New tortoise owner here

[Blackdog1714]

Thank you, are you uk based? Do you find you can grow enough flowers/weeds to fulfill their diet requirements? Or where is the best place to get stuff during winter

NO. Virginia, USA. For my my Russian and my Leopard I find that spring/summer/fall I can feed from foraging for weeds, hibiscus, honeysuckle, grape leaves, and mulberry leaves. I suppose when I sell my house the next owner is gonna have to cut down a ton of weeds, bushes and trees. As it stands now I should have 5 hibiscus starts (3 foot tall) to plant along the edge in my Leopards new outdoor enclosure. Sadly winter in VA is cold enough to stop the growth of most of the foods I use. So I get dried weed packs and grass pellets from Kapidolo Farms and add mazuri. The international market near me is good for dandelions, cactus, and some greens

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome, have you found the caresheet for Russians yet in the species specific section? That will be a great help to you.

When you get the coco coir either bake it in the oven or use boiling water to expand it. That way you won't get overrun with any bugs that may come with the coir. Some people also use orchid bark with it.

It's difficult here finding weeds in the winter. I use a mixed leaf salad bag from Aldi (light green packaging) which has a good mix of leaves as a base and add things like lambs lettuce (Sainsbury), pak choi, romaine, kale etc.to add variety (not all at the same time) but see www.thetortoisetable.org.uk for ideas for other safe foods. I always soak the leaves to rehydrate them before serving up and remove any white and stalky bits which don't have any nutrional value. Cucumber has a laxative effect and fruit and tomatoes etc have sugars which torts can't deal with. Think of the shell as an upturned bowl and feed that much but if she wants more add more and if he leaves some feed less - let her be your guide.

You could sink 2 terracotta plant saucers in the substrate, one for food and the other for water (if it's big enough she may self soak in it too).

Very handy being a carpenter as I'm sure in time you'll be able to give a lovely des res!!

 

[Lyn W]

p.s ........and avoid any cfl or coiled type bulbs which seem to very common here in the UK as these have been found to damage tort eyes.

 

[Yossarian]

Also I will ask she hasn't been eating much at all. I've been putting a fresh sod of cress in every other day and giving her kale and rocket and a tiny bit off bell pepper but she doesn't seem to be into it. I've also been sprinkling a small amount of calcium powder on her greens too

Salad cress isn’t great for them, don’t continue feeding that, same with the bell pepper.

Rocket is ok for them but my tort doesn’t eat it, doesn’t like it.

From shops in the UK you can buy Lambs Lettuce (in salad bags), watercress, kale, pak choy, corgette, and cucumber. Lambs lettuce is a suitable staple and should be the primary food.

 

[Helazbee]

Ok thats a great help thank you. Would that be whole cucumber and courgette or just the peels?

 

[Maggie3fan]

Yea I was going to put some visqueen in there when I swap the substrate over

I probably the only person in the world who does not know what "visqueen" is, even google doesn't know. Anyhow, I staple a shower curtain liner in my tort tables

 

[Lyn W]

Ok thats a great help thank you. Would that be whole cucumber and courgette or just the peels?

Fome what I've read over the years here, I don't think cucumber has a lot of nutritonal value but is great for hydration and has a laxative effect so it's probably not something that should be a staple. I also read somewhere a while ago that the skin and seeds should not be fed so I only use the flesh. Chunks of it could be a choking hazard so I use fine slithers or grate it to a mush when I do use it. Check the tortoise table link I gave you for other ideas.

 

[Yossarian]

I probably the only person in the world who does not know what "visqueen" is, even google doesn't know. Anyhow, I staple a shower curtain liner in my tort tables

In the UK it is an old school term for heavy duty plastic sheeting. It is the name of the company that used to sell it.

Visqueen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

@Lyn W your right, I normally dont mention cucumber because its more of a treat than a regular food but he does like it, I know it lacks nutritional value but is good hydration, and certainly isnt something a wild testudo would get. I dont peel it, have never had an issue and wasnt aware it could be a choking hazard. I also cut it into strips so they are not huge chunks.

 

[Yossarian]

Ok thats a great help thank you. Would that be whole cucumber and courgette or just the peels?

Dont get stuck on those two, they are the two least often fed on that list. My guy only gets them a couple times a month, 99% of his diet is greens. I just cut them up so that the tort can eat them, long strips seem to work well for the way that the torts eat and use their legs.

 

[zolasmum]

Welcome from Devon. My tortoise, Zola, very much likes radicchio - it is on the chart Blackdog posted - it is generally only available here in little bits in mixed salad bags,which go brown and dry, but I order 2 or 3 whole heads at once from a local greengrocer's shop,and it keeps for ages (several weeks) in the fridge - I just give him a leaf or two at a time - it looks like red cabbage, but I think it is related to chicory .It is Zola's favourite food.

 

[Helazbee]

Thanks for all the info guys. Got a bit to work with now thank you

 

[Maggie3fan]

Welcome from Devon. My tortoise, Zola, very much likes radicchio - it is on the chart Blackdog posted - it is generally only available here in little bits in mixed salad bags,which go brown and dry, but I order 2 or 3 whole heads at once from a local greengrocer's shop,and it keeps for ages (several weeks) in the fridge - I just give him a leaf or two at a time - it looks like red cabbage, but I think it is related to chicory .It is Zola's favourite food.

I have a tortoise that loves radicchio as well...

 

[Helazbee]

I have a tortoise that loves radicchio as well...

I shall go to our local one tomorrow and see what they can do. Thank you

 

[zolasmum]

 

[Lyn W]

@Lyn W your right, I normally dont mention cucumber because its more of a treat than a regular food but he does like it, I know it lacks nutritional value but is good hydration, and certainly isnt something a wild testudo would get. I dont peel it, have never had an issue and wasnt aware it could be a choking hazard. I also cut it into strips so they are not huge chunks.
[/QUOTE]
Since reading a story posted here a while ago as a warning to us all about a larger tortoise who choked on a chunk of carrot and died (can't remember if it was a sully or an aldabra) I am always wary about chunks of anything, especially if it's something they wouldn't naturally find to eat. Better safe than sorry I think.

 

[Lyn W]

I shall go to our local one tomorrow and see what they can do. Thank you

Did you see my earlier post about the bags of mixed leaf salad in Aldi? (57p) Lidl also do a resonable mixed crispy leaf bag.
They have radiccio in them as well as others like red and green multileaf and batavia . I find they keep pretty well and only go brown if they are too far past the use by date but I don't feed anything more than a day later than that so not had that problem. Removing from the bags and storing them in plastic storage boxes in the fridge also helps.
I think radiccio should only be fed in moderation and is ok as part of a varied diet.
(see www.thetortoisetable.org.uk)
My tort loves it too but he only has a small amount in his mix daily.
Other 'better' leaves in salad bags include frisee and escarole.
Florette Classic crispy, and Saisbury mixed leaf salad bags have a good mix but at about £1 -£1.50 a bag can be pretty expensive.

 

[Lyn W]

Ok ill look into sorting something bigger later in the year. I'm a carpenter so I can build her something larger. How wet does the wet compacted substrate be? I have been spraying the current substrate every couple of hours with a spraying bottle to keep humidy around 60%

Make sure you get the temps right with the humidity because a good tip that was passed on to me was
right temps +humid = healthy tort
too cold + humid = sick tort

What are you using for UVB?

 

[Helazbee]

Currently using a heat uva uvb d3 basking bulb. Also my partner shops in aldi at least once every week so I should be OK with what I can get from the plus subsidise from the greengrocers/other supermarkets.

I am changing the substrate tomorrow when I have finished work and bought something I can use as a liner. Temps range from 19°c at night through to 25°c ambient temperature to 35°c under bulb. Humidity at the moment is roughly kept at 60% with spraying every couple of hours but I am changing my sandy substrate to some coco coir which I have already prepped and soaked which is sitting at room temperature ready to go. She seems to like the sphagnum moss I have put in her hide none seems to have been eaten and this is keeping hide humidity around 90%

 

[SasquatchTortoise]

Currently using a heat uva uvb d3 basking bulb. Also my partner shops in aldi at least once every week so I should be OK with what I can get from the plus subsidise from the greengrocers/other supermarkets.

I am changing the substrate tomorrow when I have finished work and bought something I can use as a liner. Temps range from 19°c at night through to 25°c ambient temperature to 35°c under bulb. Humidity at the moment is roughly kept at 60% with spraying every couple of hours but I am changing my sandy substrate to some coco coir which I have already prepped and soaked which is sitting at room temperature ready to go. She seems to like the sphagnum moss I have put in her hide none seems to have been eaten and this is keeping hide humidity around 90%

I'm not sure about that light. Let's see if we can get more information. @Tom

 

[Helazbee]

This is the light I was told to get for her