health

My Russian tort Hank is in cypress mulch. I spot clean her enclosure (a wooden Zoo Med Tortoise House) daily after work. I will occasionally see very small whiteish almost light beige colored little bugs on remaining lettuce scraps or poop. I don’t see them in large quantities, usually a few...

Hello all, Didn't know where to post this so sorry if in the wrong place! I'm a bit confused about the Jackson Ratio weight-length chart/calculator. I have been using the calculator on https://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/171.asp for the last 6 weeks of having my Hermann's tort and...

Hello! So I just got these guys yesterday at a local pet shop here in Qatar, and they say these little guys came from Thailand, but didn't know what kind of tortoise it really is, and the temporary little place we have for them now kind of worries me, so, here are my questions. 1. What kind...

Hello Everyone, I am new to the forum. I have a young possibly 2 years old Indian star. Her name is Valentine, but she could actually be he. She is my little angel. I am worried that in the last 6 months she developed pyramiding, please see the photos. Her length is about 10 cm. Apart from...

Hi all, I need some words of wisdom as to why my tort spends all of its day burrowed in sphagnum moss. Humidity is consistently above 80%, the warm side of its enclosure is in the mid 80's, cool side is in the low 70's. I do use a mercury bulb (which I've heard aren't the best) but for our...

Hello tortoise friends. Only a few days and we celebrate Christmas. I had the idea to write for you a little Tortoise / Christmas related story, give it to you as a little gift and dedicate it to TFO. Thanks for this wonderful place and forum. I hope you enjoy my little story. But most of all...

We have a pancake tortoise that hasn't eaten in about four days. She seems to be sleeping a lot and isn't as active as she usually is. Given the chance, she'll go into a dark shoe closet and sleep there. Her enclosure is about 100 degrees on the warm side and 80 on the cool side. We've had...

I'm new to this.. i have a lot of questions about our torts health. My family has 3 sulcata torts, around 2 years old. As they've gotten older, one of them has just stopped getting bigger. Myrtle and Rafael are huge, while Tucker is half their size. I recently found out that torts need lots of...

Hi, I have two juvenile Brazilian RF's/Cherryheads. They are approximately 6 months apart in age. They are genetically similar, having the same parents, but from different clutches. I am concerned because the growth of my younger tort., Domino, is greatly outpacing the growth of my older tort...

I noticed my three toed box turtle had a green spot behind her right eye a couple days ago and its still here. Is it an infection or could it be grass stains?? Anybody know anything about this???

My red foot tortoise has suddenly become very restless and keeps pressing his nose against the glass, trying to get out. I’ve never had this issue before and covering the glass didn’t help. I have the flu at the moment and it’s just exhausting hearing him pace back and forth against the glass...

Hello, This is my first post so bare with me! We are soon adopting a horsefield tortoise (our first tortoise). Its all been very last minute, but I've done plenty of research. However, due to the time of year (November), the tortoise has gradually stopped eating and so hasn't eaten for 2 weeks...

Hi, Most of my tortoise live in my garden. The garden undergoes fogging once a month carried out by Rentokil. During fogging, I would put the tortoise inside my house and then release them back out around 4 hours after they finish fogging my garden. I'm scared that there is still a residue of...

Hi everyone!! Hope this message reaches you in good health :) I got a year old, female horsefield tortoise yesterday and I wanted some clarity on the heating situation. I was told to keep her UVB light on at all times (including night time when she's sleeping) however there are many posts...

Hi there everyone, I was living in the Netherlands for a few years with my boyfriend but we broke up recently, so I moved back to the USA. Problem is, I have a Russian tortoise that I wasn't able to take with me when I left. Is it possible to ship him safely from The Netherlands to the USA? I'd...

I noticed yesterday morning that the floor off his enclosure, well at his level on substrate, was registering 104 while the ambient temp midway up throughout the enclosure was registering 80-85. He had been very lethargic and hadn't eaten in two days. :( I had adjusted the thermostat and the...

Is anyone aware if it's safe for Desert Tortoises to eat the flowers from Christmas and Thanksgiving Cactus (Schlumbergera truncata & bridgesii)? I currently have my tortoise enclosure on my patio, right under a Thanksgiving cactus that is full of buds and should bloom right in time to live up...

Hi all, My sulcata is 8 years old. In the summer he spends all day outside eating mainly grass and kale. In the winter he eats Kale and fruit. I give him cucumber to make sure he gets water. I feel like he is small for his age. Is he pyramiding? How bad do you think it is?

Hello. My mother bought me a baby sulcata at a reptile expo today but i noticed on the way home that he never really opened his eyes, and when he did it was never all the way. i have since got him set up and let him soak for 30 mins under his lamp. He is not eating or moving. His shell does not...

I was searching for better heat bulbs and found these two, which is better? First one's name: "Universal E27 Reptile Halogen Heat Lamp Light Basking Full Spectrum UVA UVB Bulb 100W" Link...