New member :) love tortoises!

[CalzTraineeVN]

I'm callie from Edinburgh Scotland, Trainee Small animals vet nurse and always had a love for tortoises! Iv never had the chance to own my own tortoise due to having a house full of foster/sick animals coming and going. I'm now looking into getting my first horsefield for my birthday next month. Im enjoying studying up a on all things torte. x

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello CallieView attachment ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1439045622.017021.jpg

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Sorry can't send a pic to the TFO. But welcome to the TFO from AZ !

 

[Careym13]

Welcome to TFO!!

 

[Lyn W]

Hi Callie and welcome. There are a few members from Scotland who post regularly here.
This is a great place for information and inspiration, so read, search and ask as many questions as you like,
- its better to get it all right before you have your tort and much easier for you both if you have all the equipment etc in place and have a good idea of what to do.
Looking forward to seeing pics of your new addition when he arrives!

 

[Speedy-1]

Hi and welcome, glad to have you here .

 

[CalzTraineeVN]

Hi everyone.. Iv been wanting to get a horsefield tortoise for many years and have enjoyed learning about them.. I am thinking of adopting this little tortoise but due to the owners being polish I am unable to get as much info as I would like! Only get basic answers if any at all... They say it is a young female about 6cm ? Any ideas of age? They got her from Poland.
She is very active and eats everyday. looks to me like a good, clean tortoise table set up with a UV lamp and heat lamp. reptile water dishes and hides. (Although looks like it may be on some kind of shavings) the veggies,weeds ect they use sound correct. Bit not sure if they feed anything else or use calcium.
I am mainly concerned about the shell... Iv only ever seen horsefields with much darker shells. ? Iv put a pic on for use all to have a look. I'm thinking of going for a visit to have a proper look but not sure what I should look for regarding shell..

Any advice or opinions welcome

 

[CalzTraineeVN]

If any of you have UK gumtree...I noticed She also has an ad on there.. location leith/EDINBURGH with picture of her in her tortoise table

 

[CalzTraineeVN]

Hi guys thank you for the welcome wondering if any of use can give me some help!

I may adopt this little tortoise but I'm unsure as the owners are polish and unable to give me as much info as I would like! They said it's a young female. 6cm. Any idea of age? They said she is very active and eats everyday. She gets some time outdoors when it's a nice day. They feed her dandelions, weeds and some other veggies but not sure if they give other tortoise foods or calcium. Looks like she is in a good clean tortoise table set up with UV lamp and a heating lamp. Using reptile water dishes and hides.. (Although looks like they may use some kind of shavings on floor!) I'm more concerned about the health and shell, I can only get basic answers if any. Iv only ever seen horsefields with much darker shells so I'm wondering what everyone thinks?? I was thinking of going for a visit to look for myself but not sure what to look for regarding shell. X

 

[CalzTraineeVN]

Here she is so cute!

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

Hello
Welcome to the TFO from AZ View attachment ImageUploadedByTortoise Forum1439084424.254358.jpg

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Callie, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum.
Lots of nice Scottish members here.
The tortoise's shell looks good to me, though maybe a bit dry.
It's the brightness of the eye, liveliness and reflexes you need to check though, as well as feeling the weight.
Look at http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
and http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/african-spurred-tortoise-sulcata-care-sheet.52524/
for lots of helpful information.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Callie, and welcome to the Forum!

That really doesn't look like a horsfield's tortoise to me. Looks more like a Graeca. And, even if the breeder incubated the eggs on the high temperature side, you can't know the gender for sure until the tortoise is about 4 or 5 years old.

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yvonne is probably right (as usual), could well be a Greek.
So http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-testudo-graeca-care-sheet-overview.87146/
is worth a look.

 

[Yvonne G]

No, I'm not necessarily correct. The way the Forum's program puts up pictures now makes it hard for me to determine the actual perspective of the subject in the picture. I'm really just guessing. Here's a hatchling Russian:

and here's a hatchling Greek:

It's so hard to tell them apart when they're babies.

 

[CalzTraineeVN]

Thank you everyone for all the advice!! The owners did defo say it's a horsefield but then it's hard to really talk to them so I'm very unsure.. if it is a horsefield and around 6cm do use have any idea of age? They just told he/she was young. I also didn't think you could tell the sex until it's a fair bit bigger/older. I did think the shell looks dry! I asked about soaking the torte but didn't get much response from owner so I'm not sure if they have been or not! X

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

You can't be certain of a tortoises age unless you have the hatch date.
They can grow at wildly varying rates even when brought up in the same conditions.
It's pretty young, but I wouldn't like to hazard a guesstimate.

 

[CalzTraineeVN]

Also iv looked at the tortoise table and looks as if they have been using some kind of shavings on the floor I'm going to ask to go for a visit.. I know what kind of things to look out for regarding eyes and over all health but it's just the shell that worries me!! And what if it is a Graeca and not a horsefield. I can't tell the difference! I know some vets that I work for but they don't specialise in tortoises and are also a bit unsure. x