Tortoise Care

gypsygirl

Hi,
I'm new to this site & find it most interesting & informative;
I've recently acquired 3 young african spur thighed tortoise & am keen to learn the best way to care for them, I currently house them in a 4ft tank, no lid; using beechwood chipping as a substrate, I use a heatmat (on constantly) & a heat lamp (4-5 hrs daily) I'm feeding them as many different types of lettuce/veg, as I can find, also dandelion leaves & dry tortoise pellets (they don't seem too keen on the pellets,)
Can anyone out there give me more info on the best way to care for torts?

Our man in Havana

If you are keeping them in a VIV they need a UV light on for 8 hours a day, I have a Russian horsefield tortoise. He gets grated parsnip & courgette, mixed leaves NEVER iceburg lettuce or butterhead lettuce the only lettuce he gets is romain - we feed wild rocket, sugar snap peas, fruits, dark leafy lettuce & twice a week a vitimin & calcium suppliment. You need to feed a diet high in calcium & low in phospores (sp)

http://www.anapsid.org/torthatchlings.html
http://www.reptileforums.com/care_sheets/turtles/african_spur_thigh.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/sulcata.html

gypsygirl

Hi,
Thanks for the response, will try the parsnip etc,
Have checked out the links you posted, lots of info,
I was using iceberg lettuce but won't again, have modifed the water bowl as the little one found it hard to climb out of, I put small pebbles in to give him (her?) better footage to get out.

Again thanks for the info; Any more wise words would be appreciated as I'm only learning in the reptile world.

How big/old is your Tort & how do you house it? what substrate do you use?

Our man in Havana

My tortoise in the bottom of my iguana cage - on the floor is a washable rubber type matt that is put in the washing machine to keep clean. My guy is still young I have only had him since 04 - he is the size of saucer.

Iceburg lettuce is often posionous to small animals so we NEVER use it.

Found another care sheet for you - do lots of research online, if you want to contact me in a hurry please email me on perfectpets@eircom.net

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/iberacare.htm

gypsygirl

Appreciate the link, I checked it out & got plenty of info,
(have added it to my favorites list), tried the parsnip etc, result! Torts are munching like crazy, two of them were eating the same strip of food earlier, when they met in the middle I thought they were gonna have a punch up, quite amusing to watch, never saw them get aggressive over food before. The big lad (Jones) has been coming out of his hide box every 20 mins or so to check if theres any more courgette mixed in with the rest of the food, he's a proper munching machine. Again thanks for all the info.

Our man in Havana

My guys eats a whole plate full every day & will bang on the glass if his plate is empty!!! Try to put in as much variety as possible - grapes & tomatoes are also favs of my guy. We always give the grated parsnip & courgette as these foods are low in phrosphores which helps! at least twice a week sprinkle with the calcium & even add a cuttlefish thats not something I had thought about before - dandilions are also fab & in the summer grow some nasturciums (sp??) they go down very well with my guy & my iguanas too.

So glad to hear they are enjoying the parsnip its very good for them.