Hello from Sunny La Jolla CA

[walter stien]

Hi,

I recently moved here and into an apartment. My two Russian, Sasha and Oksana (yes, both girls), tortoises had free run in a small condo backyard in Arizona, but now live inside/outside depending on the day's weather. I've had them for almost three years (June), I got them off Craig's list. They look pretty old, I guess no way to know for sure.

The outside is a large covered box on my balcony. Inside is a about the same size 3 x 6 foot 'tortoise table' kind of thing (converted book case).

I really like reading all the posts here, I've lurked off and on. What my current conundrum regards is foods. I don't feel comfortable cutting weeds for concern of dog urine and whatever else might get onto them. All the landscaping near my apartment is 'over' managed. So far the girls are doing okay with spring mix and other assorted greens.

I'm trying out some different prepared foods, with the grocery foods, and I think I might try growing a small planter on the balcony of some things they may eat, but these two will no doubt eat it faster than my small balcony can produce.

WS

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

Time to start looking around for grape leaves and mulberry trees.

If you must use grocery store foods, favor endive and escarole heavily and you'll need to amend it with something more fibrous. Grass hay cubes for horses can work. Soak a small amount to rehydrate it and then mix it in with the grocery store greens. Start with a tiny tiny amount at first to get them used to it. ZooMed Grassland tortoise chow can work the same way. Also look into "herbal hay" from tortoisesupply.com. Real chopped grass can also do the same thing. You might try to use those little sprouted wheat grass plots form the pet store or some grocery stores. Cut off what you need and then leave the little plot in a window sill and keep it watered. I get 8 or 9 cuttings from a single plot this way.

Last thing: Your girls need to be separated before there is a catastrophic problem. Tortoises should never live in pairs.

Check these out:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Walter!

 

[wellington]

Welcome

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

Hi - Welcome,

I live in Carlsbad, not so far away. What do you mean by "prepared foods"?

I fully understand not trusting harvested weeds. A balcony mulberry might work, many local Asian grocery stores have a wide range of things that we might consider weeds, LOL. Mallow leaves, Squash leaves, and many others, including Dandelion.

On Mira Mesa blvd almost all the way to I-15 is a store called H-mart, aside from overly-loud music, they have a great produce section. There may be other stores closer to you.

 

[orv]

Welcome to our forums, Walter. You received excellent advice from the above posters. Southern California is a wonderful place to care for tortoises. On thing that wasn't poster aboue if your tortoise's need for hydration. Providing a terra cota planter dish is an excellent way for them to drink as well a getting a needed soaking. If they're not used to soaking in warm water, they'll eventually get to where they enjoy it. I've enticed our tortoises into the water by offering them a favorite treat to nibble on while they bathe . . . ah, the good life. Their is a wealth of information her on the forums, so come and enjoy.

 

[walter stien]

Hi, thanks for the clues on care. Like I mentioned, I've lurked here for awhile. Their enclosures are made up a like a maze with no dead ends. they don't cross paths much, that is working. Two warmed areas, two shallow saucers of water, and many hides. Plants get destroyed real fast so I put small piles of hay from the pet shop in, and they burrow into those too.

By prepared foods I mean Mazuri or ZooMed, there are many others. I see the ZooMed is more pricey, but with just two smaller tortoises, I don't worry about cost so much, but what is considered better. I have seen some that look like fake fruit cereals that are brightly colored. And others at PetSmart and PetCo.

I think I've seen polls here, maybe I can try my hand at using that? I'd like to see what people use.

I just opened a facebook, and have asked people on a few pages there, it's a much stronger response there for why not to use prepared foods. But it seem many people do use them.

 

[daniellenc]

Hi - Welcome,

I live in Carlsbad, not so far away. What do you mean by "prepared foods"?

I fully understand not trusting harvested weeds. A balcony mulberry might work, many local Asian grocery stores have a wide range of things that we might consider weeds, LOL. Mallow leaves, Squash leaves, and many others, including Dandelion.

On Mira Mesa blvd almost all the way to I-15 is a store called H-mart, aside from overly-loud music, they have a great produce section. There may be other stores closer to you.

Love H-Mart in the winter when my weeds have died off.

 

[Tom]

Hi, thanks for the clues on care. Like I mentioned, I've lurked here for awhile. Their enclosures are made up a like a maze with no dead ends. they don't cross paths much, that is working. Two warmed areas, two shallow saucers of water, and many hides. Plants get destroyed real fast so I put small piles of hay from the pet shop in, and they burrow into those too.

By prepared foods I mean Mazuri or ZooMed, there are many others. I see the ZooMed is more pricey, but with just two smaller tortoises, I don't worry about cost so much, but what is considered better. I have seen some that look like fake fruit cereals that are brightly colored. And others at PetSmart and PetCo.

I think I've seen polls here, maybe I can try my hand at using that? I'd like to see what people use.

I just opened a facebook, and have asked people on a few pages there, it's a much stronger response there for why not to use prepared foods. But it seem many people do use them.

I've heard nothing but bad about tortoise advice on FB pages.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Welcome to the forum from another Southern California member!

There is nothing wrong with adding a prepared food, such as Mazuri or ZooMed as a diet supplement. They contain fiber your tortoise might not get from grocery store foods. That said, living in Southern California, you have more options than most, both because it’s warm and because it has a diverse population.

You won’t have any trouble finding cactus, labeled nopales, at a Latino market near you. That’s a great food.

I encourage a visit to the H Mart mentioned above or another Korean market. Here are a couple of posts I did on my H mart:

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/a-trip-to-a-korean-market-picture-heavy.159825/#post-1512642
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-tortoise-chef.153728/page-4#post-1518453

And this one is from a 99 Ranch Market; I imagine there is one, or another Asian market not far from you. Not as many choices but worth checking out:

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-tortoise-chef.153728/page-3#post-1482434

Those posts are embedded in a long thread, “The Tortoise Chef,” that is pinned to the top of the section on diet. It shows what different folks are actively feeding their tortoises and should give you plenty of ideas. If you have access to any kind of farmers market that offers Asian or Indian produce, you’ll find lots there as well; there are a couple of posts in the Chef thread that reference farmers markets and some other places you might not have thought of.

There’s even a post about finding safe weeds but you’ll probably be more comfortable with grocery store foods, at least for now.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Walter, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum from Morocco!

 

[Carol S]

Welcome to the Forum.