fruit
as long as it was only about 10% of the diet. He said melon (the one beginning
with letter G) was one of their favourites.

I did used to feed Cookie fruit (with the "breeders" full knowledge) and she loved
it, her poo's did seem healthy enough.

I've cut it all out now.

[lilacgeorge]

Well, I have to say my 6mth old that I'm overwintering is on a mixture of Florretti & weeds. (more florretti than weeds though I'm afraid!)I know its not ideal but cos I turfed my garden (it was all paving slabs when I moved in) I don't have any weeds growing. I also live in a town so there's not much green space locally. I occassionally pick weeds from the street but don't like doing this in case they've been sprayed, wee'd or vomited on! When you do find them they are (excuse the pun) 'weedy & limp'. I did have a lush supply from work but I'm at uni now and only do occassional shifts (trust me when I do go I go armed with carrier bags!! :P ) I used to also get them from my sons school but they had the builders in and the 'weed' patch has now become 'builders lets dump everything here' patch!!

I am currently (AHEM) cultivating weeds in a propaganda but they are very slow growing!!!! I've just (yesterday) transferred them into deeper containers in the hope this might speed things up!

So please don't condem everyone that gives substitutes - some of us are desperatly trying to feed weeds only - I've even got my neighbours on 'weed alert' - they all think I've gone mad!!!

Beleive you, me I would rather NOT feed floretti - it's too blooming expensive for my liking!!! Bring on the weed-growing season I say!!

[Eire_Ade]

Hi Dawn,

I buy Aldi's mediteranean mix salad leaves in a bag occassionally, its a lot cheaper than Florretti most supermarkets do ther own version, just check the contents are silmilar.

My weeds are coming back slowly but surely.

Ade