24 replies to this topic

[johnd]

Hi we have had flash for about a year she was given to us by a friends son. He had her stuck in a small Viv and not really looked after se we took her in along with a bearded dragon.
She was very small and I was told 4 to 5 years old and weighed 45 grams now up at 190 grams.
Here is some pics for you

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[mildredsmam]

Hi John, welcome to the forum. 

Well done for taking Flash on, it's lovely to see her in the garden enjoying the natural sun this is the best thing you can do for her, what set up do you have for her now, have you removed the wood chippings substrate, also what diet is she having now as she seems to be coming on better now. x 

[johnd]

At night and cold days she lives indoors with a heat lamp and uv in a large converted Viv with no glass.
Topsoil substrate watered every couple of days,theres a log to climb over and a piece of cork bark she likes to hide under and move around and slate to clamber on.
Food is dandelion and weeds from the garden that she finds when roaming around, A little bit of kale now and then and a small amount of pellet as a backup if there is no food at all.
Day time is the whole garden or this at
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[wizzasmum]

Well done for taking her on John. Try to slow her growth down a bit though, because even though she was underweight to start with, she’s now grown rather fast, which can affect her internal organs if it continues ;) Have you seen any little swirly patterns on her shell as she’s grown?

[johnd]

Not noticed any swirly marks on her we did have a red line on the underside and it was soft.
She dident hibernate last winter as there was a big problem with worms and verg small so she went to the vets. He noticed the line and thought it might be septisemia so a test was done and came back all clear. That was in December January.
She has been on rassions since to slow her growth and the redness seems to of gone and the shell has hardened quit nicely.
Have you got any pics of the swirls your on about so I can check her over.

[johnd]

After reading through the forum I constructed a larger outdoor area at the weekend this is all the space I can give up for her and after diging out 3 ton of contaminated soil and plants it's all she is going to get. its 2.4 meters by 1.4 meters with a cold frame with an auto opener, the soil is top soil and play sand mix slightly sloped to face south and the fence runs east to west. This seeing shall get some plants grasses for her to hide under.

[johnd]

Flash has had a great summer outside she has a cold frame with auto opener. a 100w heat lamp for cold rainy days and a 1ft greenhouse tube heater set at 12 degrees ish for the now cold nights.
Now how long can she stay out for the autumn or do I just let her do her own thing? she is very active at the moment and i don't want to upset her if I can help it.
I have tried to upload a pic but I can't get it any lower than 2.4mb

[babettebeau]

That's great to hear John. You have been pro-active, you did your own research for what is good for the tortoise and implemented the right equipment for her.

I will leave other who keep their tortoises outdoor until hibernation reply to your question.

Would it be the first time that this winter that you hibernate this tortoise?

Thanks

Sabina

[johnd]

Hi yes last year she was to small to have a sleep and had a very bad case of worms but this year she will get one.
I'm thinking box method as my fridge is quit small and full i have a large shed and three lofts where she can go.
It's just a matter of how long the sleep is and when to start the wind down.
I'm on the south coast so it stays quit warm untill Dec Jan ish

[wizzasmum]

Not noticed any swirly marks on her we did have a red line on the underside and it was soft.
She dident hibernate last winter as there was a big problem with worms and verg small so she went to the vets. He noticed the line and thought it might be septisemia so a test was done and came back all clear. That was in December January.
She has been on rassions since to slow her growth and the redness seems to of gone and the shell has hardened quit nicely.
Have you got any pics of the swirls your on about so I can check her over.

Sorry John, missed this. You can see the keratin stress (swirly Marks) on your pics, so they are there. You mustn’t have heating overnight and def not in a Viv ;)

[wizzasmum]

Flash has had a great summer outside she has a cold frame with auto opener. a 100w heat lamp for cold rainy days and a 1ft greenhouse tube heater set at 12 degrees ish for the now cold nights.
Now how long can she stay out for the autumn or do I just let her do her own thing? she is very active at the moment and i don't want to upset her if I can help it.
I have tried to upload a pic but I can't get it any lower than 2.4mb

If you'd like to send me a pic John I can put it on for you wizzasmum@aol.com

[wizzasmum]

Hi yes last year she was to small to have a sleep and had a very bad case of worms but this year she will get one.
I'm thinking box method as my fridge is quit small and full i have a large shed and three lofts where she can go.
It's just a matter of how long the sleep is and when to start the wind down.
I'm on the south coast so it stays quit warm untill Dec Jan ish

Sheds aren’t suitable John unless fully insulated as they can freeze and lofts too for the same reason. You need to keep temps to 5 degrees give or take a couple of degrees either way.

[johnd]

Sorry John, missed this. You can see the keratin stress (swirly Marks) on your pics, so they are there. You mustn’t have heating overnight and def not in a Viv ;)

Ok I see them she wasent over fed but more just had food daily for a year instead of once a week
She's not been I a viv all summer I would build a table if she came in for winter
The over night heat is a greenhouse heater set to 12degrees so hardly comes on

[johnd]

Sheds aren’t suitable John unless fully insulated as they can freeze and lofts too for the same reason. You need to keep temps to 5 degrees give or take a couple of degrees either way.

Ok looks like fridge for her then
I'll send a pic of her enclozure at the weekend thanks

[wizzasmum]

What does she weigh John? I’m not sure what you mean by feeding once a week!

[johnd]

What does she weigh John? Im not sure what you mean by feeding once a week!

She was given to me by a friend who's son had her for 4ish years he was more intrested in the Xbox than looking after her.
she got feed dandilions once a week if he rembered and was tiny weighing in at 45 grams.
I'm not sure of her weight now but it's a lot more than one & half years ago.
Now she gets a nice varied Diat.
I'll try and do a weigh in tomrow

[johnd]

What does she weigh John? I’m not sure what you mean by feeding once a week!

Flash weighed in at 930grams last night

[wizzasmum]

Thats about the size of a 10 year old John, would Flash be that age?
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[johnd]

Thanks
I think she's about 7 years old I don't have the paperwork for her as it got lost my friend Isent the most organized person so it's probably in his house somewhere

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[wizzasmum]

Thanks
I think she's about 7 years old I don't have the paperwork for her as it got lost my friend Isent the most organized person so it's probably in his house somewhere

I’d get them to try to find it for you in case you need it in the future John. She’s big for a 7 year old, so I’d slow things down a bit next year and if you keep her awake over winter, try to keep her weight stable until spring. She needs a beak trim too, which will help her feel more comfortable and improve her jaw health. Lovely tort