I have a little Greek spur thighed tortoise that is 3.5 years old -birthdate in 2012. I have had her since august and the original owner was keeping her in a vivarium with average temps over 30 throughout (they basically got sold the "tortoise package" by a shop somewhere in london). Anyway I have changed her environment to an open top habitat with a mixture of coir and sand/soil substrate. It is two small at only about 6 square feet but her new table is due to be finished next week and will increase her inside space to 3 square meters. Outside is not suitable for her this time of year so outside space will be sorted in spring.
When we got her, she measured 15cm and 506 grams - today I measured and weighed her and she is 15.1cm and 582 grams. That seems like rapid growth to me, but not sure what to expect, we may be overfeeding her.
She receives a diet of green leaves, mostly store bought salad leaves (ive read about which ones are suitable and which are not) I also regularly pick her dandilions and have planted two beds full of greek tort weed seeds, but they wont probably grow properly till spring. I am going to make a cold frame outside to try to grow some more quickly in the meantime.
Anyway she is very active, doesnt drag herself around and is pretty quick, and she likes to bite everything, which I guess if thats what youve got to interact with the world then everything looks like it belongs in your mouth.
So, the help bit. First of all, ive rambled a bit but wanted to give some detail and would appreciate comments or advice about anything.
I have however gotten a little concerned about her shell condition recently, but am not sure if its new or just not noticed previously.
First her plastron is flexible at the rear, and there is a very slight give throughout if sort of medium pressure is applied. I had not noticed this before but am worried about metabolic bone disease because my environment has such limited opportunities, especially through the winter to get her exposure to natural sunlight. She does have a Merc Vapor bulb in her habitat. I also supplement with a vitamin d and calcium powder daily or every other. And occasionally nutrobal but maybe weekly at that. She also gets cuttlefish bone that we collect from beaches near us (should we be sterilising this?)
The second issue is some spots on her plastron that might be shell rot. Ive included photos and would appreciate any suggestions. Under her lamp the temps are 30-33 celcius - her little bedroom under a big rock is usually around 20-23 celcius and fairly gradually warmer in between. The substrate is 6-8 inches deep and is really dry on top but a few inches under the surface is a little less dry but not damp. Ive got a lot of reading to do now ive signed up here (ive read a couple books but they were not very helpful) so ill leave it at these questions for now as they have me worried.
When we got her, she measured 15cm and 506 grams - today I measured and weighed her and she is 15.1cm and 582 grams. That seems like rapid growth to me, but not sure what to expect, we may be overfeeding her.
She receives a diet of green leaves, mostly store bought salad leaves (ive read about which ones are suitable and which are not) I also regularly pick her dandilions and have planted two beds full of greek tort weed seeds, but they wont probably grow properly till spring. I am going to make a cold frame outside to try to grow some more quickly in the meantime.
Anyway she is very active, doesnt drag herself around and is pretty quick, and she likes to bite everything, which I guess if thats what youve got to interact with the world then everything looks like it belongs in your mouth.
So, the help bit. First of all, ive rambled a bit but wanted to give some detail and would appreciate comments or advice about anything.
I have however gotten a little concerned about her shell condition recently, but am not sure if its new or just not noticed previously.
First her plastron is flexible at the rear, and there is a very slight give throughout if sort of medium pressure is applied. I had not noticed this before but am worried about metabolic bone disease because my environment has such limited opportunities, especially through the winter to get her exposure to natural sunlight. She does have a Merc Vapor bulb in her habitat. I also supplement with a vitamin d and calcium powder daily or every other. And occasionally nutrobal but maybe weekly at that. She also gets cuttlefish bone that we collect from beaches near us (should we be sterilising this?)
The second issue is some spots on her plastron that might be shell rot. Ive included photos and would appreciate any suggestions. Under her lamp the temps are 30-33 celcius - her little bedroom under a big rock is usually around 20-23 celcius and fairly gradually warmer in between. The substrate is 6-8 inches deep and is really dry on top but a few inches under the surface is a little less dry but not damp. Ive got a lot of reading to do now ive signed up here (ive read a couple books but they were not very helpful) so ill leave it at these questions for now as they have me worried.
