Tortoises anyone?

[poppy]

Anyone own a tortoise on here? i have 19.

I also have a tortoise web site www.shelledwarriors.co.uk

[mandywith11]

i have 2 horsfields

[poppy]

How old are they? I have 3 horsfields.

[craftysnails]

Hi do anyone have horsfield tortoise for sale? How much are they? As I saw one advertise for 159.99 which bit expensive as its for my daughter as she wanted one. I have purchased 2 x L. Fulica which not arrive yet for my son as he cant wait so am I!!!

[tiia]

I have 3 horsfields

[poppy]

Well dont buy a tortoise from a pet shop as most are wild caught its such a shame . Buy from a breeder have a look on www.shelledwarriors.co.uk and look on the breeders list on ask on the forum.

[craftysnails]

HI I know that why I asked as I saw some in shop which I wont buy from. I need to know what average price they sell for as my local paper sell too but they are 95 pounds each and didnt say what species they are as the reason I ask for horsfield as I was told they are easy to look after suit my daughter as she nearly 13 years old and I got back garden which is huge and sunny. Which is suitable as I can put tortoise outside during the day bring it indoor nighttime.

[poppy]

Tortoises are not an easy animal to look after, there is no beginners tortoise but a hermann, ibera (greek) or horsfield are what i recomend.

Housing: vivariums kill tortoises you need a tortoise table or a simple storage tub.

Food: depends on the tortoise, but if you feed fruit to any of the above they will get ill. You MUST feed a tortoise on weeds (non toxic ones)

Vitamins/calcium: Vitamins in the form of nutrobal sprinkled on food 3-4 days a week you can overdose on this, Calcium must be given every day in the form of limestone flour, most people forget this as with snails tortoises have shells and need calcium, nutrobal does not have enough

UVB/ heat: 0.8 or 10.0 uvb strip must be changed ever 6 months, plus a normal house hold spot bulb for heat or a trex all in one heat and uvb lasts 3 years

you must aim for a very slow growth, did you know in the wild horsfields are only awake for 3 months so are scavengers so in captivity it is important to not over feed, i give my lot das off food, else you end up with a tortoise with a very lumpy shell and all in internal organs messed up.

[poppy]

All the advice that you will ever need is on www.shelledwarriors.co.uk we have many UK breeders on line most of the time answering questions, we have a weed list, breeders list, were to buy bargains etc etc

[mandywith11]

MINE ARE 4 YEARS OLD

[ian]

I have a horsfields too shes about 9 now. She has done really well, I paid loads for her think it was over £200 but she was not a baby and she was captive bred.

Fruit and things are too high in protein or something cant quite remember its because its grown for human consumption and can make the tortoises grow too quickly which leads to malformed shells. I feed mine on weeds usually dandelions and anyhting else she grazes in the garden but during winter its harder to get hold of stuff. I choose not to hibernate mine because she lives with my mum and she doesn't know what to do, when i get a house with a garden so i can have her all the time ill try to hibernate. I ve been told by my specialist tortoise vet that its not necessary to hibernate but i've heard a lot of conflicting information however mine hasn't had any health problmes related to this but time will tell.

Tortoises aren't easy but once you get into a routine and get your set up perfect there shouldnt be any problems. There is a lot of information around now so theres always a solution you can find if problems arise. For me the best thing I did before getting ym tortoise was finding my vet who is a reptile specialist with a particular interest in tortoises, she actually later lectured me on the subject while i was doing my veterinary degree.

[poppy]

You have to think wild really, will a med tortoise come accross fruit the answer is no! There digestive tracts cannot cope with fruit this is why so many die. Horsfields can get really fat, i use the fridge method to hiberate all my tortoises, i have 8 to hibernate this year. The first time you hibernate your tortoise it is nerve racking, then when they come out of hiberation and 3 hours later they are eating you think 'god all that worry for notthing' hiberation is essential to a smooth tortoise.

This is why i set my web iste up as there is alots of conflicting information out there, some of the forum members have been breeding and keeping tortoises 20 years +.

[aprillinda]

hi everybody I WOULD STRONGLY RECOMEND that anybody with a tort or who is thinking about getting a tort look at this great friendly but very knowldgable forum "shelled warriors "

as linked above by poppy

linda / aprillinda x

[slimemonster]

i got 3 hermanns,2 leopards,2 horsefields and 2 red foots on the way
lee

[ian]

I'll definately have a look, I think it's about time I made the decision to hibernate.

[KathyM]

I would love to have a tortoise, as I have fond memories of a "regular" at my old work. However, they just live too long for me to justify owning one - now if I could find an ancient one so I didn't have to worry about when I die, that'd be different *lol*.

[Val]

How long does the average tortoise live?

val

[felix93]

In wild, the average lifespan of a Galapagos tortoise can be around 100 years. The oldest known tortoise was brought to Australia by Darwin and is now is over 160 years old.

[KathyM]

valerie said:

How long does the average tortoise live?

val

According to the Glasgow Zoo, the average pet tortoise lives between 60 and 90 years.

[poppy]

If kept correctly 100 years +. I remember a old woman saying i kept my tortoise for 60 years and all i fed it was jam sandwiches. I didnt say it to her face but she killed that tortoise 60 years to a tortoise is like us dying at age 35.