Tortoise Health

I had a tortoise when I was a child and decided to get one again not too long ago. I made some mistakes along the way, but one mistake I did not make was ignoring people that gave me good advice on his health. Being that it was sooo long since high school, I admit that I had forgotten the rudimentary information about UVB and glass (duh). However, I did read some books on their dietary needs and habit/heat/humidity requirements. With so many people beginning to get into tortoises because it's "cool" it's important to know their diet and health requirements.

Many people have seen pyramiding shells on turtles and some have begun to think that it's natural for their shells to grow like this, but it is NOT. One thing that we need to recall when taking care of these awesome animals is that they need calcium, and some foods/unavailability of UVB interfers with their ability to absorb or use calcium.

A turtle whose shell is not smooth but a series of pyramiding (this is excessive Keratin growth (bumps) of the scutes is suffering from excessive consumption of dietary protein (too much protein in the diet). In actually, as I learned, no high protein veggies: peas, beans alfalfa or meat should be in their diet. As a matter of fact, some veggies commonly thought to be ok are not. For instance..while potato is ok, the leaves are toxic (The Tortoise and Turtle Feeding Manual, A.C. Highfield, 2000 p. 15). some books also say that some greens are not good. Research can ensure that we are taking care of these animals correctly.

Notice the clear healthy eyes and smooth shell (he did have the beginnings of pyramiding when I brought him). He has lived outside all summer and due to circumstances out of my control, will be wintering in the house. I have set up his environment as closely as possible to the requirements. There are two UTHs underneath, and I open the cage daily for 2 or 3 hours of UBV lighting. He eats turtle food mashed with the fruit of choice (no seeds) and gets a veggie to chomp on. There is also a cuttlebone in the cage with him.

Hello Deborah,

Good for you taking in this tortoise!
What type of basking light? Just curious. Great he is getting daily sunlight outside. I hope that he keeps on improving for you.
How long have you had him for?


Tracie

Originally Posted by Drache613

Hello Deborah,
Good for you taking in this tortoise!
What type of basking light? Just curious. Great he is getting daily sunlight outside. I hope that he keeps on improving for you.
How long have you had him for?
Tracie

Hi Tracie!

Your expertise is much needed. I have been reading books and researching, but first hand knowledge is always welcome..(p.s..when you get a chance stop by RC...I believe there are a couple of questions that only you can answer )

The basking light that Samwise has is a UV-B 05 (small bulb) He had the whole summer outside, in a pen. However, he either escaped or someone walked off with him (I have an acre of land and I cut that grass twice looking for him!! )anyway as it got cooler he ended back up on my doorstep, but by this time I had given up hope on him, so I did not have anything prepared for the winter .

I orginally had the light shining though the glass (duh). ThankfullyI was reminded of my elementary science/biology lessions and I transferred the light to a lamp that I shine into the aquarium 2/3 hours daily with no screen or glass to filter the rays.

I currently have him in a 27 gallon aquarium turned on it' side for maxium traveling room. The aquarium has two UTHs on the bottom; the larger uth is controlled by a thermosat. On the hot end is also a pool which I drilled a hole to put in an air tube connected to an air pump to keep the water circulating and not get stagnant (the uth also keeps the water warm..he gets in there often).

Around the aquarium I have wrapped insulation to keep him from trying to walk though the glass and to hold heat inside the glass (I read that if the temps are not warm enough that food will go right though them and prevent them from absorbing what they need from it...I am happy to say he's not having a LOOOOT of bowel movements)

Samwise's shell is smooth, and his colors are bright, he has no watery eyes, in fact, he is very alert and comes to the aquarium door when I come home, he also eats from my hands (I also have the book that lists all the toxic foods..but if there is anything less known please pull my coat. He basically eats prepared tortoise food with calcium/vitamin mixture sprinkled and mashed with mango, or banana or a mixture. He gets grapes, carrots and sliced apple (never any seeds in anything)

Several books have differing opinions on greens, so I haven't given him any thing other than what he eats in the yard.
I have had Samwise since September 16, 2007 I believe.

Hello Deb!

I will stop by RC later today, thanks, to see what is going on.

Great that your tortoise's shell is smooth & has no deviations on it now. He must be doing much better from the time that you got him until now. I am happy to hear that he isn't having any loose stools, either.
The diet that you have him on sounds fine. Does he get a little bit of protein such as tofu, pelleted parrot type chows, sardines with bones maybe. They need around 5% or so of protein. Adults can be fed 3-4 times a week with hatchlings being fed daily. He could also have some cereals like bran flakes or corn flakes for a bit of protein, too.
Do you have any idea how old he might be, just guessing?
The type & brand of UVB light, can you see it stamped anywhere on there? It is a UVB & basking light? How are you taking the temps, with a digital probe?
The basking should be roughly 90-95 for optimal digestion & behavior but you should definitely have a cooler area of around 70 or so as well. So he loves his heated water area, that is awesome.
Alot of people will use mercury vapor bulbs for tortoises for heat & UVB combinations. The best ones are Megaray, & T-rex active UV heat. I would use the 100 watt though so you can keep it at 12 inches or 14 inches away.
I look forward to more pictures & updates on him. He is in good hands with you.

Tracie

Thanks for the information, I'll take care of this immediately when I get home. I am pretty certain what I have is probably a zoo med bulb; I'll check when I get home to verify. I do have a red heat bulb shining though the glass for tropical feeling heat. I haven't measured the temps lately; the little white boxes that I had in there got wacked out from the humidity and Samwise sitting on them didn't help. Samwise destroys every thing..he can't help it..his shell just has to go where he goes. He tries to be graceful and for his bulk he succeeds...nevertheless, probes placed on his dirt do not stay...and putting them under the dirt does not give an accurate measurement of the temp on top of the dirt. (AHHH, I forgot I had a temp gun!!) lol will check when I get home.

The salesman told me that he was roughly 5 years old.

I have been terrified to give him ANY protein but, I'll start giving him some, how does one measure this? I do have a quaker parrot, who is mostly on seeds (trying to change HIS diet too...I brought him and his feeding habits were pretty much set by the petstore), but so many kinds of seeds are toxic to red-foots that I haven't even been tempted.

I will post pics regularly so that you can see if anything needs changing before a problem develops.

Hi! I have a couple questions. I think my tortoise has begun pyrimiding since i got him from the pet store . I know i can stop the pyrimiding but can i reverse some of the damage thats been done? Also If i have a uvb bulb going during the day and i have a redbulb during the night to keep it warm and toasty. is this adiquit lighting? thanks

Hi Baybay, there are a few people that are more knowledgable than I, but I have done a lot of research so I can try and help you find the answers to your questions.

First, I am not sure what damage you are talking about. Could you describe and post pictures? We will try and find the solutions if there is one. Someone else with more experience will chime in later.

Hello,

Definitely pictures would be helpful. Are you providing good quality UVB for him during the day to help out with the pyramiding any?

Tracie

Hello Deb,

How is your tortoise this morning? So, around 5 years old huh?
Did you measure the temps yet, if so, were they pretty good then?
Here is a feeding list.
It will at least give you an idea of feeding anyway. I would definintely start with very low protein, especially since he is an adult, he doesn't need much.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/webdiet.htm

Is it a Russian Tortoise? If so, here is a good site as well:

http://www.russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

I will try to post some pictures of mate later on today. thank you for all your help i am sure my tortoise will benifit from all your knowledge.