What do you do with your tortoises when your on vacation, or going to be away for a while?
Vacations-The torts...?
- Thread starter SpazzyArtist
- Start date
- Status
My Mom comes over to feed our torts, cats and many fish. If it weren't for my Mom, I'd ask the one neighbor we truly trust.
I went to Costa Rica for a week this summer and my old roommate came over to feed Nelson once a day. She lives about 5-10 minutes away.
I was lucky because she was also watching my dogs so she had to come over several times a day for them, and then she could check to make sure little Nelson was okay
(I am a paranoid first-time parent, ha)
If she couldn't have done it, I would asked a neighbor that I trust. And left very specific directions!
eta: When I go on a trip without the family then my sister takes care of Nelson for me.
I was lucky because she was also watching my dogs so she had to come over several times a day for them, and then she could check to make sure little Nelson was okay
(I am a paranoid first-time parent, ha)If she couldn't have done it, I would asked a neighbor that I trust. And left very specific directions!
eta: When I go on a trip without the family then my sister takes care of Nelson for me.
I turn all lights off, heat off, and let them rest for the time I'm gone. I have gone on vacation upto a week with no problems. I figure in the wild there could be bad weather when it is to cool for the tortoises to come out to eat so I try to duplicate these conditions. I have never had any problems and I don't have to rely on someone else. I trust my tortoises more then I trust other people when my tortoises are involved.
How long is your vacation? The safest way is to have someone else to watch them. This topic has been discussed many times before, and in my opinion the risk is not depriving your tortoises from food or water for a period of time, but more if they tripped themselves upside down and cannot turn back up, then they may die of stress.
agiletorts said:
I'm leaving for a week... thanks for the info though! Helpful!
I think a couple of days with a 2 water dishes and food left around for them to eat should be fine. But not more becuase of poop build up. In the wild they can just walk away from their poop. But in their enclosure it is there no matter what, there is no rain to wash it off either.
If its no more than 3 nights (I give lots of food on the day I leave so he has some left the next day, although a bit crunchy, then one day no food like would happen in the wild anyways, and then I feed the day I get back), I leave my tort at home alone now that I feel safe doing so (not when he was tiny and flipping over sometimes). More than that (leaving Saturday on my second long trip since I've had him, first time not reachable by phone though) and I take him to a friend's house. I don't have anyone too close to me (this friend is 15 minutes away, so a bit much to make a trip once a day) so I just take a travel tub and everything over (food in daily baggies to go in the fridge, light on timer, etc).
I have a one page care sheet that is overly simplified from what I'd normally do (I have less food variety, no soaks, and no supplements). Giving too many instructions will tend to lead to things getting left out or the caretaker being overwhelmed. It has a list of stuff to do daily (like feed, pick up poop, change water), a list of emergency contact info like his vet (if you aren't going to be reachable by phone, explain more about to what lengths you'd go to save your torts life, etc), and a list of things that I know are normal for him but the new caretaker wouldn't know (like sometimes he skips a day of food, makes certain noises, etc), so they don't worry. If you are gone longer than the food you give to feed will last (I make a baggie for each day), then give a list of what they can buy to feed, again, overly simplified (for a few days I'm fine with my tort being fed romaine if that is the easiest thing and least likely to get messed up). If you have some older neighbor kid come over, make sure the parents remind them to do it. I will give my friend a bit of cash and a thank you note as a nice gesture for watching him, but not so much money that they would think to refuse it. I will even have an extra bulb in the kit. I will check the temps and such when I do the set up so that doesn't have to be messed with either.
For a week I'd either have someone come over daily or take a portable set up to someone's house. Choose someone you trust. Very few times is it ever a good idea to take the tort with you. An example of a good time is a long duration trip that is close to your house that you are driving and staying in one spot (like a two hour drive to stay at a relative's house for 1-2 weeks), where the car ride wouldn't be that stressful and you can take all the gear, and you taking the tort might be less stress/risk than leaving it.
I have a one page care sheet that is overly simplified from what I'd normally do (I have less food variety, no soaks, and no supplements). Giving too many instructions will tend to lead to things getting left out or the caretaker being overwhelmed. It has a list of stuff to do daily (like feed, pick up poop, change water), a list of emergency contact info like his vet (if you aren't going to be reachable by phone, explain more about to what lengths you'd go to save your torts life, etc), and a list of things that I know are normal for him but the new caretaker wouldn't know (like sometimes he skips a day of food, makes certain noises, etc), so they don't worry. If you are gone longer than the food you give to feed will last (I make a baggie for each day), then give a list of what they can buy to feed, again, overly simplified (for a few days I'm fine with my tort being fed romaine if that is the easiest thing and least likely to get messed up). If you have some older neighbor kid come over, make sure the parents remind them to do it. I will give my friend a bit of cash and a thank you note as a nice gesture for watching him, but not so much money that they would think to refuse it. I will even have an extra bulb in the kit. I will check the temps and such when I do the set up so that doesn't have to be messed with either.
For a week I'd either have someone come over daily or take a portable set up to someone's house. Choose someone you trust. Very few times is it ever a good idea to take the tort with you. An example of a good time is a long duration trip that is close to your house that you are driving and staying in one spot (like a two hour drive to stay at a relative's house for 1-2 weeks), where the car ride wouldn't be that stressful and you can take all the gear, and you taking the tort might be less stress/risk than leaving it.
- Status
Similar threads
