Tunisian tortoise help - Page 2

n-raged · 24-05-2010, 11:31 PM

grandpa told me that they can't be distinguished easily because they are still young but the male has a slightly dented belly even at a young age that increases as he gets older that makes him able to mount the female. In fact one has a little dent. I'm no tortoise expert tbh but my grandpa seems to know most of the stuff about these little creatures. I noticed that the one he said was female has a rounder shell then the other or maybe vice versa cause i easily get confused.

Now about the garden. Unfortunately my garden is occupied by a ferret during the day. (It's not unfortunite cause i love the little bugger hehe

) He is a born predator so i'm keeping the tortoises on the roof ( yes we have flat roofs in malta) where there is lot of sunshine good shelter from wind, rain and excessive sun and dries very quickly from moisture so i suppose it's an ideal place for the torts. I pluck the weeds from the garden and feed them but they seem to prefer lettuce. I would like to know about other plants they might love to eat apart from dandelions and the such. (Do they like mint?) Some day i'll design a dirt pen for them to dig in and maybe plant something in it for them to eat maybe research some plants common to malta and tunisia. If i'm doing something wrong please tell me as soon as possible i want to do things right.

and by the way can anyone tell me a good way how to give them some water to drink cause that was boggling my mind for quite some time

linda · 25-05-2010, 02:45 AM

with regards to drinking water
you need a shallow container
big enough for the tort to climb into
they like to dunk their whole head into the water
deep enough to cover up to just below head height
plant pot saucers
cat litter trays etc etc
some people place a couple of stones into the water dish
so the tort can right itself if it topples over

have a look here

http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...ighlight=water

SeeShell · 25-05-2010, 12:59 PM

Great pics - your torts are lovely! I too have a tunisian and I love it. It has real charachter and personality. They are though a bit more difficult to keep than some other med tortoises. As eb says they are more prone to rns. They need slightley higher temps too but I'm guessing that you might have a much better climate in Malta than we have in Scotland!!

SS

KatjaS · 25-05-2010, 05:01 PM

Hi

Lovely little torts you have! If you are interrested, go an look at my Albums; there can you see few pics of my little Tunisian tortoises, directly from my own incubator

http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...hp?albumid=323

SeeShell · 25-05-2010, 05:07 PM

Katja,
Your torts look great. Thanks for posting the pics. How many tunisians do you have and how long have you kept them for?
SS

KatjaS · 25-05-2010, 05:34 PM

I´ve had those two adult tortoises allmoust 5 (female) and 2 (male) years.. As you can see in my signature, I have only three torts

7 hatchlings, and one of them lives here with us, permanently.

n-raged · 25-05-2010, 07:28 PM

Malta has a better climate then Scotland for tortoises for sure hehe. It's hot in the summer and wet in the winter but it rains much less then in scotland and the british isles that is for sure. They seem happy enough now i just came home from university and found out that they have eaten the whole banquet i prepared for them in the morning and now they're poohing like hell haha. My grandpa brought his tortoises for comparison and along with my neighbour we confirmed that Tank is a male and Rosie is a female (was a lucky gamble hahaha). The funniest thing about them is that they sleep by sticking their head in a corner don't know what kind of evolutionary adaptation that can be

.

Does anyone have any idea how i can clean their shells to give it some shine?

happylittlebee · 27-05-2010, 09:07 AM

i think they both look like females aswell, i have tusians & my males have very long tails which curl round so im sure there looking female

but anyway they are beautiful.x congrats new mummy.x they do love the weeds though well mine do.xxxlol

TortBabe · 27-05-2010, 09:28 AM

Hi, the only thing you can put on their shells is pure water, any cream or oil would affect their ability to thermoregulate their own temperature, and could cause them to overheat. They are beautiful. You can give them a bath in a container of shallow water.

K&N · 29-05-2010, 09:42 AM

n-raged, what lovely tortoises you have

I have 2 tunisian juveniles myself (from KatjaS) and they definitely look a lot like yours.

Do you know how old yours are?
They look a little bit bigger than mine and mine are 1-year old.
Have they been outside all their life? If so, I should think they have grown very steadily, so they could be a lot older than mine...

25-05-2010, 05:01 PM	#14
KatjaS Member Incubating Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Finland, Kemi Posts: 158	Hi Lovely little torts you have! If you are interrested, go an look at my Albums; there can you see few pics of my little Tunisian tortoises, directly from my own incubator http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...hp?albumid=323 __________________ T. Graeca Nabeulensis; One female, and one baby tort (1,5 years old) from my own incubator. PICUTERS IN MY ALBUMS

25-05-2010, 05:34 PM	#16
KatjaS Member Incubating Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Finland, Kemi Posts: 158	I´ve had those two adult tortoises allmoust 5 (female) and 2 (male) years.. As you can see in my signature, I have only three torts 7 hatchlings, and one of them lives here with us, permanently. __________________ T. Graeca Nabeulensis; One female, and one baby tort (1,5 years old) from my own incubator. PICUTERS IN MY ALBUMS

27-05-2010, 09:28 AM	#19
TortBabe Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 6,919	Hi, the only thing you can put on their shells is pure water, any cream or oil would affect their ability to thermoregulate their own temperature, and could cause them to overheat. They are beautiful. You can give them a bath in a container of shallow water. __________________ Busy Mum to ~ 2 Kids, 2 Yorkies, 1 Horsfield, 6 Hermanns, 2 Iberas, 6 Tunisians, 2 Indian Stars and 2 Pancakes

24-05-2010, 11:31 PM	#11
n-raged Junior Member Egg Join Date: May 2010 Location: Malta Posts: 11	grandpa told me that they can't be distinguished easily because they are still young but the male has a slightly dented belly even at a young age that increases as he gets older that makes him able to mount the female. In fact one has a little dent. I'm no tortoise expert tbh but my grandpa seems to know most of the stuff about these little creatures. I noticed that the one he said was female has a rounder shell then the other or maybe vice versa cause i easily get confused. Now about the garden. Unfortunately my garden is occupied by a ferret during the day. (It's not unfortunite cause i love the little bugger hehe ) He is a born predator so i'm keeping the tortoises on the roof ( yes we have flat roofs in malta) where there is lot of sunshine good shelter from wind, rain and excessive sun and dries very quickly from moisture so i suppose it's an ideal place for the torts. I pluck the weeds from the garden and feed them but they seem to prefer lettuce. I would like to know about other plants they might love to eat apart from dandelions and the such. (Do they like mint?) Some day i'll design a dirt pen for them to dig in and maybe plant something in it for them to eat maybe research some plants common to malta and tunisia. If i'm doing something wrong please tell me as soon as possible i want to do things right. and by the way can anyone tell me a good way how to give them some water to drink cause that was boggling my mind for quite some time

25-05-2010, 02:45 AM	#12
linda Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: west midlands Posts: 17,134	with regards to drinking water you need a shallow container big enough for the tort to climb into they like to dunk their whole head into the water deep enough to cover up to just below head height plant pot saucers cat litter trays etc etc some people place a couple of stones into the water dish so the tort can right itself if it topples over have a look here http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...ighlight=water

25-05-2010, 12:59 PM	#13
SeeShell Senior Member Adult Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 3,120	Great pics - your torts are lovely! I too have a tunisian and I love it. It has real charachter and personality. They are though a bit more difficult to keep than some other med tortoises. As eb says they are more prone to rns. They need slightley higher temps too but I'm guessing that you might have a much better climate in Malta than we have in Scotland!! SS

25-05-2010, 05:07 PM	#15
SeeShell Senior Member Adult Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 3,120	Katja, Your torts look great. Thanks for posting the pics. How many tunisians do you have and how long have you kept them for? SS

25-05-2010, 07:28 PM	#17
n-raged Junior Member Egg Join Date: May 2010 Location: Malta Posts: 11	Malta has a better climate then Scotland for tortoises for sure hehe. It's hot in the summer and wet in the winter but it rains much less then in scotland and the british isles that is for sure. They seem happy enough now i just came home from university and found out that they have eaten the whole banquet i prepared for them in the morning and now they're poohing like hell haha. My grandpa brought his tortoises for comparison and along with my neighbour we confirmed that Tank is a male and Rosie is a female (was a lucky gamble hahaha). The funniest thing about them is that they sleep by sticking their head in a corner don't know what kind of evolutionary adaptation that can be . Does anyone have any idea how i can clean their shells to give it some shine?

27-05-2010, 09:07 AM	#18
happylittlebee Junior Member Egg Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 42	i think they both look like females aswell, i have tusians & my males have very long tails which curl round so im sure there looking female but anyway they are beautiful.x congrats new mummy.x they do love the weeds though well mine do.xxxlol

29-05-2010, 09:42 AM	#20
K&N Junior Member Egg Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Finland Posts: 48	n-raged, what lovely tortoises you have I have 2 tunisian juveniles myself (from KatjaS) and they definitely look a lot like yours. Do you know how old yours are? They look a little bit bigger than mine and mine are 1-year old. Have they been outside all their life? If so, I should think they have grown very steadily, so they could be a lot older than mine...

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)