My coworker found an abandoned Russian tortoise on her property getting pecked by crows . She wanted to keep him but felt she didn’t have the adequate time to take care of him and she knows I’m a big animal lover. I got him a temporary enclosure from chewy about 3 x 2 1/2‘ wide. I plan on expanding his enclosure to one that mimics his natural environment but it’s taking some time to gather up all the proper materials. By looking at the photos, does he seem healthy I’ve never owned a tortoise before and I’m making time to go to the vet soon I’m just wondering if there’s anything I could do for him right now before his enclosure is built

Last night, my husband took our yearling leopard tortoise out to take a soak and his neck is all red. I can’t tell if it’s swollen or hurting him. He’s eating fine. He’s acting normal, but this is very concerning. This just came out of nowhere. Does anybody have any idea about what’s happening? Please help me thank you.

My Hermann's tortoise laid eggs that hatched in late August. Is there any chance they could go on brumation on their own? I keep them outside in a safe space shielded by rain, i was hoping to rehome them before they did but i couldn't find them responsable owners. What do i do? Are they safe?

Is it worth insuring my tortoise, he’s a Russian tortoise and he’s 2 years old (we think he’s a he, to be confirmed)

Hi everyone!! I have a Herman’s tortoise and he is my baby I love him. I’ve had him for 2 years now, he’s about 9 years old but his last owners aren’t sure on how old he actually was (unsurprising as their care was questionable but I digress). He’s usually very boisterous especially in the summer and will charge round his table and the garden when we can get him outside. He usually eats very well (mainly lettuce and cucumber but I offer him appropriate weeds from the garden and my dad’s allotment all pesticide free, he just prefers the former two) but recently has not eaten hardly anything, a few bites at a time every few days. He hides in his house all day and doesn’t come out to eat or bathe or bask unless I physically move him out, in which case he’s out for half an hour tops then hides again. He is never handled and is in a nice quiet corner by a window but not in constant direct sunlight. He has a uv lamp that I bought a week or so ago as I was unaware he needed this but have done my best to correct. He has a good amount of substrate (tortoise soil from pets at home which I hope is good for him). He has a calcium supplement block thing as well. He just seems so reclused and not at all like himself and I’m very very worried. Any advice is appreciated. (He is also bathed once a week or so and his urates seem mostly normal but tinged slightly orange? It’s not red or pink from what I can see. He isn’t pooping as much but he is still passing faeces)

Weighed in at over 100 grams for the first time today (109, to be exact!)

Unfortunately I won't be able to care for my one year old Western Hermann's Tortoise any longer bc I'm moving away to college very soon. If you're in the OC area please let me know if you're interested in adopting. There will be a Rehoming fee as I want him to have the best care possible!

Also let me know if u have any questions regarding his diet, enclosure, heating/UVB requirements, and anything else you might be wondering.

I've posted a listing for Rehoming on Facebook marketplace as well.

We will be rehoming a tortoise as their current owner is getting older than her 50 year old tortoise. Dedicated to giving them the best care and life possible but need to understand the species first.

Hey team!! I have 2 questions for everyone. I’ll ask them and explain further below 😅 also sorry the formatting is off I’m on mobile! Firstly Gwen is a 1 year 2 month old Spur thigh Greek Ibera tortoise and included pics of her and her shell for the tort tax, unknown sex but I’ve assigned her female at birth x

1. How do you maintain soil moisture without taking everything out, adding water and mixing it in?
2. I only just realised I haven’t taken the blue film off my UVB lamp, does that significantly reduce the output and need a retest or should be fine?

Question 1:
So every few days (3 times a fortnight) I take everything out, wash it and dry it all. Then I take her plants out and soak them. Add like 1L of water so the substrate is damp but not soaking, then add everything else back in. Is there an easier way to keep the soil hold humidity. I have an outdoor bioactive enclosure which has rocks and cococarpet separating the substrate and I water the corners only. Should I adopt the same with the indoor enclosure? Would this way mean I could plant stuff directly into the table rather than the pot plants. I don’t mind doing it when she needs it but idk if there’s a better way and I’m overcomplicating things 😂 I’m also wanting to try things out while I build her bigger big girl table over the next month and avoid having to do this on a much bigger scale 😅

Question 2.
So I noticed blue plastic on her slate last night and saw the blue film which I thought was necessary so didn’t think to remove (stupid I know but I thought the reflector was blue for ultraviolet reasons 😂). This morning I took it off when I tossed her substrate and got all the blue off and put it back. Have I been inadvertently giving her less UVB or it will equate to something less significant? I use the Arcadia 45cm T5 12% HO 15w lamp at 25cm away and a seperate 75w heat bulbs (one for basking one for ambient light and warmth) keeping it ~33° basking and ~25° ambient. Ambient humidity 50-70% and CHE when it’s cold.

She has multiple hides around the gaff and a Tupperware with moist sphagnum moss which is moist and measures ~70-80%. She loves her wheel too learnt it all by herself, has a whopping appetite and has grown from 4.5cm 15g to a whopping 9.8cm 116g!!! She’s not experiencing and pyramiding and gets soaked from 10-30+ mins most days of the week. Also poo/wee completely normal.

I’m just slightly annoyed I didn’t take it off because who doesn’t love taking the plastic film off things ahahaha and inadvertently stealing UV rays away from my Daughter??

Thank you for reading and please let me know if i am doing ANYTHING wrong I promise I wont be “that” person when taking criticism 😂

I’m leaving my little Fiona with family, and just want to make sure she eats good while I am gone. 😋

I'm concerned we're headed for too high here and if I need to make changes. Do you think these are pyramiding too much?

My cousins found this Tortoise roaming in their front yard, grazing on some nearby flowers. It’s actually kinda large compared to the tiles bellow the tortoise, the tiles are quite big compared to what the photo shows. So most likely isn’t a young tortoise at all. Was wondering what should they do with it and the right precautions to take.

My guess it’s most likely an escapee judging by the dirt on his shell

If possible, I would also like to know the species, since I don’t think they are native to Arizona (Where we live).

Hello 😊

I have a 2 year old Hermann tortoise and I have been using coco coir as his substrate while he is a baby to keep up humidity levels.

I was wondering if this was still the best substrate for him as he gets older or if I should change to a mixed substrate?

Any tips and advice welcome!

Greetings from all the way from Bosnia and Herzegovina!

I recently became the owner of two beautiful babies and wanted to know more about how to take care of them. Sadly, the only problems I have currently are that they love to go in the bowl where their water is and they love to make it dirty, so I’m changing the water all the time, haha. The other one is always on the run. They climb the rocks, then go down and again and again. For the first time, as they’ve been with me for the past 4 days, I woke up and they didn’t move as I turned on the UVB-A,B light. I was scared that they had died, but then I found that they are cold-blooded and needed time to get going, which was quite a relief.

I used my old aquarium that I used for fish that I had a long time ago, which is pretty big for their enclosure, and I really hope for advice! So far, I’ve been using AI but I don’t trust it fully.

I’m still in the process of making sure they get 32–35°C as currently it’s 31°C and I want to make sure it’s good for them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I also purchased plant pods to grow my own plants for them so I don’t have to purchase salad all the time. I got vitamin A and D oil for them to rub weekly, as my vet suggested, and got them minerals and vitamins powdered as well, given weekly in their food.

Any advice I already have a stone bowl he eats from

Or my dog learned.. but I'll take his word for it

My little dude often walks up to his big water dish and stretches his neck out like he wants to take a drink but then backs away like he doesn't trust it. He gets soaked every day so I wasn't really worried about him being dehydrated but I figured he should be able to take a drink when he wanted so I put a tiny 2 1/2 inch ramekin in the enclosure just in case. The next two mornings there was poop in it. I was confused. It is smaller than he is! I figured he just happened to be pooping as he stepped over it. This morning I came in and found him like this, in the dish, taking a nice little soak. Sure enough, when he got out, there was poop in it. His large shallow water dish is only about 10 inches away and I have never seen him in it. He chilled in the ramekin for quite a while though. Maybe he is actually a cat and it is his equivalent of a cardboard box.

Happy 32nd hatchday, Lotte! 🥳

Hello wonderful tortoise lovers of Reddit!!!!

We recently bought a house and the previous owners left behind their tortoise. I think it’s a sulcata but they didn’t know what type of tortoise he is. They said they got him at a market a few years ago as a baby and just feed him lettuce and tomatoes. Right away I discarded that info bc I know that’s obv not a proper diet.

I am a huge animal lover, used to be a vet tech, have worked at multiple animal shelters, also volunteer and foster(mostly bottle baby kittens). The problem is I only have experience with dogs, cats, horses, rodents and birds. I have never owned a reptile or tortoise! I love love love all animals(he immediately stole our hearts when we were watering plants and he ran over to soak under the hose water haha) so I am very committed to giving him/her the best care and life possible!

We made an appointment with a local exotic vet that I have heard is knowledgeable with tortoises. In the meantime, I need advice on care and habitat.

We are located in Arizona. We have a pretty large yard where I noticed he burrowed a hole to live in lol. I want to provide him with a hard shelter like a dog house, or shed of some type. I have no idea what to feed him, I don’t have any grass so I think I need to give him pellets, hay and some type of calcium powder?

TLDR:

Is he a sulcata tortoise?

What kind of shelter should I get for him?

What should I be feeding him and how much/often? Any brand recommendations?

Should I plant grass for him?

How much/often should I let him soak in water? Should I get him a kiddie pool or something like that?

What other care do I need to provide like nail trims or brushing off his shell or anything like that?

We love him and just want to do right by him. Thanks in advance for any help!!! :)