Recent content by FomTarro

Interesting. Multiple vets have advised me to do this to avoid dehydration, but perhaps they were thinking that I'd be keeping her closer to room temperature, where she'd still be engaging in regular bodily functions/burning energy at an almost-normal rate, and therefore using up water quickly...

Hello again! After a week of gentle temperature gradation in the fridge, we have finally reached a temperature of 38F. Unfortunately, our Russian tortoise still does not seem to be sleeping as soundly as she was at room temperature, and we frequently hear scratches from the fridge. (It feels...

Plastic storage shoebox with a mix of Coco coir a tiny amount of reptibark. The same as is in her paddock, and the same that she buried herself in for weeks unprompted leading up to this. Last year, we tried a double-insulated cardboard shoebox, with the outer box being filled with newspaper...

Yes, I have read the thread. The colder we make it, the more agitated she gets. We increment the temperature at a gradient, as you advise. Unfortunately, she is most placid at room temperature, where she will actually sleep for long stretches of time (as mentioned, she was asleep at room...

Noted, I shall.

Hello! I was instructed to redirect my question here:

Hey all! We have an adult Horsfield's tortoise that we're trying to hibernate for the third year in a row. The prior attempts have been short-lived, as she has both times woken up and broke her way out of the box and fridge that we attempted to keep her in after only a few weeks, even at very...

Thank you all for the information! She eats ground elder no problem when freshly picked and placed on a food slate, but only under those conditions. Also, to be clear, we've had her for several years, but we haven't owned property for her to explore until this year, so watching her eat plants...

I had read that dandelions were high in oxalates, which can cause internal issues in high quantities. The issue is that I don't really know what qualifies as "high". When she goes outside, she'll spend 40+ minutes doing nothing but eating dandelion flowers. (source...

Hello! With Spring arriving, our little horsfield tortoise has begun demanding outside time. Unfortunately, when we do take her outside, essentially all she does is beeline for dandelions, completely ignoring the bounty of other leafy weeds we have available for her. We've read that dandelions...

Thank you both. I would never even consider letting her burrow outside for the winter. She's so small that any animal could easily eat her, plus I live in MA which is (supposed to be) quite cold. Good to know about the air exchange. Refrigerators aren't exactly designed for their contents to be...

Hello! I have a (4-6?) year old Russian tortoise who we are finally looking to hibernate this winter, after having had her for about a year and a half. We don't really know how old she is, but she's not a baby and she's still growing. Following some recommendations we've found here, we...

I mean, that's what this site is for, right? Torts can communicate their needs and feelings even less than newborn human toddlers, so...

Would nostrils be visibly plugged if that were the issue? As mentioned, I check her eyes and nose frequently, and have never observed any kind of blockage. In addition I am often able to feel breath from her nose when doing this, and the other typical symptoms of respiratory infection do not...

Hello. Our Russian Tortoise yawns a lot. At first we thought it was cute, but now that we've noticed she does it sometimes 3 or more times after waking up, we're beginning to worry, as parents do. Today she yawned 6 times in short succession after leaving her hide, prompting me to post here...