GentlemanScarecrow
New Member
Hey, so I've been a tortoise owner for years now, but I'm concerned that I'm not taking good enough care of my tortoise.
My tortoise is a yellowfoot and I named her Tortellini, Lini for short. I got her in 2014 I think. When I got her she was 12 years old, so she's like 19 now. At the time she wound up living at my dad's place and he took care of her most of the time. Eventually I got her back and I've been worried that I'm just not good at giving consistent care to a pet.
So, the people at the store I got her from let her run around the shop all the time, so she's been used to spending time outside of her enclosure from the beginning. This means that whenever I do put her inside her enclosure to get UV light and heat all she does is try to get out. This is very loud and keeps me up all night, so I basically don't ever put her in there. I know that's a problem, but I live in a small apartment in the city and I make sure there's nothing on the floor so that it's safe for her to roam around.
I feed her maybe a few times a week, maybe more or less often, because whenever I try to feed her every day, she just doesn't eat most of it and I end up wasting food and money. When I first got her, the people at the pet store told me to feed her every other day. When I checked in with them a long time later (when I got her back), they told me to feed her every day, but maybe they didn't realize my tortoise wasn't a baby and doesn't need as much food? I don't know for sure, but if someone could help me understand I'd appreciate it.
Anyways, she's a handful, but I love her and she's adorable. I'm at the point where I need to decide if I wanna keep her or give her back to the store I got her from or give her to someone who can take better care of her. Any advice would be deeply appreciated because this has been eating away at me.
My tortoise is a yellowfoot and I named her Tortellini, Lini for short. I got her in 2014 I think. When I got her she was 12 years old, so she's like 19 now. At the time she wound up living at my dad's place and he took care of her most of the time. Eventually I got her back and I've been worried that I'm just not good at giving consistent care to a pet.
So, the people at the store I got her from let her run around the shop all the time, so she's been used to spending time outside of her enclosure from the beginning. This means that whenever I do put her inside her enclosure to get UV light and heat all she does is try to get out. This is very loud and keeps me up all night, so I basically don't ever put her in there. I know that's a problem, but I live in a small apartment in the city and I make sure there's nothing on the floor so that it's safe for her to roam around.
I feed her maybe a few times a week, maybe more or less often, because whenever I try to feed her every day, she just doesn't eat most of it and I end up wasting food and money. When I first got her, the people at the pet store told me to feed her every other day. When I checked in with them a long time later (when I got her back), they told me to feed her every day, but maybe they didn't realize my tortoise wasn't a baby and doesn't need as much food? I don't know for sure, but if someone could help me understand I'd appreciate it.
Anyways, she's a handful, but I love her and she's adorable. I'm at the point where I need to decide if I wanna keep her or give her back to the store I got her from or give her to someone who can take better care of her. Any advice would be deeply appreciated because this has been eating away at me.