Horsefield tortoise new owner

[Jpedz]

Hi guys!

I am a new owner to a 18 month old horsefield tortoise, when I got him it was reccomended that I use the grass pellets for bedding but I noticed that he tries to dig right down at night so I decided to use coco coir around by his hide etc, he seemed to love that, dug right down, then the 3rd day in I notice him sleeping the complete opposite end, trying to dig down. When I checked under his hide I noticed tiny bit of white fluffy.. mould I presume, i panicked and cleared it all out and replaced with the pellets and a bit of the dried grass/ flower mix I think the mistake I made was putting the coir in still damp..he's been sleeping bk in the same spot under hide ever since Ichanged bk to the pellets.. until today.. when he's digging another hole outside of the hide.. is it normal for them to sleep different places? I just find it strange that he's always been in pretty much same spot for weeks.. until I found that tiny bit of mould.. there's definitely no mould there this time!

Thanks in advance,

J

 

[MichaelL]

I assume it's normal for them to sleep in different cases but i'm not an expert

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome, I'm on the UK too with a leopard tort.
Where did you get your tort from? Sounds like you have been given bad advice. - pellets are too dry and they can go moldy.
If I were you I would remove all the substrate and clean the enclosure thoroughly then when it's dry line it with something waterproof so that the base/sides don't get wet. Russians like to dig so they need substrate deep enough that will let them do that.
Have you found the caresheet for Russians/Horsefield? That will tell you all about substrate, diet, temps, humidity etc. These will also help you.......

Beginner Mistakes

To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...

www.tortoiseforum.org

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
If you want the best advice then post some pics of your set up and lamps etc then we can let you know if there's anything you need to change to make sure your tort is as happy and healthy as possible. We all make mistakes and have to tweak things when we start.

 

[Lyn W]

I don't know why that grey box and extra info has turned up with the first link - just click on the title to go to the thread.