yertle

vegas dad

New Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Messages
13
Location (City and/or State)
henderson nevada
say hello to yertle. not sure how old he is or what species but he is active. I am feeding him/her dandelion greens (favorite), spinach, butter lettuce, spring mix and honey suckle blossoms on occasion. amazed at how much he/she actually eats.
so I am new to the tortoise world and after a whopping 2 weeks here are my questions:

  1. how often do you let them "drink"? I researched how they do it which is pretty cool but I am not sure how often I should let them.
  2. see anything wrong with the meals he/she is getting?
  3. do you just leave the uvb and heat lamp on 24/7 or should I turn them off occasionally? I keep my house at 77 or 78 degrees so the temp will be fine overnight I assume.
  4. my niece has one and brought me some calcium powder over. seems to me that spinach is a pretty good source of that as is kale. how often should I put supplements on his/her greens?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
 

MPappagallo

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Joined
Jun 8, 2019
Messages
368
Location (City and/or State)
Myrtle Beach, SC
say hello to yertle. not sure how old he is or what species but he is active. I am feeding him/her dandelion greens (favorite), spinach, butter lettuce, spring mix and honey suckle blossoms on occasion. amazed at how much he/she actually eats.
so I am new to the tortoise world and after a whopping 2 weeks here are my questions:

  1. how often do you let them "drink"? I researched how they do it which is pretty cool but I am not sure how often I should let them.
  2. see anything wrong with the meals he/she is getting?
  3. do you just leave the uvb and heat lamp on 24/7 or should I turn them off occasionally? I keep my house at 77 or 78 degrees so the temp will be fine overnight I assume.
  4. my niece has one and brought me some calcium powder over. seems to me that spinach is a pretty good source of that as is kale. how often should I put supplements on his/her greens?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Hi there! Welcome to the forum....unfortunately your picture of Yertle did not post, so we can't tell you what species he/she is. Maybe you could try again, and I am sure there are lots of folks that will be happy to answer all of your questions!
 

ZEROPILOT

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Welcome from Florida.
Just to be safe until your photos come up...
Stop the Honeysuckle in case you have one of the many species that can not process sugars.
Use your lighting for 12 hours. Dark for 12 hours. Warm always. Shouldn't be a problem where you live in Nevada.
If you can let your animal get sunshine out doors, you can do without the calcium powder and UV light with a good diet. But that diet would depend on the species. Eating spinach regularly is not a good diet for any species. Try leafy greens. Dandelion, Romaine and such.
Most species eat these.
Also, make sure that your tortoise has access to a shallow dish of water at all times. Most species benefit from a nice, shallow, warm water soak.
During the soak he may drink. He might poop. Both are normal.
Try again to get those photos so that we can help fill in the blanks...
 
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Yvonne G

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say hello to yertle. not sure how old he is or what species but he is active. I am feeding him/her dandelion greens (favorite), spinach, butter lettuce, spring mix and honey suckle blossoms on occasion. amazed at how much he/she actually eats.
so I am new to the tortoise world and after a whopping 2 weeks here are my questions:

  1. how often do you let them "drink"? I researched how they do it which is pretty cool but I am not sure how often I should let them.
  2. see anything wrong with the meals he/she is getting?
  3. do you just leave the uvb and heat lamp on 24/7 or should I turn them off occasionally? I keep my house at 77 or 78 degrees so the temp will be fine overnight I assume.
  4. my niece has one and brought me some calcium powder over. seems to me that spinach is a pretty good source of that as is kale. how often should I put supplements on his/her greens?
Thanks in advance for the advice.
Hi and welcome!

Because there are so many different species of tortoise, and a lot of them require different diets and care from each other, it would not be prudent for us to offer you any advice until we can see a picture of Yertle to make sure what species he is.
 

vegas dad

New Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Messages
13
Location (City and/or State)
henderson nevada
Hi and welcome!

Because there are so many different species of tortoise, and a lot of them require different diets and care from each other, it would not be prudent for us to offer you any advice until we can see a picture of Yertle to make sure what species he is.
 

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vegas dad

New Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Messages
13
Location (City and/or State)
henderson nevada
Hi there! Welcome to the forum....unfortunately your picture of Yertle did not post, so we can't tell you what species he/she is. Maybe you could try again, and I am sure there are lots of folks that will be happy to answer all of your questions!
 

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vegas dad

New Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Messages
13
Location (City and/or State)
henderson nevada
Hi there! Welcome to the forum....unfortunately your picture of Yertle did not post, so we can't tell you what species he/she is. Maybe you could try again, and I am sure there are lots of folks that will be happy to answer all of your questions!
 

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lilly_sand99

Active Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2018
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272
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Marshalltown IA
Hello!
I love the name!
Water should be offered ALL THE TIME, they know when to drink and when not to drink, or when they don't want to drink. Just make sure the dish you are providing doesn't allow them to get stuck or is too deep!
Also the pellets are not recommended on the forum because they cannot keep up the humidity....
Spinach isn't recommended as a staple either, to check out more safe foods look at the tortoisetable website!
 

ZEROPILOT

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That's a Gopherus species.
Likely a Desert tortoise.
Make sure that you don't have any laws in your state that would keep you from possessing a native tortoise.
Here in Florida, there are heavy fines for handling or doing most anything with our native Florida Gopher tortoises.
Ditch those Rabbit pellets. They hold urine and they grow mold, etc.
Swap it out with some Coco Coir or Orchid bark.
 
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