The house I recently moved to used to belong to an old lady with a 60 year old Hermanns tortoise. A while ago the lady passed away and the house was renovated into three apartments. I rented one and in my lease was a clause that a tortoise resides in the garden during summer (and hibernates over winter). The ground floor tenant (not me) is responsible for daily care of the tortoise.
Last week he (tortoise) was woken up from hibernation and is now living in his enclosure in the garden. All of the tenants of the house have agreed to help out with caring for him, but none of us have experience with tortoises (but we are all animal lovers). I have been reading and am hoping for some guidance from you.
Some things that concern me:
- the property manager who has been caring for the tortoise has said that he only needs to eat lettuce. We initially followed this advice but are now trying to make sure there is some variety. The garden has sections of clover, dandelion and other various weeds that we let him wander through and eat in addition to salads from the supermarket.
- His enclosure has a large shrub in it that blocks much of the sunlight. We don't want to cut the shrub as it's quite nice, so want to relocate the enclosure. Is full sunlight with a few hidey-holes okay? Currently the flooring is grass/weed and in his 'bedroom' is some sort of strawlike material that he buries himself at night.
- Have never seen him drink. Started to give him baths. Today he did a big wee (so I guess the baths are working). Should the water containers (shallow plant pot saucers) be buried at ground level to facilitate drinking (I'm thinking maybe he finds the side too high to get a drink from). If they are buried up to the rim, how do you clean them?
- His shell is flared at the back. Normal? There is a small chip on the top. The underneath has a larger broken bit - maybe an old injury, should we be concerned?
- Is it okay for him to be outside 24-7? If there's a cold snap should he come inside? In spring and autumn we get an average of 7 hours of sunshine, more over summer. As far as I understand he is used to living outside spring-autum. He will hibernate in winter.
Thanks for your help. Here's our old man...
Last week he (tortoise) was woken up from hibernation and is now living in his enclosure in the garden. All of the tenants of the house have agreed to help out with caring for him, but none of us have experience with tortoises (but we are all animal lovers). I have been reading and am hoping for some guidance from you.
Some things that concern me:
- the property manager who has been caring for the tortoise has said that he only needs to eat lettuce. We initially followed this advice but are now trying to make sure there is some variety. The garden has sections of clover, dandelion and other various weeds that we let him wander through and eat in addition to salads from the supermarket.
- His enclosure has a large shrub in it that blocks much of the sunlight. We don't want to cut the shrub as it's quite nice, so want to relocate the enclosure. Is full sunlight with a few hidey-holes okay? Currently the flooring is grass/weed and in his 'bedroom' is some sort of strawlike material that he buries himself at night.
- Have never seen him drink. Started to give him baths. Today he did a big wee (so I guess the baths are working). Should the water containers (shallow plant pot saucers) be buried at ground level to facilitate drinking (I'm thinking maybe he finds the side too high to get a drink from). If they are buried up to the rim, how do you clean them?
- His shell is flared at the back. Normal? There is a small chip on the top. The underneath has a larger broken bit - maybe an old injury, should we be concerned?
- Is it okay for him to be outside 24-7? If there's a cold snap should he come inside? In spring and autumn we get an average of 7 hours of sunshine, more over summer. As far as I understand he is used to living outside spring-autum. He will hibernate in winter.
Thanks for your help. Here's our old man...