Hi folks, i have recently purchased a turkish spur thigh tortoise, i have bought a big tank for him, its approximatley 1m in length 1/2 m height and 1/2 m in width, i bought it from a reptile shop and it comes with a heat lamp for basking and a uv light which i have installed approx 6'' from the floor level, i have wood chipping and a pellet mix floor base for him to walk on, i have been feeding him dandelion leafs and cabbage and mixed green leaf salad and the odd bannana piece, i have a small water dish approx 1.5'' wide. all im wondering is he seems to sleep all the time, he digs and seems to cover himself over all the time, i have the uv and heater light on all the time and have set the temp to 32deg c during the day and 22 deg c during the night, just wondering why he would be sleeping all the time, when i wake him up and put him in front of his food he eats loads then off he goes and burrows away and that him untill the next time. .
Should he have sand in his tank and ive been told he should have somewhere to lie in water if he wants to.
Appriciate any help or advice.
Regards

Welcome and congratulations!

When recently means a day or two, he might simply be a litlle bit shy.

I wouldn't wake him up but rather wait until he's heated up enough to walk around by himself.

I'm not really able to judge it but I've been told that it might take longer to heat up if the night temperatures are low.

That depends also on the species. Does it get really hot when all lamps are switched on or is he on a place that doesn't get all the heat? Generally, a terrarium conserves better an all around heat but you have check carefully the temperature as many cheap thermometers for vivs are crap when measuring high surface temperatures.

I've been told a digital laser thermometer would be the best and I ordered one for £ 69 on ebay. But simple digital ones with hygrometer cost only less than a tenner.

If you play around with differenet thermometers you can elimate at least a gross artefact when measuring temperatures. So, don't rely on one measurement with only one thermometer.

Our baby needs about one hour and a half to "wake up", wanders than around, eats something, has then a very long siesta in a hiding place and starts then again for a second meal at around 3 pm. It then keeps on wandering around until 7 to 8 pm and starts sleeping before the lights shut. There are on from 6 am to 8 pm.

A good place for care sheets is

Norfolk & Coe Tortoise Club

Regarding the viv other people will surely teach you.


You can try a tortoise table, too. That's an easy and cheap set-up.

Glass tanks without top cover are rather for subtropical species that live in rooms with lower temperatures, that is 20°C or lower, as they need a higher temperature on the cold end.

But this a point of constant discussion. Listen carefully and be nice to the people.



Watch out what humidity your species needs as this can differ and too much humidity means trouble, generally.

Regarding the substrate, we are using 1/3 top soil (garden center) and 2/3 play sand (from Tesco), and a few coconut chippings in between. The height should be as high as the carapace is.

Water should be always available just in case.

Best thing is to be flexible at the beginning, trying out different things, as even torts from the same species vary in character and behaviour and that might change over the time.

Reading a few more care sheets and generally lots of stuff regarding your species is beneficial too as it boils down to gain as much knowledge as possible in a short time. Did you have any other pets or even reptiles before?

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1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.0.1 Agrionemys horsfieldii kazakhstanica

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill

Hey, welcome to the forums. As already mentioned a tortoise table would be better. (they're relatively cheap to make/buy) And the reasons are this. In a tank/viv there is a risk of high humidity. Also as the sides are transparent the tortoise will get stressed constantly trying to get out and not realising why he can't. Stressed tort can lead to illness which is summat ya don't want. (this advice is for indoor accomodation only..they should really have outdoor access)

In regards to the substrate wood chippings aren't really suitable, nor are pellets. If the wood is cedar for one example it's toxic to all reptiles, torts included. As the heat lamps heats the substrate it can give off toxic fumes. Again very dangerous for a tortoise. The best substrate (bedding/walking on whatever u prefer to call it) is a 50/50 top soil/play sand mix. OR Hemp (aka Hempcore, Aubiose) both of these are fantastic for torts n allow them to dig down to thermoregulate.

Make sure the substrate is deep enough to provide digging as torts love this.

In regards to the water dish. Shallow and wide is better than narrow n deep. that way the tort can bathe in the dish if they feel it necessary, also means they can get out. You'll need to bathe ur tortoise often, in tepid/warm water. This helps to hydrate the torts. I've found it also helps them with their shedding, and helps them to pass faeces.

Cut out the cabbage and banana. As spur thighs are a mediteranean species they are fully vegitarian, which means no fruit. As there digestive systems simply cannot cope.n it can lead to undigested food upsetting the gut flora. The best food u can provide is weeds and wild flowers n lots of variety. Tortoises < theres a list there of suitable foods. N if u go here they sell the seeds u need as well eBay My World - shelledwarriorsshop
Also make sure you dust the food daily with limestone flour, and thrice weekly with Nutrobol. Also offer a cuttlefish bone into the enclosure so that ur tort can intake calcium when he feels necessary also. Failure to provide sufficient calcium can cause to metabolic bone disorder, (aka Lumpy shell syndrome)

Sand is a nono as, if the tortoise eats it, it can lead to impactions which again = an unhappy tort.

If you're tort continues to be lethargic this could be down to a parasitic infection/worm load. Quite often pet shop torts have these.n i'd suggest taking a faeces sample to ur local rep vet just to get this ruled out.

erm what else. oh yeah, make sure you put a hide box in, (whether u continue to use the tank, which i wouldnt recommend or get a tortoise table) away from the heat lamp. that way the tortoise can go in there to thermoregulate n get away from the heat if needed. (also make sure water and food are out of the direct heat) 32*c for a heat spot sounds okay. at night time my torts have everythin turned off n are just kept at the ambient temperature of the house.just make sure it doesn't drop below 10*C


Tortoise Trust Web - Start Page < is also fantastic for finding out information.

hmm hope this helps if i think of anythin else i'll add it

Katie

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Just in case that happens attach something opaque at the outside of the glass.

Some torts do this and others not.

Ours simply stop when it approches the glass and never bumps its nose against it but watches carefully outside for a minute or so. That is really cute when it starts observing the outer world.

The it turns around and keeps on wandering.

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1.1.0 Eublepharis macularius
0.0.1 Agrionemys horsfieldii kazakhstanica

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
Winston Churchill

more like he was thinking,why the hell am i not outside where i should be....im not a fish!

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KERRY
0.0.6 Hermanns Tortoises
0.1.0 Hamster
1.0.0 Dalmatian puppy!

Thanks people for your advise, his habitat is not a tank as such, it has 3 wood sides and a glass sliding door on the front but this is above his level, i think it is a good one should be cost £200, ill attach some pics of him if i can find out how to, i think ill change the floor covering, what do you all reccomend for this.

Checked and i cant post pics on here yet, if anyone want to see him just email me on here with your email address.
Appriciate all your help folks

Yeah it's a vivarium..perfect for snakes but unsuitable for tortoises. As the humidity can become to high for them which in turn can lead to respiratory infections etc. Again like i already mentioned,it can cause stress for the tort as they can see out but can't get out. Pet shops sell them as being suitable to make quick n easy money. there really is no substitute for indoor accomodation than tortoise tables..you can pick pre made up relatively cheap.so pet shops wouldn't make much profit from sellin them hence why they advice vivs

Substrate 50/50 play sand/top soil mix. Or hemp.


Katie

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Take the top off the viv and its surely a tort table?
He said the glass front is higher than the tort can reach implying that under the glass is wooden, how does this differ from a tort table.

I'm not looking to start an argument on someone elses thread as is often the case in this section, i'm just asking the question

Oh and congrats on the new tort.

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My Reptiles1.2 Royal Pythons 0.1 BCI
1.0 cornsnake
1.0.1 Bearded Dragons InvertsSAF L parahybanaAF G roseaAF A semanniP regalisH lividum3 B albopilosum slingsN coloratovilosumG aureostriataMaraca horridaWantedPython brongersmaiGTPDogStaff bitch Puppy

ive put some pics on photo bucket for any1 who is interected to view.
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...0082007152.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...0082007151.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...0082007154.jpg
http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...0082007150.jpg

gorgeous little tort.

Markhill. Taking the lid off a viv, yes will add air, but vivs have alot less floor space than tort tables as they're much narrower.

Also the substrate should be deep to allow digging, therefore if its anythin like all the vivs i've owned in the past, the tort would still be able to see out.

All in all, i aint blaming the owners just the pet shops. owners could save a bloomin fortune if they were just given the correct advice in the first place!


Katie

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