Tanks Pen (Lots of pictures!) Horsfield tortoise

[Tanksowner]

Hello all, this may be a long post, so, grab the popcorn (or pringles in my case) i have a few issues, lets turn back the clock a little, around 4-5 years ago i purchased tank, the pet shop didn't know the age of the tort, they guessed that it as around 3, it was pretty small and they had it kept in a 1ft by 1ft glass vivarium, like the ones they use for baby bearded dragons, anyway i saved up (around 13 at the time) and i bought him (or her) i got my step dad (who is a joiner) to make around a 2ft x 4ft pen for him, he stayed in that for around 2 years, skip about a year, i notice a little crack in its beak, i rang up a reptile vet and they said, "leave it, and see how he goes on" so i left it, then about a week later, he bit onto a crispy bit of lettuce, that i had just put in his pen so i was watching, he bit, and it bent a little bit of his beak up, well, one whole side of it, this made me panic, like really bad, and because it was like 10pm we had to go to the vets the next day, they took him overnight and "burred" his beak down, (cut it) so now he always looks sad anyway, (in the meantime i got a new en built) the pen now is in the pictures below, how does this suit him? erm, tech specs: solarglo bulb, ceramic heater (incase my room gets exceptionally cold and i have to heat up the table quicker) and that's about it, no ventilation as of yet (i only just found out he could do with this) his diet consists mostly of either lettuce "florette crispy salad" dandelion leaves, or tortoise dry formula (that i soak for him, like mush), i soak him around once a week in a tub, and his water dish is big enough that he can bathe in it, im going to be honest, i have no outdoor pen, and i only take him outside in the summer maybe once a week or two (i let him roam by bedroom freely most days when i get home from work) he stays out for around 1-2 hours while i watch him, (i live in a countryside house, so he can roam fields and stuff) what am i doing wrong? he sometimes sits there and looks like he is really thinking about his life, and it makes me sad ,what can i do better? also, how do i determine weather or not it is a female of male?


About the pictures blow:-

all but one are the current pen and him, to the day, (ignore the cardboard hide, it is an experiment as it is usually open plan, if he enjoys it, i will make it out of wood (with an opening roof for cleaning, something a little odd, when his light is on, he stays away from it like he is afraid of the dark in there, but when i turned his light off, he went straight in?)

and the picture where he is in the bath, i took a while ago, i was just washing the dirt off him (i soaked him as well)


so i ask, what can i do to make his (of hers) life more enjoyable? (the use of an outdoor permanent enclosure i don't think is possible, as we live in the countryside we get badgers, foxes, we have a number of cats, and just loads of wildlife that could harm him, bear in mind i have no where to put one!

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

Nice

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum, Tanksowner!

You asked what you're doing wrong and the thing that pops out at me is the broken beak. In my opinion, this happened due to a lack of calcium/vitamin D3. Its too late in the year now to worry about an outside pen, but you really, really need to be thinking about it for next year. He needs the sun. The REAL sun. He also needs a lot of room to roam. If you're worried about vermin getting to him, then bring him in every night.

(M-m-m-m-m....sour cream Pringles! My favorite!)

 

[mainey34]

I have to agree with Yvonne. He needs sun. Does he get humidity? And or soaks?

 

[jessrich87]

Nice looking pen! I agree about more sun. I live in the country as well, so I built a little pen with a screen top. I just leave him out there about an hour or so a day when the weather is right. But it sounds like you are doing well with him. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Tanksowner]

I have to agree with Yvonne. He needs sun. Does he get humidity? And or soaks?

No and yes, he gets soaks around once a week and his water dish is big enough for him to fully sit in, and inst the pen suppose to be dry and arid with a horsfiled? not humid?