Rescue/Rehoming Posted on Craigslist

jsheffield · Sep 28, 2019

Hello,

I keep looking for large enclosures on FB and Craigslist, and keep finding torts I want to welcome into my home.

Todays find is a Hingeback, and I'd love your thoughts on how the tortoise looks to your eyes.

I think a Hingeback would dovetail nicely with the other tortoises I live with:

a redfoot tortoise
a russian tortoise
a black mountain tortoise

I feel as though this new tortoise's care and feeding and housing needs wouldn't be out of line with the other torts.

Here's the ad:

I have for re-homing a Hingeback tortoise with its enclosure. The enclosure is a 4' x 2' tortoise table made out of an old dresser. It has pond lining at the bottom and a few inches of topsoil mixed with coconut husk. It also has a ceramic bulb heat lamp. There is a built in hide at one end of the enclosure. It will also come with its food dish and large water dish that is big enough for it to soak in. I am unsure of its exact age as I purchased it at a reptile expo. I have been told that they think its around 2 years old. Its favorite food is hibiscus flowers. I do have two different kinds of tortoise pellets but I've never seen it actually eat them.

I am looking for someone who is experienced and will be able to give it the time it needs and proper care.

There is a re-homing fee of $125 for the tortoise and its enclosure/food etc.

Thanks,

Jamie

Yvonne G · Sep 29, 2019

It looks pretty good to me, but I get the impression it's a bit on the thin side. Nothing I could put my finger on, just an impression. I think that's a good price, however, I know nothing about hingeback tortoises.

Toddrickfl1 · Sep 29, 2019

I seen a hingeback for sale at Repticon a few months ago that looked exactly the same as this one. I remember the scute pattern. Same exact price too if I'm not mistaken. I wonder if it's the same tortoise?

Blackdog1714 · Sep 29, 2019

Remember- Isolate like you are dealing with ebola just in case. You don't want something to spread to you other babies. Good Luck Mr. SUPERBIGTORTHEART!

2turtletom · Sep 29, 2019

I’ve been in touch with the owner of his animal since June. Did you join our conversation on the Facebook group Hingeback tortoises about it? I wouldn’t call it established at this point. Based on conversations with the owner several months ago, it’s going to need a lot of attention and care to get it to thrive.

jsheffield · Sep 29, 2019

I've done some back and forth-ing with the current keeper, and I think I'm going to go for it.

All of my tortoises live in separate enclosures, and my process for adding in first the Russian and then the MEP was to keep them:

physically separate from each other at all times, so they never get a chance to interact with one another
I wash my hands, with soap, before/after/between touching them
I prep some of their foods together, but food goes into tupperware before I bring it to each tort's enclosure or soaking container
besides food prep, I do everything for the torts one tort at a time, always separating one from the next with lots of hot water and washing
I rinse food bowls every day, water bowls every other day, and wash them with hot water and soap once a week
I spot-clean each tort's enclosure every day, and do a bigger clean once a month
each tort has their own soaking container that I wash out with scalding water before and after each use
all of the torts have an outside enclosure with a wall between them
I have a health checklist that I use with every tort once a week (normally on Mondays for consistency, but my work schedule just changed, so that may change also), to track weight and length and a number of physical appearance markers... if any of them start going south, I'd likely increase the level of quarantine
when setting up the enclosures initially, I wash them out with F10SC (vet disinfectant) and white vinegar and hot water, I also start/maintain a different bag of mulch for each tort

I think the weak link in the isolation chain at the moment is the outside enclosure setup... the shared walls could theoretically allow the transmission of some airborn microbe (or macrobe), but it doesn't seem too likely.

I'm excited to get a chance to work with this tort, but will definitely be treating this new one as toxic until I see otherwise.

Jamie

Blackdog1714 · Sep 29, 2019

THAT IS A MAN WITH A PLAN. Big heart, but a sound mind! I envy that you can do this. Sadly my day job requires so much time I barely have enough for just my two.

2turtletom · Sep 29, 2019

jsheffield said:
I've done some back and forth-ing with the current keeper, and I think I'm going to go for it.

All of my tortoises live in separate enclosures, and my process for adding in first the Russian and then the MEP was to keep them:

physically separate from each other at all times, so they never get a chance to interact with one another

I wash my hands, with soap, before/after/between touching them

I prep some of their foods together, but food goes into tupperware before I bring it to each tort's enclosure or soaking container

besides food prep, I do everything for the torts one tort at a time, always separating one from the next with lots of hot water and washing

I rinse food bowls every day, water bowls every other day, and wash them with hot water and soap once a week

I spot-clean each tort's enclosure every day, and do a bigger clean once a month

each tort has their own soaking container that I wash out with scalding water before and after each use

all of the torts have an outside enclosure with a wall between them

I have a health checklist that I use with every tort once a week (normally on Mondays for consistency, but my work schedule just changed, so that may change also), to track weight and length and a number of physical appearance markers... if any of them start going south, I'd likely increase the level of quarantine

when setting up the enclosures initially, I wash them out with F10SC (vet disinfectant) and white vinegar and hot water, I also start/maintain a different bag of mulch for each tort

I think the weak link in the isolation chain at the moment is the outside enclosure setup... the shared walls could theoretically allow the transmission of some airborn microbe (or macrobe), but it doesn't seem too likely.

I'm excited to get a chance to work with this tort, but will definitely be treating this new one as toxic until I see otherwise.

Jamie

Keep us updated Jamie!

method89 · Sep 29, 2019

I was really pulling for the Russian ladies... I had my heart set on getting on driving up to NH to pick up a Russian hatchling

William Lee Kohler · Sep 30, 2019

Looks like a pretty young likely Homes Hingeback. These like humid homes and can find great dietary info on this site for these.

Rescue/Rehoming Posted on Craigslist

jsheffield

Well-Known Member

Yvonne G

Old Timer

Toddrickfl1

Well-Known Member

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member

2turtletom

Well-Known Member

jsheffield

Well-Known Member

Blackdog1714

Well-Known Member

2turtletom

Well-Known Member

method89

Well-Known Member

William Lee Kohler

Well-Known Member

Similar threads

New Posts