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Old 24-08-2017, 10:54 PM   #1
Sparklestarkey
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Smile Newbie needing advice :)

Hey everyone! My name is Laura and I have just re-homed a four year old Horsefield called Timothy, whom has just been sexed as a girl so will be subject to a name change.
I used to have a tortoise years ago and I'm a bit rusty.
My tort is on a table top open enclosure with one end enclosed as a bedroom.
SHe has rocks and hides and a soil as substrate but was looking to get some play sand too? Is this ok?
SHe has a basking lamp which she is currently sitting under but the UV bulb that came with her doesn't work. I want to go out and get her a two in one basking/UV lamp, are these any good?
Apparently she is a fussy eater and I have been provided with a hollisistc diet tortoise pellet, but I want to know what weeds/veg/ fruit are good for her?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
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Old 25-08-2017, 10:56 PM   #2
Jan W
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Welcome to the forum.

I had always used a combined lamp - mercury/vapour, but I think there are better options that other forum members will be able to advise you on. I also use a ceramic lamp, so just warmth, no light for cold nights.

You only need top soil, don't worry about the sand.

I haven't used tortoise pellets for a few years. Far better to use mainly weeds and wild flowers, salad leaves. There is a good web site for advising what is safe, but can't remember at the moment. Someone will! I add nutrabol to the food and provide a cattle fish. Someone mention egg shells but mine didn't touch them.

Otherwise your set up is sounding good as it is important to have different temperatures and the hides sound good.

Are you bathing her?
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Old 25-08-2017, 11:12 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan W View Post
Welcome to the forum.

I had always used a combined lamp - mercury/vapour, but I think there are better options that other forum members will be able to advise you on. I also use a ceramic lamp, so just warmth, no light for cold nights.

You only need top soil, don't worry about the sand.

I haven't used tortoise pellets for a few years. Far better to use mainly weeds and wild flowers, salad leaves. There is a good web site for advising what is safe, but can't remember at the moment. Someone will! I add nutrabol to the food and provide a cattle fish. Someone mention egg shells but mine didn't touch them.

Otherwise your set up is sounding good as it is important to have different temperatures and the hides sound good.

Are you bathing her?
Hiya!
She had her first ever bath today and she hated it but I'm going to bathe her daily! I thought she wwas brown but it turns out she's a vibrant green colour! She was caked in dirt!
I'm going to look for a ceramic lamp, sounds much better than the bright bulb I have now! Thanks for the advice
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Old 27-08-2017, 03:00 PM   #4
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http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/p...=#.WaLCXJWWzX4

Welcome Laura and Timothy...all good advice on here. Hypelink for some nice juicy weeds for him - just a thought to mention keep humidity around 65% and make make sure combined UV A & B as just the one can contribute to lumpy shell. As natural a substrate as possible too helps ! CB
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Old 28-08-2017, 09:01 PM   #5
Jan W
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Hiya!
She had her first ever bath today and she hated it but I'm going to bathe her daily! I thought she wwas brown but it turns out she's a vibrant green colour! She was caked in dirt!
I'm going to look for a ceramic lamp, sounds much better than the bright bulb I have now! Thanks for the advice
Bertie didn't like his early baths. Make sure warm, so not hot or cold.
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Old 28-08-2017, 09:20 PM   #6
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All great advice, an alternative to a combined Mercury vapour bulb, would be a strip uv bulb, which will run the length of the table and a spot basking bulb at one end which I have found works well in a small set up, but both ways work well. Agree, not play sand , just sterilised top soil ( no adatives) the web site you need to go to for a good data base of weeds, flowers and plant that they can and can't eat is, the tortoise table. Next summer make her an outdoor enclosure, torts need to be out in natural sunshine in the summer, she will thrive better.
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Old 29-08-2017, 09:39 AM   #7
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Thank you for all the advice. We are on day four now. Timothy is now called "Dave"! That's my husbands fault.... poor thing. She is now enjoying her baths and expels lots of urates when doing so. She's still being a bit fussy with food, but I have discovered that she will only eat when the house is deadly quiet. She doesn't like tv noise, kids, dogs etc. When we go out, she tucks in.
When our new kitchen is fitted and we have the dining room and living rooms back to ourselves, we will be locating her to a much quieter part of the house.
She's been enjoying the garden and loves to bask in the sunlight.
I'm still trying to regulate the temps, she has a 75w bulb but I think the arm holding it needs to go higher so I can lower her basking temps. It has been very hot so it's been difficult to stop he temps rising too much. I'm going to have a fiddle with the bulbs today and see if I can get a perfect temperature. X
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Old 30-08-2017, 09:36 AM   #8
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It all sounds very normal for a tortoise adjusting to a new environment , I think she just needs plenty of time to get used to new sounds and smells, torts can take weeks to adjust, and often won't eat, but that's not a problem, keep her well hydrated, with daily baths, and keep trying to adjust the basking temp to 30/31c.
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