hi i posted a thread about a wort on my torts neck under its chin WELL>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
i have rang up my local vet's the put me on to the nurse lol and she filled me in on some info,she asked if it looked like a skin tag and i was shocked and felt a prat for calling it a wort as it is more of a skin tag,
she said its likley to be a skin tag as the positioning of it is were he is going in and out of his shell i feel a little better kinda knowing what it is she said bathe him every day as he will be sheding skin but horsfields are slower for wot ever reason?

i am going to a place called northeast exotics in middlesbrough 2 nite when my partners home from work the fella said he would take a look at squirt if i take him along,

i also asked about bedding and he said they use bark chipps when selling tortoise and set ups he said they are priced at £3 for 5 litre or 10 litre for £5

can i use the bark as i want to get him off swadust?

could i use wood chip? another person said use this

I don't think either bark chips or wood chips are recommended as they can cause humidity problems same as sawdust, hemp is much better and cheaper too, contact Aubiose Ltd | The Natural Alternative Horse bedding, the orignal hemp bedding for a local stockist, a large compressed bale is under a tenner and will last many months.

cheers thanks for reply will take a look

even better than hemp, would be to use a sand and soil mixture because horsfields love to dig

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Well it is probably too late now but I would never suggest taking a tortoise into a reptile dealers as you are opeining him up to all sorts of possible cross contamination, unless the owner uses disinfectant on his hands between each animal he handles, which is doubtful.
Bark chippings are totally inappropriate for horsfields they live in soil tunnels underground and these chippings will close in on him when he digs down causing high humidity if he urinates which in turn can cause respiratory infection. Pet shops always sell this rubbish as it is easier than selling soil to people. Sawdust and all wood products are a bad idea unless you wish to have health problems, which I am sure you don't

as already mentioned top soil/play sand 60/40 (some use 50/50 others 70/30 respectively) really is the best bet, it allows them to dig tunnels but also to thermoregulate. You could have hemp areas if you wanted to add a bit of variety to the table (like i've already mentioned in pms)

also to add I would avoid wood chips like the plague, i've actually tested them before (not with torts in the table might I add!). Last summer when they were in the garden I setup the standby table, put wood chips in (beech i think they were) the water bowl, and turned the uv and heat on. (to replicate conditions,as closely as poss without inhabitants in there) around and under the water bowl in particular the wood chips became mouldy with in a matter of two or three days. Now, not only do horsfields love digging but my two love sitting in their water pool...come out drag it all over the substrate dig down etc. The torts weren't even in the table so there was no urination or defecation n the wood chips still failed.
Also found them to be a little dusty. just my personal opinion and experience of them though.. same reason i dont use them for the snakes now. that was the main reason for the test, as i saw lots of owners using them. and figured a tortoise table (open top) Would give them more ventilation than even a viv..so if anything it woulda been an unfair test.(plus had no spare viv at the time..now i've got two things i can't shift! )


anywho sorry for the essay

[edit] Horse Bedding < Hemp stockists nice n cheap. big bale.. top soil you can get from your local B&Q or garden centre, same for play sand

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"The worst sin towards are our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity" George Bernard Shaw

Did you check if its a tick ?

how do i know if its a tic

does it ever swell up ?get bigger in size or can you look very closely at it to see if it looks like it has tiny legs very close to the skin?

no it looks loose but no legs? looks like a human skin tag