2 new Horsefields

[lilllis]

awww thanks guys really your guys advice is fantastic!!!

[ibizathetort]

Congrats on the excellent choice of tortoise (I am very biased lol!). Prepared to be amazed at how much personality they have

[jayne2942]

Hi,
congratulations,send some pic's in,there's a weed list with pictures on the tortoise trust site and also on ebay if you look on the seeds to buy for torts you also get the pictures,the one seed i'm having great success with is evening primrose and my tort loves them.

[lilllis]

Thank you all so much ... one other thing as i mentioned they said the vet sexed them but they are only 2?? is the possible or just a missunderstanding?

[ibizathetort]

You can get a good idea at 2 years old what they are but its not definate

[Kristy]

Hi and welcome!

You going to love your torts so much, I have a horsefield and he's suck a cheeky chap! Can't wait to see the pic's.

You've had some great advice already, I'm quite new to this as I've only had Colin since January. Don't forget they will need calcium, I spinkle limestone flour on his food on the days he doesn't have nutrabol, also leave a pot of it in his enclosure.

[TortMad]

Hi and congratulations on your new horsfields a good choice

First of all 2 year old horsfields shouldn't be that size, if they got them from a petshop originally, they will have been told they are 12 0r 18 months old. Thats the common age they tell you.

If purchased from a petshop they are likely to be wild caught torts so their true age won't be known, but I will tell you now they won't be 2 not at that size even if fed a high protein diet

If they are pet shop bought tortoises I suggest you take them to a specialist tortoise vet and get them screened for worms and protozoa.

Secondly the best diet by far iMO is a good mixed weed diet, lettuce and cucumber is great for a treat and to provide moisture. You are doing the right thing swoting up in the diets section as there is loads of free things you can feed your torts

Also have a good look around the housing sections too

Oh and one other thing. Horsfields are an aggressive species of tort and 1 male is best suited to 5-6 females, males generally can't be kept together, you may well have to seperate them or ,add to your collection, which isn't a bad thing lol

[lilllis]

Originally Posted by TortMad

Hi and congratulations on your new horsfields a good choice

First of all 2 year old horsfields shouldn't be that size, if they got them from a petshop originally, they will have been told they are 12 0r 18 months old. Thats the common age they tell you.

If purchased from a petshop they are likely to be wild caught torts so their true age won't be known, but I will tell you now they won't be 2 not at that size even if fed a high protein diet

If they are pet shop bought tortoises I suggest you take them to a specialist tortoise vet and get them screened for worms and protozoa.

Secondly the best diet by far iMO is a good mixed weed diet, lettuce and cucumber is great for a treat and to provide moisture. You are doing the right thing swoting up in the diets section as there is loads of free things you can feed your torts

Also have a good look around the housing sections too

Oh and one other thing. Horsfields are an aggressive species of tort and 1 male is best suited to 5-6 females, males generally can't be kept together, you may well have to seperate them or ,add to your collection, which isn't a bad thing lol

Lea thank you so much for that information,

The couple im going to did 'i believe' buy them off a web site!!! (I know i would not consider buying off one however they are now in need of a good home that i hope i can offer)

They did get advice when they got the torts saying the should hibinate them last winter - they took them to a vet who said they was too small so they have been awake all winter....

Lea can i ask when you said they are not 2.... am guessing your saying they are much older... how old would you guess? to be fair i dont mind what their ages are. Also i am taking them and all the gear for £100 so i know this is very very cheap.. please know that the money i have 'saved' is being spent on a nice larger table new lights etc i have weeds in my garden (it will get a makeover in the new few weeks is a nice large tort run!) and i have weed seeds on order along with moss beding and redigrass as i understand thats quite good for a bit of beding all got from the SW shop

I will get them to a vet within the first couple of days i promis x

[TortMad]

Where abouts are you, we may be able to reccommend a good tort vet. It is surprising what a different it makes visiting a specialist tort vet compared to a general small animal vet

I have two male horsfields about the same size as the biggest size quoted and they are sub adults I have owned them for 5 years plus. Both were petshop bought so exact age is unknown.

I have also got a hopefully female who has a huge shell and tiny body. Too much protein in the diet causes this and even though she is only a touch smaller in shell size than my boys she is substantially younger. I couldn't believe it when I picked her up (from a private sale like you are doing).

Of course the current owners may have just measured them wrong.

Wait till you see them in the flesh for a more accurate size, sex and age

[Kirkie]

Hi Lilllis,

One the question you asked about the possible age of the tortoises it will be quite hard to tell exactly, they are more than likely imports and you dont need any paperwork for Horsfields. Tortoises do grow at different paces so it could be these two are similar age despite the size difference. I got my first Horsfields the other week in similar circumstances. The owner I got them from was also told they were "18 months old" and the biggest is only scraping 6CM's, they're tiny, probably well under a year old. So I think "18 months to 2 years" is a pet industry standard answer when you dont really know.

Did you say they were identified as male and female by a vet or was it by the owner? I'm asking because I had a similar situation when buying two Hermanns tortoises. The owner said they were a pair because one was "very Alpha". When I got there they were both females and it was just the owners interpretation of their behaviour.

As Tortmad has said 1 male to 1 female is the worst possible combination for any Med tortoises, you should be prepared to split them up at any time. On an indoor table this can be done by simply dividing the enclosure in half. Post some pics of their undersides when you get them, the experts may be able to sex them for you. (You may just have to buy another 5 females