Introducing myself and my tortoise.

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aromaff16

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Hi guys. I just joined the forum and am looking forward to meeting everyone and getting advice to make life for my tortoise a little better. Ill start out with a bit aabout myself. My name is Brad Senesac. I am a volunteer firefighter and a full time Paramedic in Kankakee Il wich is located about an hour south of Chicago. I am married with 5 little girls aging 11,9,7,7,and 6. My "zoo" includes 4 dogs, 1 cat, a 15 gallon saltwater aquarium, and Im currently in the process of setting up a 125 gallon marine aquarium. Oh and now for the reason I joined this forum... I have an African Spur Thighed Tortise named spike.:D We got him a couple weeks before Christmas in 2008. We purchased him from a local pet store for $100.00. He wasn't much bigger than a 50 cent piece, and we quickly discovered he had a respiratory infection and was severely dehydrated about a week after we got him. After a $150.00 vet bill and 2 weeks of antibiotic injections he was a totally different animal and has been growing like a weed ever since. His shell is approximately 7 inches on the bottom from front to back. His home has been a 75 gallon aquarium since we've got him. He has pretty much only eaten romaine lettuce since weve gotten him. Every once in a while we can get him to eat fresh spinach leaves, and carrots but not very often. Now here we are almost 3 years later, I need to get him out of the aquarium and build something else for him to live in because I feel he needs more room. Due to the sub-zero temps of a Chicago winter, its obvious hes going to have to live inside durring the winter months. Any ideas for an indoor enclosure, or ideas about anything else I have mentioned would be greatly appreciated. I'm open to any and all suggestions. As soon as I can figure out how to put pictures on I will add some of him and his current enclosure. spike 6 months.jpgspike and mister.jpg
 
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Yvonne G

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Hi Brad:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!
 

jeffbens0n

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Welcome Brad. Glad to have you here. Its nice that you have come to the forum for advice. Spike is a pretty good looking tortoise, he looks healthy, but like you mentioned, he looks like he wants more room. The romaine you are feeding him is OK as part of a varied diet, but his diet should really consist of a lot more variety of dark leafy greens. Pre-packaged spring mixes, Endive, escarole, dandelion,there are a lot of options that can generally be found right at your grocery store. You could also consider supplementing him with some cactus or a pelleted food like mazuri tortoise diet. Spinach is OK in small quantities but is generally not good for them as it is high in oxalates that can inhibit calcium absorption.

There is a ton of good information and knowledgeable people here on this forum, so continue to browse a little bit and I'm sure you will find a ton of good information to care for your tortoise.
 

ascott

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Welcome to the Forum :D The There are FABULOUS tortoise tables here on the forum that you can search and view...also if you google tortoise table...you will get some fun stuff for ideas....essentially the basics are needed then anything else is gravy....:D:D
 

Tortoise

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Welcome to you and your family

You have a beautiful Sulcata.
Browse the enclosures forum for some amazing ideas.

I believe you can feed Sulcatas a good quality hay too for fibre.

Happy tortoise table building! (good Winter project):D
 
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