Hi, so my friend had a bunch of dying succulents and I took them off her hands and my green thumbs have revived them 😂
Now all I need is help IDing them. It would be handy if my Hermann's tortoise could eat them since they're growing so fast.
My guess is:
Lace Aloe, crocodile plant, some kind...
False nettle is safe :) ground ivy however is not, as far as I know. So I wouldn't until they flower so you can know for sure. Falsd/dead nettle have purple or white flowers depending on the species. Should be in season for a good couple months.
Stinging nettle IS in season though, so some...
Thank you. I'll make any changes I'll need to make and update you as his condition changes. This is very helpful. If we can get his weight up by next year, we will put him in brumation. It's what HE wants after all.
I live in Ireland, our Springs and Summers are still quite cold. We bring him outside to a pen only on the hot days, and a hot day over here is 20°C at peak. We'd never leave him out overnight as it is very cold here. He is indoors all year round other than the couple weeks he can stay outside
I was giving him fruit just to get him to eat anything at all. Is it better for him to eat nothing over a small bit of fruit? Genuinely curious. And have you guys got any really really tasty veggies we could try?
Yeah it's been almost a year long battle, we've tried multiple vets. He's gotten blood tests, steroid injections, antibiotics etc. He had an x-ray and everything. It's just a winter issue. He is very lively in Summer, but he's such a fussy eater that he just about puts on the weight that he's...
The vet is only specifically talking about our tortoise. But she said to brumate him ONLY when he puts on the weight.
We've been asked to keep his lighting on for longer to try wake him up, so it's on 12 hours. He has a desert grade tube light for UV. And a 100WW heat lamp with white light...
Hi, we have been struggling with helping our tortoise gain weight for about a year now. We brought him to the vet for critical care, injections, tube feeding etc. We now inject him ourselves twice a week because we have to stop him from hibernating as he is too thin to hibernate.
Vet says his...
I did an animal husbandry course in college but it was very mammal focused. Trooper is an adventurous little Hermanns tortoise, and with very bad weather he has been inside a lot lately and he looks bored. Pacing, flipping etc.
I have varying substrates, varying tunnels and climbing places, I...
I thank you all for your helpful responses. Here's an update.
Trooper has gone to the vet three times now. His infection is gone, he has perked up a bit. He got an x-ray and a blood test. Both came back perfect, despite him being underweight. They are very happy with his bone density, efforts...
Went to a vet clinic today in Dublin. Very friendly staff and the vet and nurse BOTH keep tortoises which was a great sign. They gave us a care sheet, advised us to put a lid over our table which we will.
Trooper was a little underweight and has conjunctivitis, he's on antibiotics now and...
Thank you you have been a great help. I'll update you all on how he gets on at the vets.
His tank is open top as it is home made, it's 5ft by 3ft. It's currently too cold to bring him outside and we don't get many hours of sunlight just yet.
Warm side is 32°C (not directly under the basking spot which is warmer) cool side is 20°C.
At night the heat lamp stays on as our ambient temperatures go down to as low as 8°C.
We use a tube UVB and the heat lamp is a colourless 100W bulb.
We just checked humidity which is low at 51%. We have...
I have a 7 year old Hermanns tortoise. He will not wake up from hibernation. I've tried bathing him daily, I've partitioned off his enclosure so he is in the warmer half as he defaults to burrowing in the cold half of his 5ft enclosure. It's still quite cold here in Ireland at this time of year...