Walking our Tortoise

Hello there!!

Newbie here, about 2 months ago a 45 year old tortoise came to stay with us. She is my father in law's tort and they both came to stay with us because my FIL needed some care after a long hospital stay. I think she settled in well because it's her old box and familiar faces were around all the time. She ate very well initially but it was also the few weeks we had really hot weather.
When my father in law went back home, he refused to take the tortoise back with him, after 45 years he'd had enough and was finding it difficult to keep bending down. My FIL is 87, fair enough so we now have her.

My garden is tiny, and north facing. That combined with a rubbish summer, she stopped eating much or coming out of her house. I used hot water bottles and warm baths (loves all of those things) and also brought her indoors on cold rainy days and used a heat lamp but nothing would make her eat much or get going out and about. Our garden had always been my pride, so I have no weeds to eat. I have bought some weed and grass seeds for next year now tho and accepted that my nice garden days are over!!!

So I started to take her to the church yard behind our house. She seems to love walking! She still wasn't eating many weeds there, but would nibble on some cabbage and rocket I'd take with me now and then. The walk became further and further, exploring outside the church and about 10 days ago I took her for a long walk (for a tortoise) down to a small field, about half a mile away or so. Well, this field was obviously the restaurant of choice because she spent 30 mins there just eating! It was an delight to watch and made me feel some relief that she may have enough food in her for hibernation now I knew where to take her.

Does anyone else walk their tortoise? We've been out and about nearly every day for the last few weeks and she knows the way from our garden now. I do get to hear some surprised cries of "she's walking a tortoise!" as we go for our rambles which makes me laugh and sometimes our cat comes with us too which must make things look even more strange! The cat took a long time to accept the new housemate and is still only just coming to terms with her so I am chuffed when the cat joins us.

I hope am doing the right thing (apart from making a rod for my own back) because she certainly seems to be happier. She's out her house now in the morning waiting for a bath and a walk about, showing more interest in life. I'm relieved that she's eating and keeping strong.

I've realised it was about 3 months ago she came to stay and tried to edit my post and change the number to 3.
I couldn't, instead got a pop up message telling me
Your content can not be submitted. This is likely because your content is spam-like or contains inappropriate elements. Please change your content or try again later. If you still have problems, please contact an administrator.
I am not sure what am doing wrong! I didn't swear did I?!!


Anyway, this is Hermany at the field enjoying buttercup leaves.

Hello, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum!
Thanks for taking her on.
Yes, some people take their tortoises for walks, but I don't think it's a very good idea. Places like church yards may have a gardener who may spray chemicals occasionally and there is always the risk of a dropped object being consumed and causing an impaction.
Be careful how much buttercup is consumed also.
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/plant-database/viewplants/?plant=71&c=6#.WZ6k1T6GPIU
It takes time for a tortoise to adjust to a new home, so hopefully, her original 'bad start' was just that and she will settle down quite happily in her new home.

Hello and Welcome. The pop up you received is only because you have a very short time to edit a post. Some where between 10-15 minutes give or take. After that you can do what you did, which is add another post or pm a moderator to edit it for you.
I agree, it's very risky to let a tortoise eat out of other people's yards or fields. Best if you can ask the owners to be sure nothing was used on it.
Also be sure your tort can warm up under a heat/UVB bulb that temps reach 95-100 if it's not a nice warm sunny day out. They can't digest their food properly if they can't warm up under those temps.
For this first year of you having him, you may want to keep him up for this first winter. It's always advised when someone gets a new tort. However, because you know where yours came from and how it was cared for, etc, it's not quit as important for you to keep him up.

Hermany has a very pretty face. She is very fortunate to be in your care. Her life is obviously not boring and dull and her Mum is willing to sacrifice a tidy garden for her wellbeing. I love learning of tortoises that have been members of a family for decades.

Thankyou kindly for your replies, much appreciated! Thanks for the link with buttercups, will have a read.

Luckily at the church there are three gardeners who do all the gardening there in spare time and I am one of them! No chemicals are used, we don't even use slug pellets, nothing. It's quite a lovely corner for wildlife there now as I feed the birds, squirrels and hedgehogs there too.

I understand concerns about walking, but at the moment for use the benefits are worth it. She wasn't moving or eating for days, despite being warmed up with lamps, baths and hot water bottles. I have found, so far, that nothing can compete really than a hot, sunny day for giving her an appetite and a spring in her step! This walking has, going by what we see even at home, has given her more interest in life it seems and in eating. I guess tortoises are natural foragers, spending their time walking and nibbling so walking and exploring is more natural to her? Her eating certainly seems to improve when out for a good ramble, even if eating what I take with me. It's been a positive move for her so will stick with it until slow down and hibernation. Next year hopefully the garden will have enough to eat on a daily basis and we can just go out occasionally.

It all sounds just lovely. Hedgehogs in the garden! Divine! I get excited over our western fence lizards. I had a friend from Wales who would help injured or ill hedgehogs. She would restore them to health and then release them. I think if Hermany is thriving and enjoying her food then this is a good indication her strolls are ok for her. Every situation is unique. We just need to be sensitive to the messages our animals reveal to us. Thank you for sharing. A lady a tortoise a cat all toodaling down the lane.