Adopted 25 yr old DT in Laughlin, NV

[cubsfan79]

Hello everyone,

I recently got a house where the previous owner had raised a DT for the last 25 yrs he has his own underground lair on the side of the house made of a 2x4 shoot going down into the ground and a huge mound he has built in front to stop water from flooding his cave. The previous owner gave me his feeding schedule of every morning at 8 am he comes out and stares in the sliding glass door waiting for his food which I was told to give him 2 1/4 in. slices zucchini chopped into cubes, 2 1/4 in. slices cucumber chopped into cubes, 1 leaf of Romaine and 1 leaf of Kale torn into scraps, so I have now for about 3 months he devours it every day at 8 am like clockwork then disappears into his underground lair.

So I have a few questions...

1. I did some reading about diet and I read that romaine lettuce or any lettuce has no nutrients for him and should be not used and Kale should be used more sparsely and to use more like turnip greens mustard greens or collard greens instead, also I read that cucumber and zucchini should be used sparingly and that butternut squash or Acorn squash is better. Now if he has been living on this same diet for so long is there any reason I should change it or just stay with it?

2. All the pictures I see of these Tortoises they are all so clean looking my DT is very, very dusty like he has never touched water before and I read that people are soaking them in water should I be giving this guy water to bathe in or should I hose him down with slow running water in the mornings when he is done eating? Now also the previous owner did not have anything about water on his feeding schedule he wrote down for me, so do these guys not drink water either? I tried to put a shallow dish of water by his food 1 day and he just walked over it, spilled it, then ate his food and left.

Any way I will get some pics of him up soon as he comes out again to better show you his dusty appearance.

but here is a pic of his lair entrance...



Thanks for any responses

 

[Gillian M]

What about a pic of your tort?

Please give him daily soaks in warm water, particularly if the climate back there is dry.

And read the "Beginners Mistakes Thread" as well as the care sheets available.

And.....welcome to the forum!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

It may be hard to get him changed over to a better diet, but it's worth trying. They have the potential to outlive their keeper, but eating as he has been may void that potential.

Your picture shows a very barren landscape. Is there any grass or weeds in the yard? The best diet for a desert tortoise is grass and weeds. If you have none, it would be a good idea to plant a small area for him.

Second choice would be good grocery store greens. I fall back on endive, escarole, turnip greens, dandelion, then some of the edible plants like rose of sharon, hosta, mulberry leaves, grape leaves, etc. Here's a nice list:

Mulberry leaves
Grape vine leaves
Hibiscus leaves
African hibiscus leaves
Blue hibiscus leaves
Rose of Sharon leaves
Rose leaves
Geraniums
Gazanias
Lavatera
Pansies
Petunias
Hostas
Honeysuckle
Cape honeysuckle
Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc...
Young spineless opuntia cactus pads

Weeds:
There are soooooooo many...
Dandelion
Mallow
Filaree
Smooth Sow thistle
Prickly Sow thistle
Milk thistle
Goat head weed
Cats ear
Nettles
Trefoil
Wild onion
Wild mustard
Wild Garlic
Clovers
Broadleaf plantain
Narrow leaf plantain
Chick weed
Hawksbit
Hensbit
Hawksbeard

 

[cubsfan79]

Thanks for your reply and information. that is the side of house where his underground lair is built he can wonder and does all over the property where there are some spots I see him stopping for a munch in areas of ground cover the rest of my back yard is landscaped with trees bushes wild clover fruit trees ( tangerine and ruby red grapefruit) many different cactus lots of stuff very green but he seems to go for the dried dead grasses that come up in the rock surrounding our tall palms

 

[cubsfan79]

What about a pic of your tort?

Please give him daily soaks in warm water, particularly if the climate back there is dry.

And read the "Beginners Mistakes Thread" as well as the care sheets available.

And.....welcome to the forum!

as I said the pic of him will have to wait till he desides to come out seems he likes his lair very much...

 

[Rue]

I would nail down those loose nails or screws or whatever they are. Never know when an 'oopsie' is going to happen and you don't want him/her to rip open a wound.

But thanks for adopting a new friend! Hopefully you can make things even nicer for him!

 

[Gillian M]

as I said the pic of him will have to wait till he desides to come out seems he likes his lair very much...

Alright.

 

[cubsfan79]

I would nail down those loose nails or screws or whatever they are. Never know when an 'oopsie' is going to happen and you don't want him/her to rip open a wound.

But thanks for adopting a new friend! Hopefully you can make things even nicer for him!

I was thinking the same thing previous owners were in there 70's I think the last 10 yrs or so have been rough on him

 

[Razan]

Congratulations on becoming a new tortoise owner (yeah, and on getting a house too). But wow, a tortoise !

Welcome to the tortoise forum

 

[cubsfan79]

as promised here is Buddy

 

[Rue]

He looks very good!

 

[cubsfan79]

He looks very good!

thanks we really enjoy him as we moved here from Iowa and having a pet tortoise in your back yard is pretty cool

 

[cubsfan79]

Congratulations on becoming a new tortoise owner (yeah, and on getting a house too). But wow, a tortoise !

Welcome to the tortoise forum

Thanks yes Wow indeed they are soooo cool!!

 

[Kenno]

Buddy looks great!

You're in the right place to learn about what he needs.

 

[Gopherus Guy]

Hello everyone,

I recently got a house where the previous owner had raised a DT for the last 25 yrs he has his own underground lair on the side of the house made of a 2x4 shoot going down into the ground and a huge mound he has built in front to stop water from flooding his cave. The previous owner gave me his feeding schedule of every morning at 8 am he comes out and stares in the sliding glass door waiting for his food which I was told to give him 2 1/4 in. slices zucchini chopped into cubes, 2 1/4 in. slices cucumber chopped into cubes, 1 leaf of Romaine and 1 leaf of Kale torn into scraps, so I have now for about 3 months he devours it every day at 8 am like clockwork then disappears into his underground lair.

So I have a few questions...

1. I did some reading about diet and I read that romaine lettuce or any lettuce has no nutrients for him and should be not used and Kale should be used more sparsely and to use more like turnip greens mustard greens or collard greens instead, also I read that cucumber and zucchini should be used sparingly and that butternut squash or Acorn squash is better. Now if he has been living on this same diet for so long is there any reason I should change it or just stay with it?

2. All the pictures I see of these Tortoises they are all so clean looking my DT is very, very dusty like he has never touched water before and I read that people are soaking them in water should I be giving this guy water to bathe in or should I hose him down with slow running water in the mornings when he is done eating? Now also the previous owner did not have anything about water on his feeding schedule he wrote down for me, so do these guys not drink water either? I tried to put a shallow dish of water by his food 1 day and he just walked over it, spilled it, then ate his food and left.

Any way I will get some pics of him up soon as he comes out again to better show you his dusty appearance.

but here is a pic of his lair entrance...
View attachment 180221


Thanks for any responses

Your so lucky, you'll have a loyal friend for quite a while. He should be s happy-boy. Try using a drip-tray for water, a large one 18" x 24" x 1" deep. He'll disk in it and drink from it. I have 3 around the yard. Try giving him some dried leaves or Timothy Hay mixed with Collard Greens, and maybe a few flowers! He sounds like he has a good parent!!

 

[Momof4]

Buddy is very handsome!!!
Yvonne G gave you the best list for foods. I guess you can sneak some in with his regular foods and gradually eliminate the not so nutritious stuff.

That's cool that you guys took him with the house?
We're you guys like, whaaat a tortoise?!?!?

 

[cubsfan79]

Your so lucky, you'll have a loyal friend for quite a while. He should be s happy-boy. Try using a drip-tray for water, a large one 18" x 24" x 1" deep. He'll disk in it and drink from it. I have 3 around the yard. Try giving him some dried leaves or Timothy Hay mixed with Collard Greens, and maybe a few flowers! He sounds like he has a good parent!!

Thanks, I am so lucky he is very cool my whole family adores him! So yea that is what I was thinking as well like a large water heater drip base from home depot big and round and shallow enough for him climb in/out. Today I tried turnip greens he didn't care much for those then some acorn and butternut squash I threw in a few cubes of apple as well he munched those all down fast, then I made a shallow pool bout 3/4" deep out of a large tote lid and wow did he go for that sat in it and drank for about 5 mins straight.

 

[cubsfan79]

Buddy is very handsome!!!
Yvonne G gave you the best list for foods. I guess you can sneak some in with his regular foods and gradually eliminate the not so nutritious stuff.

That's cool that you guys took him with the house?
We're you guys like, whaaat a tortoise?!?!?

Yup was totally like what? really? there is a tortoise living out back under ground how cool and at first they were going to give him to another family member but after I met him I instantly offered to adopt him and let him stay in his home where he is accustomed to and they agreed the best place would be for him to stay. We are so glad they did he brings us lots of joy. However I think our dog is a bit Jealous.

 

[Yvonne G]

I love your tortoise's color. I notice that quite a few of the Gopherus morafkai are more yellow than gray. This is what I usually see:

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum. Buddy is a very handsome tortoise. I love his coloring.