Hi from Scotland

[Butters]

Hi everyone, I have a 6 year old (aprox) horsefield tortoise called Butters. I have only had him for about a month and he is my first tortoise. Unfortunately I dont know a lot about his past life except that he was fed only on lettuce and kept on a table with beech chippings, I have since changed this to topsoil which he seems to like. He came with an arcadia 100w combi bulb so I think his heating/lighting was ok, his shell is hard although it does look "stretched" in parts, the vet thinks maybe from irregular feeding. The vet trimmed his beak and says it is a bit deformed probably from the diet he was on and he will need it trimmed occasionally. Apart from that, he is pretty healthy as far as I can tell, he loves to bite anything and anyone that comes near him, Im not sure why he does this, I am still trying to figure it out. I am sure in time he will come round

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum!! can you post some pics of butters and his enclosure? also here is the russian/horsefield tortoise care sheet. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/

 

[Butters]

oh, I done something wrong uploading a photo, I try again

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

poor little guy his beak and shell look terrible. its good you took him in. are you using a UVB light?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[Butters]

This is his enclosure

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello and welcome to the TFO from AZ. Put his food on a piece of tile and it will fix his beak . Have a great tort day !

 

[Butters]

sorry, Im not very good with uploading etc, I wanted to add that his enclosure has changed a bit since i took that picture and I am thinking of changing it again, the castle is nearer the middle and at the bottom there is a larger water bowl but because of something my vet said, I am thinking of taking out some of the soil and having an eating area, I am concerned about him eating the soil with his food. I kept the bulb he was used to, the arcadia combi bulb, no seperate uvb. I would appreciate your input, I have seen some white rocks that might be better with slate for eating?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Oh My Gawsh!!!! What a big bite he's showing in that first picture! I'd certainly be intimidated if I were the one trying to reach in to him. This makes me think maybe he had young children teasing him in his previous home.

The vet sounds like he's got a lot on the ball about the beak. He's right to do the trimming in more than one visit. If he tried to make it right all at the same time, he would have probably made it bleed. But there's still quite a bit to come off. The shell right behind the head looks quite different too. I dont know why it grew like that. But the 'stretching' that you refer to is new growth under less than optimal conditions. Nothing to worry about.

Thanks so much for sharing your pictures with us. Because of his aggressive temperament, I really, really like him. Looks like he really sticks up for himself.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome to TFO!

 

[gingerbee]

Welcome!!

 

[Butters]

Thank you everyone for your welcome Yes, I think you are right Yvonne, I think he has been teased at his previous home, the couple that I got him from were not interested in him but they told me that they had bought him 3 years ago to amuse their grandchildren, the grandchildren had since emigrated to Australia and thats why they were looking to sell the tortoise. They told me he was around 3 when they got him and was small, and if you look at the top of his shell you can see where in his first 3 years he probably was cared for well, then they have had him for the last 3 years and whatever they have done has made his shell grow differently, he was kept in a spare room and I suspect he was forgotten about for periods at a time but I dont know for sure. I had noticed that the shell at the back of his neck seems to be curled upwards and his shell overall is quite yellowy cream in colour. Although we had never owned a tortoise before I knew that I wanted to home one that needed a home already and was looking into getting a rescue tortoise, then I saw Butters on a site called Gumtree. I know I probably shouldnt have paid money for him but when I went to see him I just couldnt leave him there, he's not as cute as most tortoises I have seen and I was afraid that if nobody would pay then they would maybe let him die. That sounds a little dramatic but I just had to take him home. He does seem quite aggressive but his bite isn't that sore, most of the time I just kind of pat him and kind of ignore his biting, if I can I will post some videos from when I first got him and he was chasing me, I find him funny and fascinating. Oh, when I first got him he used to hiss quite a lot, he has since stopped that mainly which I think is a move forward

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Hi and welcome. Butters certainly needed to be rescued! It is progress that he's stopped hissing. That shows he's less fearful.

I would feed him on a flat rock rather than changing the substrate in his food area.

 

[the_newzie]

Hi from Las Vegas!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[bouaboua]

Hello and Welcome! ! !