Please! I need help!

SJONA

New Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2018
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Hello! I am Jona, and I live here in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
My gave us 2 tortoise last month May 03,2018.
They are so cute and adorable,but I didn't know its gender or breed or where is it came from or what kind of tortoise are they. They're actually going to throw them out because they are going to leave Saudi Arabia and going back home to the Philippines so I keep them.
We gave them their names the smaller one is Keith and the other is Myeth. We only gave them a lettuce as their food.
(we doesn't know any).

Sadly Keith died yesterday morning. Before it died, it has cold, and Keith is having a hard time breathing and wheezing. :(:( Poor Keith cause we didn't know any vet here in Riyadh its kinda hot in here (summer).

Can someone please help me.
I wanna know more about how can I take care of Myeth. I dont even know if Myeth can swim. I have actually zero knowledge of having a pet like them. But still I want to keep Myeth.

Can Myeth try another food than lettuce?
How much water can Myeth drink?
We used wood shaving in its cage that we bought in a pet shop instead of grass. Because thats what those people in the pet shop said and they dont have grass. FB_IMG_1528063249127.jpg FB_IMG_1528063283049.jpg FB_IMG_1528063265621.jpg
 

crimson_lotus

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
1,385
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Hi there,

they look like greek tortoises to me. Sorry to hear that the smaller one had already passed!

Can we see how you are housing them? What are the temperatures in their enclosure? Do you use heat lamps or UV lighting?

It sounds like the other guy has a respiratory infection which can be caused by cold temperatures, so the above information would be critical. The bedding in your first picture looks incredibly dry as well, and babies need a warm/moist environment to thrive.

Here is a care sheet you should look over as soon as possible! Food needs to be changed and varied as well.

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-testudo-graeca-care-sheet-overview.87146/
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,655
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I believe they are Greek or hermanns. @HermanniChris can ID for sure.
Those wood chips aren't the best. Get some dirt from your yard if it hasn't been treated with any chemicals.
Lettuce is not a good food. Look on this site enclosed here to find safe foods you have where you are https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/
Get the tortoise warm 85F if you think it's sink. Soak in warm water every day and have water to drink available 24/7. It needs a uvb light or sunlight 4-5 times a week at least with shade available, but while it's sick he sure the temp isn't lower then 85F
 

ascott

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
16,138
Location (City and/or State)
Apple Valley, California
Hello! I am Jona, and I live here in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
My gave us 2 tortoise last month May 03,2018.
They are so cute and adorable,but I didn't know its gender or breed or where is it came from or what kind of tortoise are they. They're actually going to throw them out because they are going to leave Saudi Arabia and going back home to the Philippines so I keep them.
We gave them their names the smaller one is Keith and the other is Myeth. We only gave them a lettuce as their food.
(we doesn't know any).

Sadly Keith died yesterday morning. Before it died, it has cold, and Keith is having a hard time breathing and wheezing. :(:( Poor Keith cause we didn't know any vet here in Riyadh its kinda hot in here (summer).

Can someone please help me.
I wanna know more about how can I take care of Myeth. I dont even know if Myeth can swim. I have actually zero knowledge of having a pet like them. But still I want to keep Myeth.

Can Myeth try another food than lettuce?
How much water can Myeth drink?
We used wood shaving in its cage that we bought in a pet shop instead of grass. Because thats what those people in the pet shop said and they dont have grass. View attachment 240824 View attachment 240825 View attachment 240826


Are you keeping the tortoise in that plastic container with wood shavings that is showing in the pic? If you are, then that other tortoise will not do well either....these are animals that live on the dirt...not wood shavings. It also needs a place to bask in warmth as well as a place to cool a place to eat a place to drink a place to sleep....all of this has to be provided in the same enclosure/yard.

What type of yard or outdoor space do you have that you can create a more natural safe and secure area for the remaining tortoise?
 

Millerlite

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
2,670
Location (City and/or State)
Southern Calif.
These are greek tortoises. They need heat and UVB and warmer temperatures. Let us know more about how you are housing and diet, temps etc.. If you google greek tortoise care sheet that will pull some up. ALso the greek section on this forum you can read through it has tons of info. and probably questions with answers you might have.

Kyle
 

daniellenc

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2017
Messages
2,084
Location (City and/or State)
Maryland
A vet visit may be in order for antibiotics. Without them that little guy may not make it.
 

SJONA

New Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2018
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Riyadh Saudi Arabia
Thank you guys for all your response. We are in a dessert. And it's hot in here. If we did not use the aircon it feels like were in a sauna. Sometimes we let them walk in our roof top for about 20-30 minutes. We don't have the UV lights or any other things for them. We soak them for about 5 minutes everyday. We dont know any vet.

Its 9:15 am here and its like 102F.
And yes! They are in a plastic container, thats what we use for them to bath. Do you think a garden soil is good for Myeth?
Because we dont have yard here in a dessert.
 

Via Infinito

Active Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2017
Messages
115
Location (City and/or State)
Viet Nam
Okie, let's make it concise:
1) 16C - 37C temperature range, it needs 32C and above to absorb food.
2) needs plain soil, or coco coir, or mixed of both as subtrate.
3). UVA and UVB lighting needs to be provided.
4) If you don't provide UVA & UVB, u need to bask them in natural sun. But not in direct sun. They need both shade and direct sun that they can move in and out of. Direct sunning for too long can overheat them and they can die. This needs to be a bit longer, like 1-2 hours a day.
5) lots of veggies mixed. Lettuce doesn't have any nutritional value, it's mostly just water.
6) use lots of egg shells, boiled or baked them in 20 minutes then put them in your blender. They will blend it til the egg shells become powder. That's calcium powder right there. Sprinkle a pinch everyday on their food, not a lot just a pinch.
7) If you can, get mazuri or tortoise food pellet for them as well.
8) Provide a shallow bowl of water in the enclosure. Give them daily bath for 20 minutes every day.
9) Need to check the other tortoise carefully, maybe contact local vet.
10) Maybe when u can afford, set up a bigger enclosure
 

JoesMum

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 26, 2011
Messages
21,610
Location (City and/or State)
Kent, South East England
Thank you guys for all your response. We are in a dessert. And it's hot in here. If we did not use the aircon it feels like were in a sauna. Sometimes we let them walk in our roof top for about 20-30 minutes. We don't have the UV lights or any other things for them. We soak them for about 5 minutes everyday. We dont know any vet.

Its 9:15 am here and its like 102F.
And yes! They are in a plastic container, thats what we use for them to bath. Do you think a garden soil is good for Myeth?
Because we dont have yard here in a dessert.

Regardless of what you need, your tort must have warmth in order to be able to bask and that basking is essential for your tort to be healthy, active and to be able to digest food.

Your tort needs a basking lamp hanging vertically above its enclosure which has a temperature of 30-35C directly underneath. Measure this using a temperature gun type thermometer like this... they’re easily bought online. If it is sick then the ambient (general air) temperature must be increased to 30C.
D502BB2C-3DDC-4A46-805D-2AAD8854D9CE-6312-000005BCA8429E5E_tmp.jpg

Aircon is dehydrating as well as cooling. Your tort must be soaked for at least 20 minutes in warm water at least once every day. @Gillian Moore is one of our members who lives in Jordan and she soaks her Greek two-three times a day. @tidgy’s dad is in Morocco and does likewise.

UVB light is essential for your tort so that it can make its own Vitamin D which it uses to take up calcium from its diet. Greeks don’t seem to be able to process Vitamin D as a dietary supplement, so UVB from the sun or a specialist reptile lamp is essential.

UVB passes through cloud, but not through window glass. Your tort must go outside properly to get UVB from the sun. Your roof sounds fine, but not at the hottest part of the day. Thirty minutes a day (when the sun is lower in the sky on very hot days) with deep shade available so your tort can avoid searing heat if it chooses will do the job. Use the the temperature gun to check temperatures at tort level on your roof - they are frequently MUCH hotter than the advertised air temperature in your weather forecast. You do need to be cautious about cooking your tort!
 

Big Charlie

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2015
Messages
2,801
Location (City and/or State)
California
Welcome! If there is a garden center, you can buy some dirt for a substrate. Make sure it doesn't have those white things that absorb water in it. Coco coir or fine orchid bark are best. You can get it wet so it will provide humidity for your tortoise. Frequent soakings in warm water are good. If you want to put your tortoise in the sun, do it early in the morning when it isn't as hot. When I lived in Riyadh, I did all kinds of outdoor activities early in the morning, then spent the rest of the day inside in the air conditioning. If you are keeping the tortoise indoors, you'll need to provide heat, or shelter him from the cold air conditioning. I don't think a vet will help as I doubt there are any in Riyadh that would have the knowledge to help you.
 
Top