Marginated Tort owner

[King Arthur]

Hi, New owner of a marginated Tortoise as of 4/2018, was told by previous, owner a male and age 2yrs old then. I've become a little obsessed over (King Arthur) care. I've built a indoor table, and he has 2 outdoor areas, but I also let him roam freely when I'm gardening. I'm happy to join and Yes, I'll post questions.

 

[JoesMum]

Hello and welcome.

Your indoor enclosure is far too small for a tortoise that size. He needs an open table with the floor area measuring at least 8'x4'. What you have is a closed chamber vivarium. An old bookcase with the shelves knocked out and lined with heavy duty plastic or pond liner to protect it from the damp substrate makes a great table. Your outdoor enclosure could do with being bigger too.

You are also using a red bulb. Red bulbs colour the decor red and tortoises think red things are good to eat. They aren't very intelligent and red bulbs lead them to eat substrate which impacts in the gut.

Indoors, your tortoise needs a plain white basking bulb and a temperature of 95-100F directly underneath. Your tortoise needs complete darkness at night.

I recommend you read these care sheets written by TFO species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and sadly from some breeders and vets too.

Beginner Mistakes
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/


Marginated tortoise care
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/marginated-tortoise-testudo-marginata-care-sheet.98564/

 

[King Arthur]

Yes, King Arthur home has evolved from plastic bin, glass enclosure and now wooden box I was afraid so while putting it together. I knew one more bigger but thought I could wait a bit, say till spring. I did change bulb 100w zoo med vapor bulb , and I turn off 12 hrs. I get him outside if weather permits and here in the Bay Area Calif. We have good weather. He eats great and I soak 3x a week. Will work on housing.

 

[TriciaStringer]

Welcome! What a cutie! I’m a bit obsessed with my three tortoises too. I’m always trying to think of ways to improve their lives. I can tell you really love your shell baby too.

JoesMum has given you great advice. Please read the links she provided. Other than her tips, two things jumped out at me in your pics. Please remove the ball of twine. Tortoises eat or try to eat just about anything, goats with a shell basically. That could be very dangerous if it gets hung up somewhere in his digestive tract. Another thing I noticed is his water dish. It’s far too small. His dish needs to be big enough for his whole body to get into it. An ideal one is the base to a terra-cotta flower pot. Even the plastic ones that resemble a terra-cotta one would work. It’s much easier for them to drink that way.
Your outdoor enclosure makes me want chickens. I need to move and get some land first though. Annoying HOA rules won’t allow it. I have an easy outdoor enclosure for my Russian. I’ll try and post pics when I get to my computer.

I can’t wait to see more King Arthur posts.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Hi, New owner of a marginated Tortoise as of 4/2018, was told by previous, owner a male and age 2yrs old then. I've become a little obsessed over (King Arthur) care. I've built a indoor table, and he has 2 outdoor areas, but I also let him roam freely when I'm gardening. I'm happy to join and Yes, I'll post questions. View attachment 261553View attachment 261554View attachment 261555View attachment 261557View attachment 261558

Welcome I love your outside red barn or house. Nice work.

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome to you and King Arthur. Can see how you love him!!! You have got great advice already so I have nothing more to add, but he is really gorgeous!

 

[TammyJ]

By the way, I almost did not want to open this thread because of the title...WHEW!!!

 

[King Arthur]

Hi and welcome to you and King Arthur. Can see how you love him!!! You have got great advice already so I have nothing more to add, but he is really gorgeous!

Hi Tammy, So fun to read responses, my husband needs a break.. haha. I've done light improvements since these picks, a vapor bulb, deep dome ceramic holder and a stand for the light. I have a quest. Josh says bigger (I agree) but is the size 8x4 for indoor home, going to be it? And with that size do I need more bulbs?

 

[JoesMum]

Hi Tammy, So fun to read responses, my husband needs a break.. haha. I've done light improvements since these picks, a vapor bulb, deep dome ceramic holder and a stand for the light. I have a quest. Josh says bigger (I agree) but is the size 8x4 for indoor home, going to be it? And with that size do I need more bulbs?

The true answer for enclosure size with all the Testudo is as big as you can go. Once mature, they're rarely satisfied regardless of the size of the enclosure as their instinct is to roam for miles. So no 8'x4' is probably not the biggest you will need to go.

I found my Greek to be a total nightmare when I had to keep him inside one winter, he normally brumated, as he was used to roaming our garden. He hated being indoors despite having our entire dining room converted for his use alone.

You will need only one basking lamp and one UVB tube (unless you can get your tortoise outside for an hour three days a week). Whether you need additional lighting to make it brighter or additional heating to make it warmer (especially at night for heat) depends on your home.

 

[King Arthur]

I see, so far is happy inside.. I visit..feed by hand (loves that) and yes, he can get more than 3hours in a day. I'm thinking what to use for next table. Also what is brumated ?

 

[TriciaStringer]

Hi, New owner of a marginated Tortoise as of 4/2018, was told by previous, owner a male and age 2yrs old then. I've become a little obsessed over (King Arthur) care. I've built a indoor table, and he has 2 outdoor areas, but I also let him roam freely when I'm gardening. I'm happy to join and Yes, I'll post questions. View attachment 261553View attachment 261554View attachment 261555View attachment 261557View attachment 261558

This is what we built for outside. It has wire on the bottom of it too because Russians like to dig and I don't want to lose him. It is two sections of 8x4 each. We have a heated house in one section for him to go in to warm up on chilly days. He stays in it at night during the winter as well. When it is hot, he prefers his many flower pots.

 

[King Arthur]

Wow, I love it.. I have a room dedicated to my son ball python, my king Arthur and a pet rat.. a sliding glass door to out back (I'm retired) so I have time. I will be working on bigger indoor and will send pick.. I'm afraid to hibernate, is this ok. ?

 

[King Arthur]

Not to hibernate. .

 

[JoesMum]

Brumation is the correct word for hibernation. You don't have to hibernate your tortoise. I did it with Joe every winter for 47 years except one. It isn't as scary as it seems. However, much depends on the climate where you live and whether or not indoor living becomes impractical. A heated shed outside with access to the garden when your tortoise chooses is another option for an adult.

 

[King Arthur]

Ok, great.. I've been reading everysite I can find, only to confuse myself. I appreciate and happy I've joined this forum, I need solid answers to avoid uncertainty. Thank you. [emoji217]

 

[TriciaStringer]

Wow, I love it.. I have a room dedicated to my son ball python, my king Arthur and a pet rat.. a sliding glass door to out back (I'm retired) so I have time. I will be working on bigger indoor and will send pick.. I'm afraid to hibernate, is this ok. ?

I don’t hibernate my adult Russian but I also live in Louisiana. Our winters are mild, high of 71 today. I do provide a basking light for him to use during cold days.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome!