i have a rescue tort which is a horsefield female. the vet says she's 6 years minimum. is she now fully grown?

Hi Winnie,

Welcome to the forum! At six years, your horsfield is not fully grown -- she is just a juvenile. How much does she weigh, and what is her length? If you are unsure how to measure her length, you can click on The Tortoise in the left-hand column, and then on Weight/Length, and you will find clear instructions.

Nina

soz, i was peekin at the pics in the gallery. i haven't got a weight yet as only had her a few days although i should of weighed her when i got her as she didn't look to hot. she's perked up a lot since i got her, she's eating like a pig. i'm feeding her twice a day, is that to much as someone told me i should only feed her once. she does feel very light when you pick her up but she's peeing and pooing great.

Well peeing and pooing is a good sign. It might take her a few days to settle in. Make sure she has baths every other day or so -- warm water in something she can't see out of, like a washing up bowl, with water up to the point where the top shell meets the bottom shell, and for about 15 minutes, as it will keep her well hydrated.

Have you had a look at our care sheet for Horsfields? Click on The Tortoise in the left-hand column, and then on Care Sheets, and then on Horsfield. There are also articles on hibernation, growing your own weeds, and lots more.

You do have to be a bit careful with horsfields, as they can overeat and then their shells get bumpy. In the wild they come from countries where it is very cold in the winter and very hot in the summer (so the hibernate in the winter and aestivate in the summer), which means they are only awake for about three months a year! This means they are programmed to eat as much as possible in a very short time. The general rule is to either feed as much as they can eat in 20 minutes once a day, or as much as would make a little jacket to cover their shells once a day, but you should basically try and keep her weight gain down to between 1g - 3g per month, and you'll be fine.

It would be great to see photos of her and her enclosure. I have a horsfield, and they have super personalities! Be warned though,they are great escape artists and will dig deep tunnels (and they also climb), so you need to make their outdoor enclosure escape proof.

Nina

i've just called home for some lunch and read your reply, thanx nina, ur a star. she has been getting a warm bath but only for 10 mins as she starts throwing a bit of a tizz if left for longer. i've printed loads of stuff off of different sites (maybe thats were i've gone wrong-brain over ride!). i've just bought materials for making a big tort table (haven't done outside enclosure yet, still toying with different set ups) but she has been going in garden when sunny (supervised of course!) and quite a few times now she's tried to do a steve mcqueen on me. i've been told that this particular breed HAVE got to be hibernated every year but i'm really scared about doing this. i don't want to do her this year as i don't think she's healthy enough, she had RNS when i got her and is still getting over it. i'd be very proud to send in a photo as i think she's fab but you'll have to bare with me coz i'm crap with computers and will have to get someone to help me (sad or wot!)

LOL -- she sounds like a typical Horsfield - lots of personality and a great escape artist!

I know there is lots of confusing information out there, but if you stick to the info we have here, and the information on the Tortoise Trust website, you won't go wrong.

We all find hibernation scary, but you've got a long time until you will need to hibernate her (next autumn/winter) and we will be happy to help you when the time comes if you feel she is able to be hibernated. Have you read the articles on hibernation in the section called The Tortoise in the left-hand column here? Never hibernate a tortoise that is ill or underweight, but if she is fit when the time comes you should consider it.

Re photos -- I'm not good at that either, but there is a section called How to use the Forum under TPG Members Forum in the left-hand column, so you could try that, as there is a paragraph on posting photos. Would love to see your tortie palace when you've finished making it (there are some photos of tables in the photo gallery that could give you some ideas.

Nina

Hi Winnie, Just to say  to the TPG ! Do your homework first before building your out doors for a Horsfield, as Nina has said they are GREAT escape artists. It is a bit of an overload with information at first, but soon your hair will go grey with needless worry and talk weeds to all you meet like the rest of us: welcome to the world of torts!  

Elaine

Hi Winnie,

As I said, I'm not good at posting photos, but I'll have a go with these three pictures of my Horsfield at the start of digging a tunnel for The Great Escape (she sort of goes vertical and digs straight down).
[IMG]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i20/lepinsky/IMG_1508-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i20/lepinsky/IMG_1509-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i20/lepinsky/IMG_1510-1.jpg[/IMG]

Nina

Nope, it didn't work. I'll have to get someone to help me!

Nina

Hi Girlies,

      before i start to ramble i'd just like to say thanks for being so nice and helpful, i think i should of come on here well before i did. i've just measured and weighed the little darling (who i've still to find a name for), i think i've done it right, i did what it said in the tortoise, put her up to the skirting board very gently so she pops her head in (she didn't like it) and on the piece of paper she's on use a pencil to mark the back of the shell, that right?. anyway, her length was 11.5cm. getting her weight was even more fun but i think i've got it, it was between 300g-320g (soz, they weren't digi ones). i don't think she's speaking to me now coz i've told the world and it's brother what her weight is. oops!

Well done, Winnie! It sounds like you've measured her correctly and she is a decent weight for her length (possibly a little on the light side, but nothing to worry about, and the way she is eating she will soon put weight on).

Now you've got to get your priorities right and find that lovely lady a suitable name.

Nina

Hi Winnie,

 to the TPG forum

Glad the care sheets have been a help to you, as others suggested, take a look at the members photos of their outdoor enclosures, it really helps when your constructing your first one!

You'll certainly have your hands full with a russian <g>....full of character and really cheeky torts......we'll have to have a poll suggesting names!

Jo

and to think that it was a fluke that i got her. there's a girl in work who has 2 torts but she was off sick so the office staff rang me coz they new i had done some reading on them (only a little bit). i think they just wanted her out of the office as they were worried about her because of the condition she was in but looking back at it now i don't think she was as bad as we thought, though you guys might disagree!. anyway she's here now and i'm hoping for good as i've really fallen for her.

maybe i should call her fluke, wot do you's think?

Hmmm -- maybe.
# A fluke, the pair of horizontal tail fins of whales, dolphins, and porpoises
# Flounder, type of flatfish
# Trematoda, class of flatworms
# Fluke (band), electronic dance music group
# Fluke, 1995 film
# Fluke (novel), 1977 novel

Not sure about the flatworms though

Nina

P.S.  I've always thought Nina was a lovely name for a tortoise

fluke it isn't then. might go for nina as you were the first to help us or could go for queenie, based on steve mcqueen in his film the great escape.......you choose!

Queenie is a great name! And it sounds like it suits her!

Nina

queenie it is then. just out of curiosity, when she went to the vets coz she had RNS she only came back with eye drops. should she of come back with antibiotics (unless he gave her a jab, i didn't take her) i know the vet wasn't happy with me when i told him i wanted to keep her because i didn't have a viv,heat pad etc but  i'd seen  loads of pics of torts in their homes and gardens a while back in work and not one of them were in a viv.

Hi Winnie, your new tort sounds a character already, and I love the name Queenie!!

There are a lot of vets around that do not specialise in tortoises and give out wrong husbandry advice, its best now to find a torty specialist vet local to you, just incase you need to contact one.  We have a list of recommended vets (to the left of this page), let us know if there isnt one near to you, although many of us have to travel a fair distance to get to one.

Did your vet want you to take her back to him?  If Queenie continues to show RNS symptoms I would take her to a specialist vet, its best to clear this problem before it gets any worse.

Regards Vivienne, ps I'm intrigued to know where you work, do you work with animals?

H i Vivienne, the vet that i took her to is a reptile vet and i always thought he knew his stuff but i think i'll use the one my friend goes to with her torts. the vet didn't tell me to bring her back he just said to give her the eye drops 4 times a day for 7 days then stop. she does seem to be a lot better then what she was, sometimes i think i see a bubble from her nose but when i have a closer look there's nothing there and her nose is dry. are there any other symptoms i should be looking for?

ps yes i do work with animals at a large animal home. i know my stuff when it comes to the canines but queenie has certainly got me working for my money but i look at that as a good think as you can never know to much when it comes to caring for animals (thats what i think anyway)

Hi Winnie, its good to hear that Queenie is picking up, perhaps the vet was right in diagnosing an eye problem to be the cause of the problems. But if you are at all concerned and you do see bubbles best to get her back to a good vet, other symptoms can include gasping for breath and wheezing noises, but you dont want to wait until it gets to that stage. 

Is your vet or your friends vet on our recommended list?  If so, they should be ok as these have been highly recommended by members.

Keep us updated and let us see a pic of Queenie!

Regards Vivienne

Hi Winnie,

I'm glad that Queenie is looking a bit better. As for your vet, many vets -- including reptile vets -- are very good on medical stuff, but not great on husbandry. If he told you that Queenie needed a viv and a heat mat, then I would just ignore that, as the best advice from all tortoise experts nowadays is that for species like Horsfields, a vivarium is not good. There are several reasons for this:
1. At the most basic level, most vivariums just do not have enough floor space for a tortoise. They are very good for lizards and snakes and other reptiles that climb, because they have high sides, but tortoises need quite a bit of space to explore and most vivariums just don't have that.
2. More importantly, because of the enclosed nature of a vivarium, even with air vents, the humidity can build up and this is also not good for species like Horsfields.
3. Most importantly, unlike mammals, tortoises get their body heat from outside sources, and they need to thermoregulate -- to move from warm to cool areas to do this. In a vivarium, because it is enclosed, the temperature tends to be pretty much the same all over. With a tortoise table it is easy to get the right temperatures -- about 30C at the hot end and 20C at the cool end.

Heat mats are also not good. If the tortoise sits directly on them even the low wattage heat mats can produce burns. But even if there is a layer of something between the mat and the tortoise, it is not ideal, as tortoises like to get their heat from above (think of the sun).

So he might be a perfectly good vet, but his ideas are old fashioned regarding husbandry. If you stick with the care sheets on this site, and the information on the Tortoise Trust website, you won't go wrong.

Nina

Hi Vivienne and Nina, neither the vet i use or the vet my friend uses for her torts are on your list but my friend hasn't had any probs with hers. there aren't any vets on the list that i could say were close but there is one in cheshire that is accessable and as you  said most people have to travel. Is it ok to use a vet that isn't on the list?

Do you think the vet would be offended if i told him that he shouldn't recommend vivs and tell him to view the tort tables on the different web sites???

I don't want to upset/annoy him.

Hi Winnie, the problem using  a 'non-specialist' vet is that whilst they will know the basics of how a tortoise is 'made', they are not specifically trained in all the illnesses and up-to-date medicines or the up-to-date husbandry techniques, a lot of vets mainly deal with cats and dogs.  It would be better if you could get Queenie to the vet in Cheshire.

I do think your vet will be offended if you tell him he shouldn't recommend vivs, perhaps you could tell him that you are following the advice of the TPG or TT and offer to leave him one of our care sheets with our web address on, and he might learn some new ideas!!

Regards Vivienne 

If my tortoise Queenie is eating ok and seems happy and healthy should I still get her wormed?. I know that routine worming is advised in dogs and cats but is it the same for torts.

I wouldn't worm her unless she actually has an overload of worms, as any medication upsets the gut flora a bit and personally I don't believe in medicating unnecessarily (although I do know that some people worm annually as a precaution). You can always take a fresh poo sample to a vet and ask for it to be tested (it doesn't need to be a tortoise vet -- any vet can check a poo sample), if you are unsure.

Nina

Are there any other parasites that I need to keep my eye out for and can she pick any of these up from being out in the garden?. Sorry if I'm asking silly questions but I want to make sure I'm doing things right.

Hi Winnie,

Not that I can think of:-)

Darren

It's a relief to know that the only parasite I have to worry about is worms. I know in other animals worms are not always visable in the poop, at times you have to read the signs. How do I know if Queenie needs worming and what signs would she show?. I can't imagine a tort with a pot belly somehow (or would it be a pot shell!).

Hiya,

Tortoises can carry a wide range of parasites, but it's not very likely they'll pick up ticks or any other of the range of parasites they can carry from your garden.

Depending on the type of worm, there often aren't any signs until there is a massive infestation and it starts to affect their health. I'd be inclined to take her along to the vets once a year to get her poo sample checked. We don't recommend routine worming if possible, especially when you only have the one tortoise and it' easy to collect 1 fresh sample.

HTH

Darren

Hi,

The other main parasite that can affect tortoises is protozoa (but these will only be detected by a vet test, as you won't be able to see them).  Here is a good article about parasites that affect tortoises:  http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/parasites.html

Nina 

Thanks Darren. Can I also ask, are the worms they get only found in reptiles. what I mean is, can they pick up the likes of tape worm as I have cats that come into my garden (really sorry if I'm sounding like a durrrr).

It's ok I've just read the info that Nina's just sent through which has answered my queries. I must of been typing my question when it came through. Thanks Nina and thanks Darren.

I'm so chuffed, Queenie is now officially mine. I know it's sad to think that no owner came forward for her and that now she's stuck with me but it's better then nothing I suppose. A friend built my tort table for me today and I've been looking at all the pics to get ideas. I've filled it with play sand and top soil and the substrate is deep enough for her to burrow . Can I use timothy hay to put down as bedding?. Also I think I may have gotten the wrong bulb, it's one of the dual ones but it's a 160 watt, is this ok. She's in a very basic set up at the mo with most of the stuff borrowed as I didn't want to buy stuff and then she got claimed.

Hi Winnie,  Queenie is very lucky to have found you.  Your table sounds really good, I hope you post some pictures sometime.  We dont recommend the use of Timothy Hay, if it gets wet it tends to go mouldy and give off spores which arent good for Queenie to breath in. as long as she can burrow down thats the only bedding she needs.  Is your bulb one of the combined heat/uv bulbs?  If so the 160w is ok, just higher it until it gives a basking area of around 35C.

Keep up the good work  Vivienne 

Can I give hay to eat. I read on a web site that it can be cut up into small pieces and mixed in with the weeds

Horsfields are med torts therefore do not need the chopped hay mixed in with the weeds, this is mainly for leopards and sulcatas whose main diet consists of grasses.  Saying this I know my horsfields all munch away on fresh growing grass when the weeds have been gobbled up!

Vivienne

I know that when experienced tort owners read this you're going to laugh at me but I'm going to ask anyway. Is it normal behaviour for a horsfield not to be interested in digging down or tunneling?. I put Queenie in her new enclosure on Thursday and apart from the odd back leg wriggle when she first went in she just toddles around with no interest in getting down and dirty. Is this ok?

Hi Winnie,

It's not a silly question at all.  I think that Queenie is just getting used to her new home, and I'll bet that before long she discovers her natural instincts and digs down.  Some horsfields do dig less than others though.  Is this an indoor or outdoor enclosure?  I find that my Horsfield digs down a lot less indoors.  I think that is because the soil/sand mixture indoors isn't as firm as outdoors, where there are roots from plants and things that hold it together better and make for good tunnels.

Nina

It's an indoor enclosure Nina. I used the top soil and sand mix and I put it nice and deep coz I was really looking forward to watching her tunnel (i really need to get out more). She hasn't let me down on the trying to escape part though. She definately gets a 10/10 for effort on that.

LOL -- Horsfields are great escape artists! Does she have an outdoor enclosure? She really ought to be out on nice warm days like we had today, and I think you might just see another side of her personality when she gets outdoors!

Nina