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Sezla

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hi I’m Sarah I am 38 living in England in Mildenhall right by the air base I have just purchased my first ever tortoise after wanting one since I was very little. I have a leopard tortoise he is 6months and called Franklin. I totally love him already but find myself panicking at everything! I’m so scared I’m gonna do something wrong he is so perfect and doing really well. I have been enjoying looking at this website and all the useful info there’s sooooo much to learn it has taken me nearly a year to get everything set up and get Franklin but I’ve wanted to do everything right and not rush as they are not like a dog or cat you just feed an love! My auntie used to have a Herman tort that she rescued from a restaurant many years ago which was going to be eaten! An he just lived in a cardboard box in her conservatory with free reign to the garden! Boy was I in for a shock when I seriously started getting set up! He has far more than a cardboard box an newspaper. Look forward to chatting to other tortoise owners and reading bout your adventures.3A8890B2-744B-4EB6-A623-677A604F10C2.jpeg this is Franklin he is very active and inquisitive.
 

jsheffield

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Welcome to TFO!

This is a great place to learn about life with tortoises... I suspect you've already read:

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.78361/

The hardest thing for me when I first brought my tortoise home was sorting out the important details from other stuff... getting heat and humidity levels consistently at optimum levels, finding and maintaining a good diet for him, and managing the lighting in his enclosure.

Jamie
 

Sezla

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Yes the heat is what I had most trouble with an causes me sleepless nights lol but Franklin is so active for his age an into everything so I must be doing right lol as he is a grassland I grow everything from scratch for him so everything is organic an safe this has proved quite an achievement as I’ve never grown anything in my life! I now have pots everywhere in an outdoors!
 

Ray--Opo

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Welcome to you and Franklin. He is a beauty!
 

Sezla

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Thank you everyone an I must say I’ve only had him nearly a fortnight an I’m already so in love with him ! It’s been like having a newborn baby again I keep getting up during the night to check on him an make sure he ok!
 

Sezla

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So quick question Franklin sleeps differently all the time sometimes he is totally tucked up in shell an u can’t see him at all other times his head an front legs tucked in but bk legs out other times he is completely flopped out his shell head an all legs is this normal I’m trying to establish familiarities and routines so I can stop worrying bout everything but everyday he gives me something different he is keeping me on my toes! Also I’m finding advice very varying on supplements I give Franklin calcium dust on his food every other day fine sprinkling but does he need any other kind of supplements I also give him I want to call it a mazuri pellet mushed so sofetend twice a week with his fresh grass hay an flower of the day (these were the pellets I was told was only recommended for baby torts) am I doing the right things food wise please x
 

Sezla

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Lol ty I didn’t realise I would be so worried I’ve always kept animals but he just seems so precious x
 

Blackdog1714

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Please add photos of your setup. Sounds like your torties is just getting used to the new digs! Welcome
 

Sezla

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That would make sense I not had him a fortnight yet I guess he is also learning everything bout his new home so he has a 45cm x 95cm wooden table brought from tortoise specialist store. He has hidey holes he loves his cave I made out of a mushroom pot! One end is cooler an he has a moist humid area one end has hotter temp with his basking light it is off in this pic as I just took it an Franklin is asleep under his log bridge that is the one constant he digs himself a hole under his bridge at 8oclock every night and goes to sleep till 9am. I have his basking light on for 12 hrs a day this is a combined light which also has all the uva lights too they cost more but I haven’t got wires everywhere when I go to bed I have a ceramic 25w lamp no light to it that I put on over his hotter area so temp never goes too low but he has darkness to sleep in. Oh an he has access to a water bowl that he enjoys getting into for a drink or a soak or just to walk through it and I change that water (room temp) about 4/5 times a day to make sure it always clean enough for him to drink x
 

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LaLaP

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So quick question Franklin sleeps differently all the time sometimes he is totally tucked up in shell an u can’t see him at all other times his head an front legs tucked in but bk legs out other times he is completely flopped out his shell head an all legs is this normal I’m trying to establish familiarities and routines so I can stop worrying bout everything but everyday he gives me something different he is keeping me on my toes! Also I’m finding advice very varying on supplements I give Franklin calcium dust on his food every other day fine sprinkling but does he need any other kind of supplements I also give him I want to call it a mazuri pellet mushed so sofetend twice a week with his fresh grass hay an flower of the day (these were the pellets I was told was only recommended for baby torts) am I doing the right things food wise please x
For me, one of the joys of having tortoises is seeing the strange positions that they fall asleep in. Anything goes. I love the everything-out flops the best. Don't worry, just enjoy!
If you are feeding a varied diet with broadleaf weeds, occasional mazuri and dusting calcium once or twice a week then no other supplements should be needed.
Welcome to having a tortoise... it often involves lots of worrying! It means you're doing it right. Haha!
 

Sezla

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Oh ok ty so much I am gradually becoming less worried and trying to enjoy him much more just so nerve wracking lol. But he is very active for 6months I half expected him to sleep quite a lot to begin with but he doesn’t stop he flies up and down his table moving things climbing his plant pots an bridge it’s hilarious watching him to that he climbs to the top then launches himself off no gentle careful decent! I can appreciate why people buy small enclosures for these tiny precious delicate things but my I am learning that they are sooo not they need masses of room and obstacles as I get the feeling Franklin loves navigating all these different objects and would be quite bored in a table with no ‘activities’
 

Ben02

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Welcome to the forum!

Someone said about feeding Mazuri in a previous post but you won’t be able to find it in the UK. Never fear though, the company does a European version called “Nutrazu”. It’s exactly the same as Mazuri but it’s just got a different name. I order mine from Kiezebrink (a animal food company)

Good luck!
 

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Sezla

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Oh ty but eBay dose the mazuri pellets but I will jot that name down I case they stop ty x
 

Kells Bells

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Welcome! When I first got my tort I was up the walls worrying i didn't sleep and i kept getting up to check on him, I was a haggard mess :D everything I learnt was from here as the last people who had him hadn't a clue. I remember about a week in I looked in and all his legs were sprawled out with his head flopped out on a flat stone. Well I went into a panic thinking he had died I scooped him out and he gave me a very indignant look that I had woke him up:p I get my mazuri on Ebay
 

Sezla

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Lol yes I am shattered I keep checking on him during the night lol I shot up 4am this morning shouting omg did u hear that noise what’s happened omg I got to check on Franklin! My husband was like Sarah I just coughed! But I’m sure the more days go by the more I will relax like I said it feels like when I brought my babies home from hospital lol x
 

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