Rosie wags her tail!

[RosieAndJim]

Hello everyone!

Im new to the forum, and so is Rosie, she's a one year old european horse field tortoise and loves to play in the garden. Iv'e had experience with tortoise before (dad has an 80 y/o spur fly!) but i still have lots of questions.

Firstly, i notice Rosie wags her tail now and then, usually when shes out and about exploring something new, does this mean shes happy? or am i just personalising a reptile??

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Yvonne G]

Hello everyone!

Im new to the forum, and so is Rosie, she's a one year old european horse field tortoise and loves to play in the garden. Iv'e had experience with tortoise before (dad has an 80 y/o spur fly!) but i still have lots of questions.

Firstly, i notice Rosie wags her tail now and then, usually when shes out and about exploring something new, does this mean shes happy? or am i just personalising a reptile??

Thanks!

Jim

Sometimes when they get ready to poop they will swish their tail back and forth. You might want to keep an eye on that to be sure that Rosie isn't constipated. Also, I think what your dad had was a spur thigh.

Yvonne

 

[janiedough]

lol - no no - it was a spur fly!

 

[TestudoGeek]

lol - no no - it was a spur fly!

LOL

80 y/o tort?! wow...

 

[RosieAndJim]

Thanks guys ^ ^

and yeah, must be a spur thigh lol, it belonged to my nan a long long time ago.

I bought Rosie from a friend of a friend and noticed her first wee was like bird poo - is this an indication she had protein in her diet? its since been normal, id like to get her diet perfect at this young age you see

thanks again!

Jim

 

[Crazy1]

Welcome to the forum Jim and of course Rosie,
Torts often have wee that looks a little like bird poo. the white stuff is urates its a way of them getting rid of the waste and often it may have some brown poo in it too. Here is a site that gives lots of info on your tort. Regarding diet and habitat setup etc.
http://www.russiantortoise.net/care_sheet.htm
Glad to see you with us here and keep those questions coming, thats how we all learn.

 

[RosieAndJim]

Sometimes when they get ready to poop they will swish their tail back and forth. You might want to keep an eye on that to be sure that Rosie isn't constipated. Also, I think what your dad had was a spur thigh.

Yvonne

Shes pretty regular at the moment, she goes a few times a day which can be an issue when shes roaming around my bedroom lol. I love to let her out and about, right now shes out in the garden enclosure which is fine, but when its cold and shes inside i find im following her with a poopa scoopa! has anyone solved this problem? im considering tiling my place with news paper :/

and thanks Crazy1! i needed a good site - will check it out right away

Jim

 

[Yvonne G]

but when its cold and shes inside i find im following her with a poopa scoopa! has anyone solved this problem?

Jim

The way most of us solve this problem is to not let them wander around the house. If you were to take your clothes off and lay down on the floor you would see how cold it feels to your 98.6 degree body. The tortoise doesn't have the benefit of a built-in heater like you do. It takes its heat from the environment. Besides the dust bunnies, hair and whatever else he might find to eat on the floor, its just not a good idea to allow the tortoise free-range on the floor of the house. They feel more comfortable and secure in some sort of habitat that you set up for them...with a light for warmth and a hiding place.

Yvonne

 

[RosieAndJim]

Ok, ill keep that in mind,
thanks yvonne!