Help! Found a Tortoise

superrachy

oh and they are quite fast animals, and also brilliant escape artists. Some can climb up vertical barriers, can dig out under fences and walls and some species (although not the "common" ones) can even swim!

so "tortoise are slow animals" is just another misconception - just like feed them lettuce and tomatoes and jam sandwiches.

myothercarisaferrari

wow a tortoise. We had one years ago when I was growing up but someone stole it :-(

foreign_correspondent

myothercarisaferrari wrote: »

wow a tortoise. We had one years ago when I was growing up but someone stole it :-(

yeah me too - my gran has never forgiven them! She loved freddie the tortoise!

alared

aldo wrote: »

Surely he wouldn't of wondered very far from where he lives, they not that quick are they?!

Ever heard about the tortoise and the hare?

pelirocco

superrachy wrote: »

oh and they are quite fast animals, and also brilliant escape artists. Some can climb up vertical barriers, can dig out under fences and walls and some species (although not the "common" ones) can even swim!

so "tortoise are slow animals" is just another misconception - just like feed them lettuce and tomatoes and jam sandwiches.

We found one once walking down the middle of the road , brought it home , but a few days later it disappeared we guessed it had climbed the cotswold stone wall around the garden , hopefully not the side that had a 6ft drop !!

We had anotherone years ago , the damn thing was always running away and we would have to send out a search party

Paws

European tortoises are generally the ones people keep here, either Herman or Horsfield, they definitley shouldn't eat weatabix, nor commercial tortoise food!

Weeds such as dandelions, watercress, and floreti bagged salad is also ok to give them if you can't get the weeds. Don't bother with normal iceberg lettuce there's not much nutrition in there. I'd google the T lady and plant some seeds down that are specifically for tortoises.

Also tortoises if kept inside don't need hibernating, they're happy to be overwintered, the best place to put them for hibernation is a fridge that way the temperature stays constant.

pulliptears

my OH had a tortie when he was a kid. He often tells of the time his Dad was burning leaves in the garden when a steaming tortie came wandering out of the middle of it!!
Amazingly, aside from a slightly charred shell he lived happily for many years after.

meeps

there was an article in the paper recently about a tortoise surviving a house fire, caused by it knocking over its heat lamp, and it made the water steam as it was put in a bucket by the firemen!

ours feeds himself dandilions, clover and wild pansies, then shares the salad, its funny the things he likes and doesn't like, he'll eat those mixed salad bags, but if a bit of watercress goes in he is like 'plah plah' spitting it out lol.

the one year we didn't get him in for hibernation in time, we moved house, so my mum told the new people to give us a shout when he turned up!

Deep_In_Debt

We've had our tortoise for nearly 40 years and it's still going strong.

Loves clover, dandelions, grapes, strawberries, cat food (in small quantities for the protein), and basically whatever is growing in the vegetable patch at the time - good at bulldozing it too. He can move quickly too (hence his name Speedy!) when on a mission to either get to the veg patch or heading for a hole in the fence or the wrought iron gate that he seems to be able to get through if he turns himself sideways. A lot of hard work and keeps him busy for hours!

He sleeps outside in the warmer weather but when it gets a bit chilly, gets put in the greenhouse to sleep until he is ready for hibernation.

We hibernate ours in the garage in a box with shredded paper and bubble wrap and a blanket and before anybody criticises that, it's worked for 40 years in the harshest of winters.

I know tortoises are not cuddly and fun, but Speedy has got a personality, recognises our voices and comes over to us when we sit in the garden and can be quite entertaining.

He's escaped and gone missing many times over the years, sometimes for long periods and has always been returned or been taken to the police or rescue centre and we have got him back again.

Will see if I can upload a pic of him.

Paws

The main thing is that the temp is consistent, it's when people leave them in outdoor sheds and it gets really cold then you're in for trouble, garage probably be alright. I think tortoises once they get to a certain and lifestyle are quite hardy. :beer: