Olly&Flo

Hi Olly,

please don't take this the wrong way   but I would appreciate other forums not been promoted on ours thanks ;)

Sorry, I can totally see why you wouldn't want me to, wasn't sure if it was against the forum rules, won't do it again  I'll edit it out of the comment

Welcome to the forum, I'm a new member too It's great you're researching before the commitment, many owners think they have the suitable set-ups after pet-shops and alike have told them so, what species of tortoise were you thinking of getting? Hermanns and Horsfield's are a popular choice. Every Tortoise owner I know has totally fallen in love with having a tortoise, and becomes totally obsessed about providing the best husbandry, like me. 

You'll find loads of great advice on here, best of luck and keep us updated

Macey was brought up on pellets by the garden centre I brought him from and today was the first time he managed to eat a whole dandelion leaf, and he loved it!  :D so proud of him, finally eating the right things! x

Wow, what fantastic news! Don't give in if he gets bored of the weed diet! 

I'd not go by the amount to cover her shell, it's not relevant at all and the best way to grow them nice and slowly is to monitor the weight gain each month. Depending on her weight now, 2-4 grams is usually plenty, so she is on track. The problem with shop bought horsfields is that they are usually wild caught or at best farmed, so they have started to grow nicely and then the pet trade feed them on pelleted stuff which causes very rapid growth, due to high protein and very little fibre, which starts the bad growth. Cuttlefish is not much good as a food source, so I would stick with your chalk for beak trimming. Can't comment negatively on other sites obviously, but you won't get better advice than you will here. I have joined and left many groups over the years lol but this is one of the better ones, with sensible advice rather than some of the weird and wonderful stuff advised on some. Another reasonable one is Reptile Forums UK where people will tell it like it is, without putting people down.

Good luck with your little one ;)

I've experienced criticism and negative comments on other tortoise forums, so it's nice to find a friendly one it seems like there is an abundance of Horsfield's on second-hand sites. It's sad that owners don't know what they're taking on so are forced to sell. But some of the conditions that the tortoises are kept in is awful. My Aunt went to Morocco recently and sent me a picture of some tortoises being sold in a market: (sorry if any members find the photo distressing)

Hi Olly,

What great pictures of Flo she's lovely.

I love her outside enclosure it's great you've done a really good job with it.

Thank you! I hardly get a chance to establish some plants in it, before Flo munches them away