Hi, my name is Messenjah. Today, I came across an Australian Snake-Necked tortoise on my way home. I was walking to the train station from a job interview, and he was sitting on the side of the road. I once had a tortoise similar to him when I was younger, but he got away. I've always loved the smelly little things, so I put him in a safe pocket of my bag and took him home. I didn't really want to leave him on the side of the road, he'd probably be dead by now if I had.
I've put him in a tank with some gravel, and I'm picking up some more supplies for him tomorrow (A bigger tank and its associated accoutrements) Now, I have no idea what sex he actually is, but I'm calling it him because he has a mustache. I think it's some form of algae or something around his mouth. I haven't fed him yet; I don't have anything really suitable at home, so I can't see if it's fused his mouth shut. He doesn't seem to be in any distress, though, so I'll just assume he still has the use of his mouth. There's quite a bit of the same sort of stuff on his shell, and his shell is really dirty. Now, should I clean all of it off, and if so how do I go about cleaning off his face without distressing him too much?
I've put him in a smallish tank with some gravel in it. The gravel is banked up on one side to give him a place to get himself out of the water, and the other side is as deep as possible to give him room to swim. He's been rooting around in the gravel for about an hour... is this normal? Is it just him getting comfy or is it a sign that something's wrong? I assume he's pretty stressed right now and he won't be ok until I've gotten him a better home.
If anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it. I've done some reading, but I've not come across algae on a tortoise's face at all. It looks like he has a huge bristly mustache when he's under water. It's an awesome effect, but it's also a bit disconcerting.
I've put him in a tank with some gravel, and I'm picking up some more supplies for him tomorrow (A bigger tank and its associated accoutrements) Now, I have no idea what sex he actually is, but I'm calling it him because he has a mustache. I think it's some form of algae or something around his mouth. I haven't fed him yet; I don't have anything really suitable at home, so I can't see if it's fused his mouth shut. He doesn't seem to be in any distress, though, so I'll just assume he still has the use of his mouth. There's quite a bit of the same sort of stuff on his shell, and his shell is really dirty. Now, should I clean all of it off, and if so how do I go about cleaning off his face without distressing him too much?
I've put him in a smallish tank with some gravel in it. The gravel is banked up on one side to give him a place to get himself out of the water, and the other side is as deep as possible to give him room to swim. He's been rooting around in the gravel for about an hour... is this normal? Is it just him getting comfy or is it a sign that something's wrong? I assume he's pretty stressed right now and he won't be ok until I've gotten him a better home.
If anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it. I've done some reading, but I've not come across algae on a tortoise's face at all. It looks like he has a huge bristly mustache when he's under water. It's an awesome effect, but it's also a bit disconcerting.