Hi - We just introduced ourselves in the Introductions forum and here now to ask questions!
We didn’t intend to rescue these 2 tortoises but we knew that the way they were being cared for couldn’t have been correct and we couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. We had no experience with tortoises and our knowledge so far has come from the clear and authoratative advice that we've read on this forum. Thank you all!
Their previous owner got them as babies because “they were so cute”. She got them at separate times, getting the second one to "keep the first one company". According to her, one tortoise is 4 years old and the other is 3 years old. She said that they are sulcatas.
Under their previous owner:
Here’s what they looked like when we first got them and the tub they came in. My husband’s legs are in there for scale.
This is Donny, who she said was 4 years old.
This is Raf, who she said was 3 years old.
This is what they lived in.
Since then, we’ve separated them but their space is not as ideal as we’d like. We’re in the middle of renovating with no yard to speak of, so, for now, we’re at the mercy of my mom. She’s allowed us a 5’ x 20’ portion of her yard but was firm that no boards nor cinderblocks be used (asethetic reasons). So each tortoise is kept in it’s own 5’ x 10’ foot area, bordered with bamboo fencing. That bamboo fencing is amazingly strong (at least for our tortoises’ size). In fact, when my husband was pounding them in, he accidentally fell on it…he took an awkward tumble but the 10” stakes held the fencing firmly in place. It’s the best we can do at this time, until we get our own yard established in about 6-7 months. The current pen is in a wind tunnel so there's fencing around their dishes too to keep the food in place.
Donny's side
Raf's side
Their hide is divided inside as well, with CHEs on each side. Coco coir substrate and sponges to keep humidity.
Temps:
Day: 77 – 92
Basking: 100 - 105
Day Hide: 75 - 85
Night: 85 - 90, 60% - 80% humidity
Twice a day they’re fed grass, weeds & leaves from the yard, with chopped hay mixed in. Twice a week, we give them Zoomed grassland tortoise food, which they don’t seem to like. They do like the cuttlebone we leave out.
They’re soaked 4-5 days a week for 25-30 minutes. Their poop is about 2-3 inches, firm and dark.
The older one is starting to graze the lawn on its own, and both can now walk steadily on their back legs, no dragging or buckling. There’s been no digging or flipping on their backs.
Here's what they look like now. The pics of them in their dishes is to show scale, the dishes are 8" saucers.
DONNY Side
DONNY Top
DONNY Rear
DONNY Plastron
DONNY size
RAF Side
RAF Top
RAF Rear
RAF Plastron
RAF Size
Thanks for reading this far! Now our questions:
1) Do we have sulcatas? If so, we’re prepared and planning our yard to be as solidly contained and impenetrable as the lava rock on which our house sits. The torts are in a for big surprise when they actually do start to dig.
2) Are they stunted? We began weighing them regularly 4 months ago. Here's the comparison:
Does 80 and 71 grams in four months seem acceptable or does it indicate that they're not thriving?
4) Their back legs work much better now, but they don’t try to climb or dig out. We half expected to see them climbing the fencing around their dishes and maybe end up on their backs. But they don't even try to climb those. Does that mean that they lack overall strength?
5) We have loads of hibiscus on our property. Is it ok for it to be a staple in their diet?
6) Does their new growth look smoother than their initial pyramiding?
That's all we have for now and look forward to everyone's input. We need as much guidance as possible to give these poor things a better life than they started off with. We'll probably have more questions but will wait to see what you all have to say.
We didn’t intend to rescue these 2 tortoises but we knew that the way they were being cared for couldn’t have been correct and we couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. We had no experience with tortoises and our knowledge so far has come from the clear and authoratative advice that we've read on this forum. Thank you all!
Their previous owner got them as babies because “they were so cute”. She got them at separate times, getting the second one to "keep the first one company". According to her, one tortoise is 4 years old and the other is 3 years old. She said that they are sulcatas.
Under their previous owner:
- They were kept together in an open 24’’ x 18” contoured plastic tub filled with about 1” of beach sand.
- They lived in a high rise with central AC. She knew nothing about proper temps and humidity.
- She'd put them out on her lanai for sun “on her days off”. She's a workaholic so that was something like every 10-12 days.
- They were fed once a day, before she left for work.
- They were fed cabbage (for weeks straight until the head was all gone) and green leaf lettuce (the same way). No other variety.
- When they first came to us, they dragged their back legs behind them and their poop was pale, pea-sized sandballs.
Here’s what they looked like when we first got them and the tub they came in. My husband’s legs are in there for scale.
This is Donny, who she said was 4 years old.
This is Raf, who she said was 3 years old.
This is what they lived in.
Since then, we’ve separated them but their space is not as ideal as we’d like. We’re in the middle of renovating with no yard to speak of, so, for now, we’re at the mercy of my mom. She’s allowed us a 5’ x 20’ portion of her yard but was firm that no boards nor cinderblocks be used (asethetic reasons). So each tortoise is kept in it’s own 5’ x 10’ foot area, bordered with bamboo fencing. That bamboo fencing is amazingly strong (at least for our tortoises’ size). In fact, when my husband was pounding them in, he accidentally fell on it…he took an awkward tumble but the 10” stakes held the fencing firmly in place. It’s the best we can do at this time, until we get our own yard established in about 6-7 months. The current pen is in a wind tunnel so there's fencing around their dishes too to keep the food in place.
Donny's side
Raf's side
Their hide is divided inside as well, with CHEs on each side. Coco coir substrate and sponges to keep humidity.
Temps:
Day: 77 – 92
Basking: 100 - 105
Day Hide: 75 - 85
Night: 85 - 90, 60% - 80% humidity
Twice a day they’re fed grass, weeds & leaves from the yard, with chopped hay mixed in. Twice a week, we give them Zoomed grassland tortoise food, which they don’t seem to like. They do like the cuttlebone we leave out.
They’re soaked 4-5 days a week for 25-30 minutes. Their poop is about 2-3 inches, firm and dark.
The older one is starting to graze the lawn on its own, and both can now walk steadily on their back legs, no dragging or buckling. There’s been no digging or flipping on their backs.
Here's what they look like now. The pics of them in their dishes is to show scale, the dishes are 8" saucers.
DONNY Side
DONNY Top
DONNY Rear
DONNY Plastron
DONNY size
RAF Side
RAF Top
RAF Rear
RAF Plastron
RAF Size
Thanks for reading this far! Now our questions:
1) Do we have sulcatas? If so, we’re prepared and planning our yard to be as solidly contained and impenetrable as the lava rock on which our house sits. The torts are in a for big surprise when they actually do start to dig.
2) Are they stunted? We began weighing them regularly 4 months ago. Here's the comparison:
Does 80 and 71 grams in four months seem acceptable or does it indicate that they're not thriving?
4) Their back legs work much better now, but they don’t try to climb or dig out. We half expected to see them climbing the fencing around their dishes and maybe end up on their backs. But they don't even try to climb those. Does that mean that they lack overall strength?
5) We have loads of hibiscus on our property. Is it ok for it to be a staple in their diet?
6) Does their new growth look smoother than their initial pyramiding?
That's all we have for now and look forward to everyone's input. We need as much guidance as possible to give these poor things a better life than they started off with. We'll probably have more questions but will wait to see what you all have to say.
