I have a quick question if that's ok. I've read that Horsefields are known to be little pigs when it comes to eating due to them only eating within a 3 month span in their natural habitat because of this you have to be very careful that you don't over feed them in captivity. My question is this...if I want to allow Queenie my Horsefield to naturally graze in her new outdoor pen once it's nice enough for her to go out then how do I regulate how much she is eating?

Hi winnie,

I'll keep it short this time I promise! Natural grazing means the tortoise is on the move, looking for food. So the exercise helps balance the food intake. Also I've found that after a few days of "yippee look at all this food" the tortoises become a bit more selective, taking a leaf here and there, rarely eating a plant to the ground. Almost as if they realise it's not going to disappear overnight if they don't eat it today.

Yes I agree Dave, at first its eat eat eat, but then they just nibble here and there, but get plenty more exercise walking around the pen browsing!

Regards Vivienne

I'm so glad you asked that question, I've been wondering about that as well!  Can I also ask about heat lamps for outdoor enclosures. I'm planning to build an enclosure with access into a shed where I plan to put Brian's current table top set up. Will he need to have the heat lamps on during the day?

Thanks, Helen  

Hi Helen, its best to have a heat lamp (ceramic are a good choice) on a thermostat (eg the habistat ones with a probe are good), so that it will only come on when the temp drops.  In the summer you probably (hopefully!) wont need it!!

Regards Vivienne