Tortoise Illnesses

[Waffle_L]

I'm going to be using an outdoor enclosure soon for my tortoise, and I was wondering what kind of diseases he could contact outdoors. Until now he's spent most of his time indoors, but occasionally when the weather's nice and sunny he'll go out for an hour or so. My concerns are that I live in a very wet and generally miserable part of the UK, and having a literal 100% grass garden could lead to problems. Unless the grass is dry I don't let him out, because with my limited knowledge tortoises can pick up parasites or diseases. I don't know, I'm such a novice But is there any precautions I should take? I don't know if I should be concerned about anything.

Thanks for reading,
Charlotte

 

[Hakz]

If you're going to make an outdoor home make sure that it doesn't frost and that you have a secure enclosure.​

 

[Hakz]

This is my Russian tortoise. Relatively warm weather in western Wisconsin, United States. His names Thor! Good luck with your tortoise

 

[Waffle_L]

Thanks for your advice. Aw he's gorgeous! I'd show you mine but my phone's playing up at the moment, making the camera really faulty. Thor's so lucky! Marty always gets really grumpy with the damp weather. I think he's pretty desperate for a bit of sun I'll send a pic as soon as my phone is fixed. Thanks and good luck with Thor!

 

[Hakz]

Just a quick question... What do you feed Marty? I feed Thor a mixed diet of grass, weeds, dandelions, and standard lettuce.... Good luck with your phone by the way!

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Just a quick question... What do you feed Marty? I feed Thor a mixed diet of grass, weeds, dandelions, and standard lettuce.... Good luck with your phone by the way!

If you are feeding iceberg lettuce, it's mostly water & not nutritious. Other lettuces are better.

 

[Hakz]

It's not iceberg lettuce! I know that iceberg lettuce does not have nutritional value for tortoises. I give him a diet of darker lettuces. I use a 50 gallon rubber maid tub for his enclosure but I will upgrade when he's at least 5 inches.