Exotics

How to keep a

happy, healthy tortoise

Varied diet

Tortoises are ‘veggies’.

NEVER give meat or cat food.

Offer lots of fresh fruit and veg.

Feed a variety of the following:

Cabbage, runner beans, french beans, cucumber, lettuce (addictive so not too much), peas, courgette, broccoli, clover, grass, dandelion, buttercup, hawkweed, chickweed, bindweed, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cooked and raw parsnips, grated carrot and watercress.

Bean sprouts are a useful source of food and vitamins in early spring and winter when fresh greens are scarce.

Excesses of any one food should be avoided. Fruits such as apples, pears, melon, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums, nectarines, tomatoes and small amounts of banana.

Flowers such as rose petals, ice plant and sedums are eaten with relish.

Yellow and red foods are a treat to tortoises. Not too many at once.

WHOLE DANDELION HEADS are a great treat.

Daily baths

A good soak in an inch of luke warm water does the world of good. Encourages fluid intake and urination. Why not add a probiotic and vitamin supplement (REPTOBOOST) to the bath water as a general ‘pick-me-up’?

Environment

Good quality source of UV light is needed for the tortoise to function normally. Even better – good old fashioned direct sunlight for a few hours a day to kick start any tortoise.

Supply a constant daytime temperature of 25-30 degrees C for that ‘feel-good factor.’

Exercise

Tortoise’s love climbing, digging and foraging for food. Supply ramps and logs in the tank and hide food around the garden for tortoise to find.

Hibernation

Only healthy tortoises should be allowed to hibernate.

Youngsters don’t need to hibernate, so any tortoise under 6 years old can stay up late!

The ‘oldies’ can get a check-up by the Vet to ensure they are healthy and ok for hibernation.

Waking up

On waking from hibernation, a good soak in a bath will help recuperate the dreary ol’ tortoise and get it ready for action.

If the tortoise doesn’t want to eat on waking, then come and see us for a check-up. This is known as POST HIBERNATION ANOREXIA.

Longevity

With a good diet and correct environmental conditions, some tortoises live a long time. Approximately 80 to 150 years depending on species!

So be prepared, you’ll have a long time to get to know each other.