Adopting in the new year, need advice and tips!

dinomum

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Dec 27, 2017
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Hello new friends!
I am very excited to be joining this community.

In the new year I will be adopting/rescuing a 9-10 year old girl and I am so excited!

I have been finding contradicting information around the web and wanted to come here and get a thread started where I can have all my information in one place.

They are feeding her a base of romaine lettuce as her main food each day with a mix of fruit and veg they change up every feeding (zucchini, white/brown button mushrooms, red/yellow bell pepper, snap peas, green beans, apple, pear, strawberry, banana skin/"meat") and a bit of cat food once a week for protein. Is this a good diet for her? What can I change to give her the best diet possible. I live in Alberta so I will need to be able to get her food at the grocery store and in hoping to get a garden going for in the summer.

They have her in a 2ft x 4ft rabbit cage with a tarp covering the wire top to keep humidity up. I am going to be building her a wooden enclosed "box"(my plan is 3ft x 6ft floor with 3ft walls and a plexiglass top to keep heat and humidity in) what is the best way to seal the wood so it doesn't rot. And how to I safely have the lamps inside so they don't burst from the humidity?

She does have some pyramiding of her shell, is there any way to remedy this? I can't find any really good information on the web.

Any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated, I have kept reptiles before but she will be my first tortoise.

Thank you in advance!

Very excited to be here!
 

Tim Carlisle

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Hi and Welcome! I guess the first obvious question would be: what kind of tort is she? Could you possibly post some pics of her and the enclosure for us? You'd get better quality answers by doing so. :)
 

dinomum

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Alberta Canada
View attachment 226188

Hi and Welcome! I guess the first obvious question would be: what kind of tort is she? Could you possibly post some pics of her and the enclosure for us? You'd get better quality answers by doing so. :)
Haha sorry! I totally spaced on that. She is a red foot and she is about 12 inches from nose to tail. I havnt got pictures as I havnt brought her home yet but next time I go visit her ill take some to post.
 

dinomum

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While I'm waiting till I can post pictures does anyone have any advice on diet? Is what she's already on ideal or what can I do better for her once I bring her home? I want to be as prepared as possible.
 

crimson_lotus

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The diet she has is pretty low in fiber. I would suggest buying some Mazuri and feeding 1-2x a week as a meal. I sometimes find optunia cactus pads at Whole Foods that I get when available.

This site helped me as a guideline for feeding my tortoise:

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

I feed a lot of escarole, dandelion greens, arugula, clover, mustard greens, chicory, zucchini, squash, and mushroom. I would not feed romaine as a base daily - it's like a no nutrition food. I would also not feed beans.

I'd also mix up the type of protein, you could do boiled egg or chicken, shimp, tuna (in water, no salt) etc.
 

crimson_lotus

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Pyramiding can't be "fixed" and is purely aesthetic so I wouldn't worry about it. All you can do is promote smooth growth from now on.

I use a pond liner in my wooden enclosure to line the wood and protect from water/humidity. It's been 4 years and works well. Shower curtain might be cheaper but you would have to worry about tearing. My tortoise likes to scratch up against the walls once in a while when she's trying to make a dirt bed for herself. Or remind me that she is hungry.

I have a UVb tube in there that is held up by two brackets on each side, then zip tied to make sure it stays in place. I hang my lamps outside and cut a hole into the top of her enclosure so the lights emit heat inside. I cover the remaining openings with tin foil. There is definitely a better way, but that's how I do it at least.
 

dinomum

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Alberta Canada
The diet she has is pretty low in fiber. I would suggest buying some Mazuri and feeding 1-2x a week as a meal. I sometimes find optunia cactus pads at Whole Foods that I get when available.

This site helped me as a guideline for feeding my tortoise:

http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

I feed a lot of escarole, dandelion greens, arugula, clover, mustard greens, chicory, zucchini, squash, and mushroom. I would not feed romaine as a base daily - it's like a no nutrition food. I would also not feed beans.

I'd also mix up the type of protein, you could do boiled egg or chicken, shimp, tuna (in water, no salt) etc.
Thank you so much! This is incredibly helpful.

Where can I find mazuri?
 

dinomum

New Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2017
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Alberta Canada
Pyramiding can't be "fixed" and is purely aesthetic so I wouldn't worry about it. All you can do is promote smooth growth from now on.

I use a pond liner in my wooden enclosure to line the wood and protect from water/humidity. It's been 4 years and works well. Shower curtain might be cheaper but you would have to worry about tearing. My tortoise likes to scratch up against the walls once in a while when she's trying to make a dirt bed for herself. Or remind me that she is hungry.

I have a UVb tube in there that is held up by two brackets on each side, then zip tied to make sure it stays in place. I hang my lamps outside and cut a hole into the top of her enclosure so the lights emit heat inside. I cover the remaining openings with tin foil. There is definitely a better way, but that's how I do it at least.
What do you use to secure the pond liner to the enclosure?
 

TammyJ

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Dinomom, welcome to the site!
All the best. You came to a good place for tort owners, lots of sound advice and people willing and able to help.
 

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