Tortoise - advice needed

[danda]

During the owner’s vacation I am looking after a little tortoise. Very small size, it is in a enclosure on their lawn, it has a flat dish with water and a little house to get into if bad weather. I come to the house morning and evening to give food and check water. Next week it will be much hotter here, in the mid thirties. I am worried that this could be excessive for it, I do not know much about tortoises. I thought of trying to move the enclosure under a bush so there would be more protection but then no grass underfoot for it. Any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

it will be fine for a short time if it has shade, and water to cool off in - ideally to as deep as possible without submerging its head but of varying depth so it can choose where to situate itself.
30 is top of their basking range so anything > that is technically too hot.(That's presuming it's a Hermann's, you didn't mention the species?) Stone/ceramic slabs in the shade are also good as a cool resting place.

Really small ones are quite vulnerable outside 24/7 anyway though.



nb. not a herpetologist or exotics vet

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Also no tortoise expert, but overheating sounds like a more dangerous situation, than no grass. Don't they have any other tortoise food for it, other than grass? Could you cut some grass from the grassy areas, and put in the shade? Rake away the old grass next day, and replace with freshly cut grass?

A perhaps too ambitious project would require that you spent some money on buying something like one or a few cat grass refill packets. Spread out in a large, flat container, and grow some grass which you can put into the tortoise enclosure? Would perhaps be gone in no time, so perhaps not my best idea.

 

[julesjoy]

Definitely cover part of the enclosure to give it the option of some shade and ensure the bath is topped up/cleaned daily.

 

[scats]

What breed is it? Do you have a photo?

 

[AmyMay]

What breed is it? Do you have a photo?

Was just going to tag you.

 

[Prancerpoos]

Move the enclosure to where it will have some shade and, if possible, the chance to have bask in the sun in the morning. Grass is totally irrelevant - they come from hot rocky countries. Mine used to love cucumber and little gem lettuces and would come flying across the garden for a chunk of banana

 

[FieldOrnaments]

species, not 'breed' .

 

[danda]

I think it is a Hermann tortoise, they live wild in the south of France . I am basically worried because of it’s small size. The other one is huge and has free range of the garden so he can get into the shade, it is a quite big garden with masses of bushes and trees.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

move the run into shade and ensure access to clean, cool water and it will be fine. The lack of grass shouldn't be a problem. (You can provide other greens if you're worried about it having nothing to eat. Though avoid iceberg lettuce/cucucumber as they've got the nutritional profile of cardboard, basically, and for a young one to fill itself up with empty calories isn't good).

If it starts overheating it will be very lethargic, look like it's 'panting' and might vomit, in which case it needs a vet urgently, but transiently raised temperatures are ok if is has access to things to regulate its own temperature.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

The tortoise trust is a brilliant repository of advice, as is the National Centre for Reptile Welfare (Facebook page) and the BHS

 

[scats]

species, not 'breed' .

Oh for goodness sake, give it a rest.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

Sorry

 

[FieldOrnaments]

On a serious note it does matter though as breeds (human made variations within a species) will all have the same environmental requirements, because they'll come from the same geographic area or originate from a wild type that does, but different species are likely to come from different places so have different needs. E.g European species versus African
Hope that makes sense.

 

[scats]

It’s obvious I meant what type of tortoise, as knowing this makes a difference to the advice you would give.
But I’m bowing out coz frankly I can’t be doing with certain people on this forum anymore.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

Sorry, I really didn't mean to offend, I should have explained rather than just correcting.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

If I'd known tortoise care was such an incendiary subject I'd have not got involved. Apologies again

 

[danda]

Can it eat tomatoes? Fruit ?

 

[FieldOrnaments]

Yes but they are not very good for them so are treats/occasional items only - tomatoes are high in oxalic acid which inhibits calcium absorption which is especially important for juveniles. And fruit is quite high calorie and high sugar which can, if given in excess, over accelerate growth and cause deformities. So not more than once a week for either as a maximum though it will love both.

I will admit (and this is NOT a dig at anyone) I do think it is rather unfair when owners leave their exotic pets in the care of people who aren't experienced with them. It isn't fair on the person or the animal, there was another similar thread on here from someone petsitting a parrot a little while ago. I'm not sure what the situation is like in France, but here in the UK reputable exotics boarding and petsitting options aren't that hard to find, and if you can't find one close by, there is always the option of asking exotic vets or shops if they could care for an animal temporarily. I really feel for people left in the lurch without proper experience or instruction looking after something with high care needs that they aren't familiar with.

 

[Tiddlypom]

danda, do you not have some contact details for the owners while they are away? They’d be best placed to advise how to proceed.

 

[danda]

Yes I contacted them and we agreed I will visit several times ( not the 2 currently) and move and change water as needed. Thanks everyone for your input

 

[poiuytrewq]

I’d move it so it’s at least partially shaded. Most tortoises don’t actually need grass. It’s mostly the huge ones that eat grass and hay.
Ideally when it’s really hot they would have deep soil to dig down into. Mine won’t dig so I do actually bring her in side if it’s really hot.

 

[danda]

Thanks I will move him to the shade and check frequently to be sure he is ok.

 

[snowangel5]

How are the larger T and the smaller T doing now

 

[marmalade76]

Do you know what, my ancient tortoise is the most low maintenance pet I've ever had, he's pretty much self sufficient and has nearly everything he needs growing in the garden. Torts eat weeds - dandelions and clover being the main ingredients in my tort's diet. He eats a bit of grass but not much. I'm no expert but I think it's only the tropical types (sorry, species) that need a different diet. Whilst the tort will need shade, it also needs sun for basking and soaking up UV.

 

[danda]

The owners are back early from holidays so Ihave not seen them for 2 days now but they were fine when I last saw them. The big one I saw occasionally and really did not need much looking after. The little one loves hibiscus flowers and this time of the year there are masses around so I used to put a couple in her enclosure every day. Thanks for asking how they are. Interesting to know what happens in Winter.

 

[marmalade76]

The owners are back early from holidays so Ihave not seen them for 2 days now but they were fine when I last saw them. The big one I saw occasionally and really did not need much looking after. The little one loves hibiscus flowers and this time of the year there are masses around so I used to put a couple in her enclosure every day. Thanks for asking how they are. Interesting to know what happens in Winter.

Mine hibernates because he's an adult, young ones are kept indoors on tortoise tables (they should not be kept in tanks) with heat/UV lamps.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I really need to hibernate mine. I've always been a bit too worried about doing it correctly. A friend used to put hers in a box of straw in the garden shed and it seemed fine. However if you look into it properly the advice looks complicated with specific "wind down" periods and correct controlled temperatures.
I do let her slow down a lot, but she's in a table so warm in the house and never attempted it.

Mine hibernates because he's an adult, young ones are kept indoors on tortoise tables (they should not be kept in tanks) with heat/UV lamps.

How do you prepare and hibernate? I may be looking to much into things!

 

[marmalade76]

I really need to hibernate mine. I've always been a bit too worried about doing it correctly. A friend used to put hers in a box of straw in the garden shed and it seemed fine. However if you look into it properly the advice looks complicated with specific "wind down" periods and correct controlled temperatures.
I do let her slow down a lot, but she's in a table so warm in the house and never attempted it.

How do you prepare and hibernate? I may be looking to much into things!

He's an oldie, 80 or more, he winds down in his own time, stops eating and just basks for a while then stops coming out, that's when I box him up.