Help (Need care info, please)

[chloepix1]

Hello I am picking my first horsefield tortoise up on Monday and have been doing alot of research into looking after him but every website says different things. He is only a baby atm ?

What types of things do you feed yours?

What times of the day do you have light on your tortoise?

Do you hibernate your tortoise if so when and how long for?

How often do you put them in the garden?

Thank you for the help, Everything online doesn’t make sense.
Chloe x UK

 

[iAmCentrochelys sulcata]

1. I feed my tortoises, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, spring mix, weeds (try finding safe weeds around your house)
I feed hibiscus which my Hermanns love, grape leaves. I’ll link here what you can feed try a variety mostly weeds.

2. It’s recommended to have it 12-14 hours a Day, Don’t use the coil UVB bulbs.

3. I have never said be not, so I cannot answer your question.

4. Never, I never put them in the garden especially alone never do that. You take her/him outside for a few hours a week (2-4)hours a week. But don’t leave them alone.

Russian Tortoise Care Sheet

Russian tortoises have great personalities, are very hardy, tolerate a wide variety of enclosure parameters, stay small, and are generally a good "starter" tortoise in my opinion. Here is how I like to set them up: Indoor Enclosure type and size: Most people want to know the minimum size...

www.tortoiseforum.org

The Tortoise Chef

This is a thread about what you actually feed out. @Yvonne G , my 'tortoise wife', posted this scrumptious fare with a description here http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/live-naked-people.126107/page-19#post-1472245 Other wonderful meals by other members are @Anyfoot here...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Article: steppe tortoise diet in the wild

Diet of the steppe tortoise at the Djeiron Ecocenter of Bukhara, Republic of Uzbekistan, near the Kyzyl Kum Desert (Lagarde et al. 2003a). Steppe tortoises were active for only 3 months out of the year, with males emerging from brumation in March and going back into aestivation in May, and...

www.tortoiseforum.org

Baby Russian Tortoise care sheet (also for other herbivorous tortoise species)

Baby Russian tortoises have very similar needs to adult Russian tortoises. A requirement of higher humidity and hydration is the main difference. With good humidity, UVB, and healthy food, your tortoise will grow healthily and smoothly. If kept too dry, they will have irregular, pyramided shell...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Tom]

Hello I am picking my first horsefield tortoise up on Monday and have been doing alot of research into looking after him but every website says different things. He is only a baby atm ?

What types of things do you feed yours?

What times of the day do you have light on your tortoise?

Do you hibernate your tortoise if so when and how long for?

How often do you put them in the garden?

Thank you for the help, Everything online doesn’t make sense.
Chloe x UK

Hi Chloe. You should find your answers in the links that were left by the previous poster, but I'll answer too.

1. They should be eating primarily broadleaf weeds of the right types. Mulberry and grapevine leaves are a nice addition. Some flowers and succulents are good too. If you can't find those things, then grocery store foods can work, but you have to add amendments to make them better for your tortoise. ZooMed Flower Topper, or Grassland pellets soaked and mixed in can work.
2. 12 hours a day is good for light, but sometimes adjustments are needed such as when trying to get them to hibernate, or when trying to get them to NOT hibernate.
3. Hibernation is debatable. Some people do it and some people don't. You can do it if you want to, and I think it should be done for species that hibernate in the wild, but you do not have to do it if you don't want to. That is a whole subject in itself. Let's re-visit this topic when fall gets closer. Ask again in September.
4. You can put them in the garden, in a safe enclosure, every day if the weather is suitable. Be sure that area you choose always has some sunshine for warming up, but also shade and hiding areas for cover and cooling down.

We are all here to talk tortoises, so your questions and conversation are welcome. Ask questions about whatever you are reading that doesn't make sense. We can explain the discrepancies, and explain how best to do it in an interactive way here, that you can't get from a book or website. Also know that tortoise husbandry is always evolving. We are constantly learning new things and making changes and adjustments the recommended practices and routines. What I typed up 5 or 6 years ago, is often different that how I see it now in regards to bulbs, substrates and things like that. We never stop learning.