Rescued Herman’s Tortoise help & advice please

Neil W

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My vet does exotics , but if I had a serious problem I would take him downtown to an animal hospital that does exotic. They ship out the poop out to get tested.

I have one of each an Eastern and a Western. I was confused with my eastern, I thought he could be a Dalmatian. I was wrong. Take pictures of the top of her shell and the tummy, so the band's can be seen.

ive attached some photos, let me know your thoughts
 

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Neil W

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The smaller one is Gilbert my Western, and Miss.Dexter Persimmons is my rescued Eastern Hermann. Yes there is a barrier between them they never saw each other. Gilbert is 3 yrs. Old and Miss. Dexter Persimmons is about 5 years old. View attachment 297603
They are huge! They look very healthy as well, stunning.
 

Neil W

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The smaller one is Gilbert my Western, and Miss.Dexter Persimmons is my rescued Eastern Hermann. Yes there is a barrier between them they never saw each other. Gilbert is 3 yrs. Old and Miss. Dexter Persimmons is about 5 years old. View attachment 297603
Looking at the picture I would say Shelly is a western wouldn’t you agree?
 

method89

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I would strongly recommend that you do NOT put earthworms in her soil. The reason for this is because of the soil itself.

Soil that is commercially available is made of composted greenery of any kind. You have no way to know what's in it...toxic plants or trees, chemicals from yard care, etc. Also, soil is an impaction risk if Shelly eats it. She would eat a bunch of it eating worms.

It sounds like you may be adding too much calcium to her diet. Calcium is necessary for torts for their shells and bones, but too much inhibits the absorption of other minerals. She should only get a small pinch of it 2x/week.

Along with the absorption issue, far more fault for pyramiding was a dry start when she was a hatchling. At this point in her life, the only thing you can do about pyramiding is make sure new growth comes in smooth. The damage that is already done cannot be undone.

The ping pong ball, though cute to watch, has nothing to do with play. Tortoises don't play. The ball is perceived by the tort as an intruder in its territory. Intruders are to be driven out, so he pushes (bullies) the ball. Instead of playing, "toys" are stressing the tortoise.

The foods being fed above are not good for tortoises. They need lots of fiber and moderate plant protein. Most tortoise species do not have the ability in their guts to process sugars. In fact, too much sugar can mess up their GI tract and make them quite ill. A tiny slice of strawberry or melon can be given as a rare treat once a month, but why? Most torts love safe flowers, so give a hibiscus flower, or some rose petals, or something else that's good that she doesn't get often.

Please read the care sheet I linked in post # 2. Shelly has had a terrible life so far. I know you really love her, so read that and learn what's good for her and what isn't.

Here is a very long list of good tortoise foods. Something in it will make an excellent treat.

Compiled by Tom: Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium. You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets. Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. Mulberry leaves Grape vine leaves Hibiscus leaves African hibiscus leaves Blue hibiscus leaves Rose of Sharon leaves Rose leaves Geraniums Gazanias Nasturtium Lavatera Pansies Petunias Hostas Honeysuckle Cape honeysuckle Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc... Young spineless opuntia cactus pads Weeds: There are soooooooo many... Dandelion Mallow Filaree Smooth Sow thistle Prickly Sow thistle Milk thistle Goat head weed Cats ear Nettles Trefoil Wild onion Wild mustard Wild Garlic Clovers Broadleaf plantain Narrow leaf plantain Chick weed Hawksbit Hensbit Hawksbeard Other good stuff: "Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html Homegrown alfalfa Mazuri Tortoise Chow ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food Ones that you can buy in every store: Arugula Lambs lettuce Chicory Kale Mustard greens Organic kohlrabi leafs Organic carrot leafs Organic radish leafs Dandelions Radiccio Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!
Respectfully, this is the only post I've seen in this thread that is providing accurate info
 

Ink

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I am not sure. Hopefully an expert on the forum can tell you. Cute tortoise and just follow the care sheet information and he will be fine.
 

TammyJ

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Respectfully, this is the only post I've seen in this thread that is providing accurate info
KarenSoCal certainly does know what she is talking about! But I guess others are trying to help too as much as they can, right or wrong.
 

Ink

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Can you tell if it looks like a boy or girl yet? Just curious
 

KarenSoCal

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if it does continue to go well with Shelly I may be interested in getting another one,

? ??


 

Neil W

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? ??



Lol I didn’t mean together!
 

kcrisci

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Hi There Neil, I rescued a Hermanns that looked quite a bit like your Shelly. He loves life though now, after eating a good diet. No tomatoes or cucumbers, but dandelions and Mazuri Tortoise food. Also sprinkle calcium once a week.
He especially LOVES getting out in the sun during the summer to graze. In the winter, we buy Spring Mix for him with no spinach. Only feed her greens and or mazuri ....
As long as she has a Hide, and water, and proper light and warmth..... she will grow and become healthier every day!
 

DesertGirl

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Hi sure!

she was about 2 and a half years old when I got her, I had a friend who had her from a baby she was the size of a 50 pence piece, unfortunately they did not research how to look after her properly. They moved her enclosure to the garage as there grandmother was dying and they did not want shelly in the same room as her. Towards the end of them having her, her uvb bulb had broken so she only had the light from her heat bulb ( she could have been like this for more then a month in it sure) when I went to visit I noticed that you could see her shell moving with her breathing which is obviously not good at all, so I went and brought the correct lighting for her. about a month later after there grandmother passed away they wanted to go on holiday and asked if I could look after her for them. Obviously I agreed but when they came back I ha ld grown so attached to her and after the work I had put in with her, I refused to give her back lol.

I problem I have now is working out if she is healthy or not as I have no comparison , please see the pics attached, I will do anything that is recommended as I am constantly changing her enclosure to try and make it better for her.

I have attached a few photos of her and what the enclosure looks like now, just remember I have had to take most of the decor out to make sure he does not flip over.

I also have a rankins dragon called Larry in a viv above her but that’s another rescue story lolView attachment 297572View attachment 297577View attachment 297571
Love the little hill. She will enjoy that. Beautiful little girl.
 

Neil W

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Love the little hill. She will enjoy that. Beautiful little girl.

Ah thanks, She does enjoy it, I have changed her tank around about 1000 times now but she seems to like the hills, it’s just cork bark underneath with soil on top so if she wants to dig under she can :)
 

newCH

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I don't do social media either !
That was very nice of you to save her from the garage.
You have enhanced her life tremendously !
Love that you named her Shelly !
I have a Sheldon !
 

Chefdenoel10

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Hi sure!

she was about 2 and a half years old when I got her, I had a friend who had her from a baby she was the size of a 50 pence piece, unfortunately they did not research how to look after her properly. They moved her enclosure to the garage as there grandmother was dying and they did not want shelly in the same room as her. Towards the end of them having her, her uvb bulb had broken so she only had the light from her heat bulb ( she could have been like this for more then a month in it sure) when I went to visit I noticed that you could see her shell moving with her breathing which is obviously not good at all, so I went and brought the correct lighting for her. about a month later after there grandmother passed away they wanted to go on holiday and asked if I could look after her for them. Obviously I agreed but when they came back I ha ld grown so attached to her and after the work I had put in with her, I refused to give her back lol.

I problem I have now is working out if she is healthy or not as I have no comparison , please see the pics attached, I will do anything that is recommended as I am constantly changing her enclosure to try and make it better for her.

I have attached a few photos of her and what the enclosure looks like now, just remember I have had to take most of the decor out to make sure he does not flip over.

I also have a rankins dragon called Larry in a viv above her but that’s another rescue story lolView attachment 297572View attachment 297577View attachment 297571
What a cutie!!!!! Look at that little face!!!
 

Neil W

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I don't do social media either !
That was very nice of you to save her from the garage.
You have enhanced her life tremendously !
Love that you named her Shelly !
I have a Sheldon !

Sheldon was my back up name if I ever found out she was a boy haha love it
 

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