please help new owner to be

stewart · 09-12-2010, 09:27 PM

Hi all I've just bought my son a tort ( I wanted one to ). Getting it from a pet shop which I no now is wrong butt to late as have put a deposit on it. I get it on Xmas eve as its for Christmas. It's in a table and not a viv but after looking on here sum of the other stuff I get with it sound wrong. They say use a heat mat and keep it on all day also use chippings on the base plus they say feed him pellets but i no it shud b weeds but as its winter not sure Wat to do. Anyone help thanks.

Dreamer · 10-12-2010, 10:44 AM

Been as it's a new tort you'll be keeping it up all winter so use things like kale and the florette crispy salads you can buy from the supermarket. You can also buy some seeds from this site and grow some weeds indoors (never been able to get them to grow myself but i tend to kill all plantlife anyway!)

The heat mat is a no-no. Use a heat lamp and uv light. I use top soil in my tort table, as they can eat chippings. Also what breed of tort is it? Horsfields love to dig so would need a decent depth of soil.

stewart · 10-12-2010, 01:14 PM

It's a hermanns do I need to put something down b4 the soil so it doesn't get to the wood. Also my house is cold at nite so wen the lamp is off sol he be ok

**Bindi** · 10-12-2010, 01:53 PM

Some peopleput lino or something like on the base oftheir tort tables before the soil. I use thick polythene. anything really to protect to wood from the substrate.

What are you going to use in terms of lighting?

Heat mats are usually a cause for debate...I don't use one myself, prefering to use a ceramic heater at night if necessary.

What sort of temperatures does the room get to at night time?

yuna1971 · 10-12-2010, 03:04 PM

I would say IMO...a definite NO to the chips...totally uncomfortable for torty and there is the added possibility of him scratching or damaging his legs/feet. Keep to soil and deep at that. I agree with Bindi in that I prefer ceramic heaters but its personal preference, some do use heat mats if fixed safely and so that torty can move - effectively. You could line the table with tarpaulin, or some sort of plastic covering. Then you can put your sterilised topsoil substrate in - these can be the bags you get from Wickes, B & Q etc.
Kale, cabbage can be fed but in moderation, perhaps alternate with one (on one day) and the other on the next day. I wouldnt feed both cabbage and Kale in the same meal. Florette crispy salad, rommaine, butternut squash can also be fed..
MAKE SURE you suppliment the food - with Nutrobal (Sold in SW Shop) and LIGHT dusting over meals. These types of food - should probably be used short term over the cold winter months. Pellets also ok, and can be a must with snow/ice about - but ensure they are well soaked first before feeding, nice and moist. The box that they arrive in I think tells you how to prepare them. Go for the Komodo Fruit & Flower pellets - these seem to be a favourite of torts (on this site). However, once weeds start coming back in to play again - time for some homework

!!

SeeShell · 10-12-2010, 05:27 PM

Not sure what kind of chippings the shop suggested but go for top soil. The other problems, with small chippings, is impaction. It's easy for torts - particularly small ones - to ingest substrate and then it becomes impacted in their gut.

Heat mat is a personal preference but I don't use them. I use a red spot lamp at night to add a bit of warmth. What temps does the room drop too at night where your tort will be? I also have a small convection heather on a thermostat whick again kicks in if temps drop.

There are still some (though few!) tort edible weeds about so if you are able to locate some mixing these in with romaine lettuce, florette, watercress, rocket, butternutsquash etc is good (not necessarily at all once!). To add a little more variation you can buy some dried weeds from the SW shop and again sprinkle these on its food.

What have you planned in terms of heat / UV? A combined bulb or a separate heat lamp / UV strip?

Also supplements are a necessity. Nutrabol sprinkled sparingly on food, a bit of cuttlefish in the enclosure and a small bowl of limestone flour for your tort to eat as and when.

Other thing to remember is to try and bath your tort in warm water daily - just to keep it hydrated.

Good luck with your new tort - you'll love it!
SS

Anita Sayles · 10-12-2010, 05:56 PM

It said in an earlier post it was a hermanns.

stewart · 10-12-2010, 06:31 PM

Sorry its a horsefied am gettin keep gettin them mixed up. The light is a strip and a spot light not sure Wat there are. How deep shud I make it 4 him its 10th inch deep the table but the light is only 8 inch from the bottom. So I will b ok 2 give him supermarket food till springs. The room goes 2 bout 10 at nite but that's in the open space mayb a little better in his table not sure will check once its set up

stewart · 10-12-2010, 06:37 PM

Sorry its a horsefied am gettin keep gettin them mixed up. The light is a strip and a spot light not sure Wat there are. How deep shud I make it 4 him its 10th inch deep the table but the light is only 8 inch from the bottom. So I will b ok 2 give him supermarket food till springs. The room goes 2 bout 10 at nite but that's in the open space mayb a little better in his table not sure will check once its set up

jamestaylor18 · 10-12-2010, 10:15 PM

Hi, with regards to getting a tort from a pet shop... both mine were from a petshop. Granted they were riddled with worms and not of the greatest of health by a long shot! But... with a new diet of healthy weeds etc, some panacure and lots of love and attention they are now stunning little torts! The other good news is all it has cost me to get them into the tip top condition they are in today is about £5 which was for the wormer! Therefore although petshops arn't the best places to buy torts from, and tbh im one of the lucky ones who hasn't paid a fortune in vets bills, look at how they have come on now and what a better quality of life they have now. If i hadn't of got them i shudder to think where they would be now!

To conclude, getting from a petshop is a good thing for the torts because they get a good start in life, a forever home and get looked after better than they every would in the petshops in a million years!

Personally, i think some of these petshops should have licences to sell and should be checked up on on a regular basis. I regularly visit the one i got mine from and it saddens me to see 20 torts crammed in a 3 foot viv looking so poorly with no one giving a dam about the poor little guys & girls. Rant over!

09-12-2010, 09:27 PM	#1
stewart Junior Member Egg Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: manchester Posts: 48	please help new owner to be Hi all I've just bought my son a tort ( I wanted one to ). Getting it from a pet shop which I no now is wrong butt to late as have put a deposit on it. I get it on Xmas eve as its for Christmas. It's in a table and not a viv but after looking on here sum of the other stuff I get with it sound wrong. They say use a heat mat and keep it on all day also use chippings on the base plus they say feed him pellets but i no it shud b weeds but as its winter not sure Wat to do. Anyone help thanks.

10-12-2010, 01:53 PM	#4
Bindi Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Hampshire Posts: 11,157	Some peopleput lino or something like on the base oftheir tort tables before the soil. I use thick polythene. anything really to protect to wood from the substrate. What are you going to use in terms of lighting? Heat mats are usually a cause for debate...I don't use one myself, prefering to use a ceramic heater at night if necessary. What sort of temperatures does the room get to at night time? __________________

10-12-2010, 03:04 PM	#5
yuna1971 Senior Member Adult Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Bristol Posts: 7,157	I would say IMO...a definite NO to the chips...totally uncomfortable for torty and there is the added possibility of him scratching or damaging his legs/feet. Keep to soil and deep at that. I agree with Bindi in that I prefer ceramic heaters but its personal preference, some do use heat mats if fixed safely and so that torty can move - effectively. You could line the table with tarpaulin, or some sort of plastic covering. Then you can put your sterilised topsoil substrate in - these can be the bags you get from Wickes, B & Q etc. Kale, cabbage can be fed but in moderation, perhaps alternate with one (on one day) and the other on the next day. I wouldnt feed both cabbage and Kale in the same meal. Florette crispy salad, rommaine, butternut squash can also be fed.. MAKE SURE you suppliment the food - with Nutrobal (Sold in SW Shop) and LIGHT dusting over meals. These types of food - should probably be used short term over the cold winter months. Pellets also ok, and can be a must with snow/ice about - but ensure they are well soaked first before feeding, nice and moist. The box that they arrive in I think tells you how to prepare them. Go for the Komodo Fruit & Flower pellets - these seem to be a favourite of torts (on this site). However, once weeds start coming back in to play again - time for some homework !! __________________ Rach Lily's Movie. http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...ad.php?t=68025 Last edited by yuna1971; 10-12-2010 at 03:09 PM.

10-12-2010, 05:56 PM	#7
Anita Sayles Senior Member Sub Adult Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Plymouth, Devon UK Posts: 1,163	It said in an earlier post it was a hermanns. __________________ ... Be young, be foolish, but be happy... Life is too short to worry about unimportant things. Reach for the sky, touch your star, and then you find your dream... TheTams - 1965

10-12-2010, 10:15 PM	#10
jamestaylor18 Member Hatched Join Date: May 2010 Location: Manchester Posts: 335	Hi, with regards to getting a tort from a pet shop... both mine were from a petshop. Granted they were riddled with worms and not of the greatest of health by a long shot! But... with a new diet of healthy weeds etc, some panacure and lots of love and attention they are now stunning little torts! The other good news is all it has cost me to get them into the tip top condition they are in today is about £5 which was for the wormer! Therefore although petshops arn't the best places to buy torts from, and tbh im one of the lucky ones who hasn't paid a fortune in vets bills, look at how they have come on now and what a better quality of life they have now. If i hadn't of got them i shudder to think where they would be now! To conclude, getting from a petshop is a good thing for the torts because they get a good start in life, a forever home and get looked after better than they every would in the petshops in a million years! Personally, i think some of these petshops should have licences to sell and should be checked up on on a regular basis. I regularly visit the one i got mine from and it saddens me to see 20 torts crammed in a 3 foot viv looking so poorly with no one giving a dam about the poor little guys & girls. Rant over! __________________ James x2 Beautiful Horsefield's (Fred & Ted) x3 Bearded Dragon's (Billy, Betty & Sandy) x1 Tree Frog (Freddie) x1 Corn Snake (Nessie)

10-12-2010, 10:44 AM	#2
Dreamer Junior Member Egg Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 12	Been as it's a new tort you'll be keeping it up all winter so use things like kale and the florette crispy salads you can buy from the supermarket. You can also buy some seeds from this site and grow some weeds indoors (never been able to get them to grow myself but i tend to kill all plantlife anyway!) The heat mat is a no-no. Use a heat lamp and uv light. I use top soil in my tort table, as they can eat chippings. Also what breed of tort is it? Horsfields love to dig so would need a decent depth of soil.

10-12-2010, 01:14 PM	#3
stewart Junior Member Egg Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: manchester Posts: 48	It's a hermanns do I need to put something down b4 the soil so it doesn't get to the wood. Also my house is cold at nite so wen the lamp is off sol he be ok

10-12-2010, 05:27 PM	#6
SeeShell Senior Member Adult Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 3,120	Not sure what kind of chippings the shop suggested but go for top soil. The other problems, with small chippings, is impaction. It's easy for torts - particularly small ones - to ingest substrate and then it becomes impacted in their gut. Heat mat is a personal preference but I don't use them. I use a red spot lamp at night to add a bit of warmth. What temps does the room drop too at night where your tort will be? I also have a small convection heather on a thermostat whick again kicks in if temps drop. There are still some (though few!) tort edible weeds about so if you are able to locate some mixing these in with romaine lettuce, florette, watercress, rocket, butternutsquash etc is good (not necessarily at all once!). To add a little more variation you can buy some dried weeds from the SW shop and again sprinkle these on its food. What have you planned in terms of heat / UV? A combined bulb or a separate heat lamp / UV strip? Also supplements are a necessity. Nutrabol sprinkled sparingly on food, a bit of cuttlefish in the enclosure and a small bowl of limestone flour for your tort to eat as and when. Other thing to remember is to try and bath your tort in warm water daily - just to keep it hydrated. Good luck with your new tort - you'll love it! SS

10-12-2010, 06:31 PM	#8
stewart Junior Member Egg Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: manchester Posts: 48	Sorry its a horsefied am gettin keep gettin them mixed up. The light is a strip and a spot light not sure Wat there are. How deep shud I make it 4 him its 10th inch deep the table but the light is only 8 inch from the bottom. So I will b ok 2 give him supermarket food till springs. The room goes 2 bout 10 at nite but that's in the open space mayb a little better in his table not sure will check once its set up

10-12-2010, 06:37 PM	#9
stewart Junior Member Egg Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: manchester Posts: 48	Sorry its a horsefied am gettin keep gettin them mixed up. The light is a strip and a spot light not sure Wat there are. How deep shud I make it 4 him its 10th inch deep the table but the light is only 8 inch from the bottom. So I will b ok 2 give him supermarket food till springs. The room goes 2 bout 10 at nite but that's in the open space mayb a little better in his table not sure will check once its set up

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