lauraespinosa01
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2015
- Messages
- 15
Hello! My name's Laura and I live in Bolivia with my two beloved tortoises. Chloe is a 2-3 year old red foot and Ruby is a 2-3 month old yellow foot. They are both rescues.
A little over a year ago my husband and I went to a local pet shop to get supplies for his fish aquarium. I noticed they had a red foot tortoise in a cardboard box - no food, no water, no substrate. I had water turtles when I was a teenager so my heart melted when I saw the tortoise suffering in a box. We bought it and I had to quickly learn about land tortoises! But I think she has thrived - she's grown considerably, eats tons, and seems all around beautiful and happy.
I got Ruby just a week ago. When visiting a rural village I visited a home where a three-year-old girl had a tiny wild-caught tortoise. They had made a hole in her shell to thread a string through and had her tied under a table. (You can see the hole in one of the photos below). Her eyes didn't open and she was covered in dried dirt. She felt like a feather in my hand and didn't move or anything. They agreed to sell her so I immediately removed the string and got her in some warm water. She drank water for 45-minutes straight! Then opened her eyes and started walking around and exploring. It took her awhile to figure out how to eat but she now has a great appetite. Best of all, she gets along with Chloe. Ruby will sidle up next to her to sleep and any time I take her out of their enclosure Chloe will crane her neck and look all over until Ruby is back.
Currently we live in an apartment so my husband made a glass enclosure that has substrate, UV and heat lights, a water dish, etc. Within a few years, before they get very big, we plan to move to a house with a yard so they can live outside. We live in Bolivia so they're in their natural environment. The one thing I've struggled with is what substrate to use because I have live plants in it and it tends to be too moist. But I'm visiting the USA in August so I'm thinking I'll get cypress mulch and give that a try.
Hope this isn't too many photos! I look forward to participating more in the forum now!
A little over a year ago my husband and I went to a local pet shop to get supplies for his fish aquarium. I noticed they had a red foot tortoise in a cardboard box - no food, no water, no substrate. I had water turtles when I was a teenager so my heart melted when I saw the tortoise suffering in a box. We bought it and I had to quickly learn about land tortoises! But I think she has thrived - she's grown considerably, eats tons, and seems all around beautiful and happy.
I got Ruby just a week ago. When visiting a rural village I visited a home where a three-year-old girl had a tiny wild-caught tortoise. They had made a hole in her shell to thread a string through and had her tied under a table. (You can see the hole in one of the photos below). Her eyes didn't open and she was covered in dried dirt. She felt like a feather in my hand and didn't move or anything. They agreed to sell her so I immediately removed the string and got her in some warm water. She drank water for 45-minutes straight! Then opened her eyes and started walking around and exploring. It took her awhile to figure out how to eat but she now has a great appetite. Best of all, she gets along with Chloe. Ruby will sidle up next to her to sleep and any time I take her out of their enclosure Chloe will crane her neck and look all over until Ruby is back.
Currently we live in an apartment so my husband made a glass enclosure that has substrate, UV and heat lights, a water dish, etc. Within a few years, before they get very big, we plan to move to a house with a yard so they can live outside. We live in Bolivia so they're in their natural environment. The one thing I've struggled with is what substrate to use because I have live plants in it and it tends to be too moist. But I'm visiting the USA in August so I'm thinking I'll get cypress mulch and give that a try.
Hope this isn't too many photos! I look forward to participating more in the forum now!