Tortoise?

seven-day-weekend

There is a chance I may be getting a tortoise (the owner is terminally ill - I don't know her, she is a friend of a friend).

I have not had one since I was a child and,having read about them, wondered how hard they are to care for properly.

I do love them and would love to have it - but only if I can look after it properly.

Any tortoise owners out there to give me any tips and/or advice?

bugslet

It's my belief SDW, that there's a forum for everything and sure enough, a quick Google and there are several, just in case you can't find an expert on here!

seven-day-weekend

Thankyu bugslet! I shall have a quick google myself. Just wanted some first-hand information rather than articles

Deep_In_Debt

We've had our tortoise over 40 years now and not really sure how old he is. He was with other family members before that and came to us fully grown so he is probably quite ancient!

I will see if I can help if you would like to know anything although my mother is the expert as he lives with her but I can see if I can help or I'll ask my mum if I can't help with anything.

sam.4000

Another tortoise owner, mine has been in the family for ever ( tortoise is 54) but I have only been the keeper for 6/7 years. I do have a friend with a younger tortoise (4 years). Ask away and I might be able to answer.

Madbags

We've had ours about 6/7 years also, had it since it was a baby.


It's a Mediterranean Spur-Thighed Tortoise. From all the reseach we did before getting her I think it's important to find out the breed. They have slightly different needs and diets depending on where in the world they originate.


Ours is relatively easy to care for. We feed it things like Rocket, Dandelion Leaves/Flowers and some fruits etc. We keep her in a tortoise table with a heat lamp and UV light. She gets bathed every other day (as she doesn't yet drink standing water, just walks through it making a mess!).


She seems very healthy and happy and alert especially at this time of year. In Winter she slows down alot and doesn't eat much and we have never hibernated her.


If you need any help and others can't for any reason feel free to PM.

tealady

Hi
Have you looked at the Chelonia Society website, appeared to be lots of info there
HTH

seven-day-weekend

Thank you all for your very helpful comments. I'll get back to you if I need to, if that's OK.

DigForVictory

One other thing - put responsibility for tortoise into your Will.

They are impressively longlived, so plan for it.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

It might be nice if the owner was given the option to write/dictate her instructions for care and the tortoise's history - I know some might not want to do that if they're having to face terminal illness, but if she's had it for many years, the experience and stories (it could have been somebody else's beforehand, bearing in mind that Google says a pet one can live over 100 years) that she has about it could be pleasurable for her to share, as well as reassuring her that it's going to be well looked after because you're that interested in everything she knows about it.

If she had any photos of it over the years, that would be fascinating, too - assuming it's not something she got just a couple of years ago from a Pet Shop, anyhow.

I'd also want to know how big it is in advance, so as not to be surprised by something approaching the size of a bin lid, rather than a Cornish Pasty.


I had one for a short period of time when it turned up in my garden as a kid - it had disappeared from a garden about a quarter of a mile away, crossed roads, traversed gardens and was only found because it had stopped by the pond for a rest and freaked out the cat that was drinking from the pond when the 'new rock' decided to move. Took a good couple of months to find the owner, as she had assumed it was dead and didn't put posters up or anything.

I called it Ginster.

Deep_In_Debt

DigForVictory wrote: »

One other thing - put responsibility for tortoise into your Will.

They are impressively longlived, so plan for it.

Good suggestion.

My mother has left me the tortoise in her Will. I'm ok with that, but the tortoise hates his time here whenever he comes to stay so not sure how he will cope with it permanently! My garden is too boring for him.