ideas for outside tortoise

[mariab1]

My desert tortoise lives in my patio- which is just cement.
I made him a little hut and for now have put a blanket and some old shirts for "burrowing"
but I am wondering what I could make for him to dig in? and what type of dirt, soil, etc should I use for him?
I need some ideas!
Or is this hut with blankets okay?

I will be looking around the forum as well.
Thanks
maria

 

[Yvonne G]

Poor Ronny! Can you tell us a little bit about his history? Do you know why he grew so deformed? I'm so glad that you have him now and hopefully his life will be better than it was.

If it gets very hot where you live, the patio might not be a good idea for him. He has to be able to find a cool enough spot that he doesn't over heat. The hut you made for him looks ok, but it needs to be in the shade all day. Do you have any yard at all? The best diet for a tortoise is grasses and weeds. And from the looks of him, he hasn't always had what's best for him. If you can't provide that, then dark leafy greens is second best...endive, escarole, turnip greens, mustard greens, etc. You can also use Spring Mix, a packaged mixture of baby greens that you buy at the grocery store.

Does Ronny use his little hut? Can you take another picture and put something that we recognize in the picture so we can get an idea of Ronny's size?

Anyway...glad to meet you. Hope we get to know each other better.

Yvonne

oh, and you can put some grass hay inside his hut for him to burrow into...or leaves, etc.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hi Maria, Welcome to the forum. Have you had Ronnie all his life? Could you tell us Ronnie's history? You know he doesn't look very good, don't you? You can get Spring Mix at the grocery then mix some other stuff in Yvonne gave you a list of good stuff to feed so I get Spring Mix and I mix those other dark green stuff and that makes a pretty good tort salad...and with the sun shine he should do fine...that's a cute little hut, very inventive, that's a very cute picture with the kitty looking at him...

 

[mariab1]

I don't like to think about it but basically he did not get any type of direct light from a light bulb or the sun for a very very long time and was only being fed romaine lettuce. I try to look towards the future and think of the things I can do for him now : )
Here are some pictures of my yard..and a picture of how big he is compared to a standard piece of paper.
is dried Bermuda grass okay to use as bedding material?
Btw: my dogs are never left alone around him - always supervised!
I will be putting his hut over where the grill is so it is in the shade - as well as grow some of the tortoise seed mix with grasses and such i've been hearing about.
Thanks
maria

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I love the face on the red and white dog...Can you plants some grass in a flat? Just grow some for fun? So you are aware of his problems and now are trying to do better for him and that's good. The sun is good for him but keep in mind that if he has MBD he could be in some pain. Feed him as best you can and let him soak in water and with the great sun you've got, you can make things better for him...I would sprinkle some calcium over his food everyday...

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Put moss in the hide! Cement isn't good for lying on

 

[spring pace]

im afraid its all too dry for him, the idea of the moss is a good one, itll stay together when fresh and keep the moisture. id give him a couple different hides so he can get out or more sun and still feel safe. a medium sized dogloo might work really well if your tort is fully grown. i still use coir in my sulcatas deck box. congrats on your new friend. smiles, spring

 

[mariab1]

You guys are awesome - I'm so glad I found this forum.
Thank you!