New Owner / First Post

[Olijr07]

Hi All, new owner and first post (please be gentle)

I’ve recently taken ownership of a 1 year old Horsfield Tortoise after seeing him crammed into a pet shop viv with many others. We were supplied (and advised) a viv, thermostat, uv lamp, bedding etc upon purchase and having seen the many posts on here will be transferring him over to a table in the coming weeks.

I’ve seen the posts on here ref turning a viv into a table/enclosure and intend to take this approach (unless advised otherwise. Seems a more cost effective, intermediate measure until I can get a table purchased.

He’s a great little character and has settled into a routine and diet similar to those mentioned on here so I have no concerns on that front. One thing is the length of his nails and I’m after some advice with regards to acceptable length and best course of action to trim them?

I’ll look to purchase a more course substrate when changing him over to the table/enclosure.

I’ve attached a photo from this morning. Looks as grumpy as I do after waking up


Thank you
Oli

[Nina]

Hi Oli

Welcome to The Tortoise Table and many congratulations on acquiring your Horsfield (what's his name by the way?).

He really is a lovely looking little fellow (or girl -- too early to sex at this stage), and well done for switching over to a tortoise table -- it will certainly prevent problems later on. When you are making his table, I would get the largest that your space will afford, as tortoises do need lots of room and they get bored in a small space (and if space doesn't allow for a big table then a ramp leading up to a second level can provide more interest and exercise for them). Tables are very easy to make (just think of a set of bookshelves lying on their back, with the shelves taken out). Also, if you have only just acquired him you ought to be able to return his viv on the grounds that it is unsuitable for this species of tortoise, and we can provide you with documentation to prove that. If not then I've attached some photos and a link to an article on converting a viv in case they are useful. https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... 3xK8O3TWNI and also to our article on making a tortoise table (this is one for babies, so you might want to make a larger one: https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... 3xMOe3TWNI
[attachment=0]Viv Conversion.jpg[/attachment][attachment=1]Viv conversion.jpeg[/attachment]

In the meantime if you can take the doors off the viv and put up a board just high enough that he can't get out, that would help.

I'm not sure what substrate you have, but tortoises do best in a soil and sand based substrate (so ordinary topsoil and children's play sand mixed together is ideal, and you can buy bags of both at most garden centres, Homebase, etc.).

The other essentials are a good UVB light and lots of calcium (if you want to know more about those, let us know and we'd be happy to go into detail).

Re his nails -- they look a little long, but not really bad, and you need to be careful about trimming them, because like birds they have a vein running up the nail and you don't want to inadvertently cut through it. If you put a slate or a nice big piece of limestone down for him to walk over, that will help to keep them in trim, but he is so small that unless his long nails are actually interferring with his walking then I would leave them.

Horsfields are a burrowing species, so those nails will also help him dig, and it's also a good reason to have a nice deep substrate so that he can bury himself completely if he wants to.

You probably already have one, but in case you don't then here is a link to a care sheet for Horsfields:
https://www.tortoise-protection-group.o ... 014New.pdf

Nina

[Olijr07]

Thanks for the response Nina, He/She is called Sergeant Bash.

Currently using critter crumble coconut coir for the majority of the substrate with some wood chippings (provided by the pet shop) around his food slate as he was developing the tendency to knock his food off the slate and getting bits of the husk stuck to it. Didn’t want him eating away at it.

Plenty of info there for me to get stuck in too. I’ll keep a close eye on the forum and post an update once the new set up is ready to review.

Thanks

[Nina]

Thanks, Oli and good luck with the table (love the name Sergeat Bash!)

Just some advice about the substrate. Coconut coir is not terrible, but it really isn't ideal. In the wild tortoises live on a very sandy soil and they really prefer that to other substrates. The bark chippings won't hurt, unless they are made of pine, in which case they give off noxious fumes when warmed. The other thing about coir and chips is that they are a bit of a fire hazard. Occasionally/rarely a bulb will blow. Usually they just go out, but occasionally they will really blow and hot bits of glass can come down into the table. We know of at least one case where a fire was started by hot glass landing on a non-soil based substrate (unlikely, but it can happen).

Regarding his food coming off the plate -- I would get large flat pebbles or large flat pieces of limestone and put them all around the feeding dish, so that if any food does some out it is on stones (and these will also be good for wearing his nails down). It's really good in general for them to have different textures to walk on, as it provides variety too (and you would be amazed at how bored tortoises can get if they don't have variety in their environment (things to walk around/under/over etc.).

Am looking forward to seeing the new set-up, and make sure you get a really good source of UVB, as that is super important for their health and well being.

Nina