Jacqui's Captive Bred Tortoises

The white substance is urates, eliminated in urine of tortoises. (Concentrated uric acid). It's a perfectly normal byproduct of protein metabolism.

Urates should be anything from totally liquid, to about the same consistency as toothpaste. If they're hard or gritty when they're expelled, this indicates dehydration, very common in tortoises kept in vivariums! If left untreated, dehydration rapidly proves fatal. If gritty urates are observed the tortoise should be bathed immediately by standing it in a bath of shallow, luke-warm water. This should be done daily, until the urates return to normal. Generally, this bathing should be done two to three times every week as a matter of routine (more often for hatchlings, who can dehydrate more rapidly than adults). Most tortoises enjoy bathing if the water is tepid. Their compliance can be increased by placing a small sport lamp over the bath container so they can bask at the same time.

 A healthy tortoise produces quite firm, well formed feces. If they contain undigested food, or are runny, then the possibility of parasites should be ruled by sending a sample to your local reptile vet to be checked under a powerful microscope. If no parasites are detected then a low fiber diet is the likely culprit. This can be avoided by taking care to feed coarser foodstuffs that are closer to the diet of the species in its natural habitat. Feeding too much fruit, especially to species that wouldn't encounter much naturally, can also cause diarrhea. Frequency of defecation obviously varies depending on how much the tortoise is eating. If they appear to be straining to produce feces (or haven't gone for several days) try more frequent and prolonged bathing, which can ease mild cases of constipation. Providing butternut squash to eat can also ease constipation, but should not be fed routinely. If this fails to encourage defecation, a trip to the vet is necessary to rule out the possibility of an intestinal obstruction.

This could be flagellate organisms/parasitic invasion. Symptoms include diarrhoea, passage of undigested food, dehydration and anorexia. Although your tortoise may still be eating, the undigested food is in effect starving the tortoise. The tortoise should have a reptile vet’s attention as soon as possible. A fresh faeces sample should also be taken to confirm the presence of parasites.

No, tortoises generally can not swim. Tortoises are terrestrial, which means that they live on land. Unlike aquatic turtles, tortoises lack webbed feet.  Should a tortoise by accident fall into a pond or swimming pool it could sink to the bottom like a rock and drown.

It is therefore very important when planning an enclosure for your tortoise that it has no access to large bodies of water other than a very shallow dish to drink from. The dish must be shallow enough that the tortoise can drink easily, without falling into the dish or flipping on its back trying to climb up to take a drink or out after taking one. Also when planning an outdoor enclosure you must make sure that you do not build it in an area of your yard which will flood during a heavy rainfall.

All ponds should be fenced high enough that the tortoise can not climb over into the pond.

 It is considered as cruel to a tortoise to torture it in such a way. A tortoise has many nerve endings in his carapace (shell) therefore you should never ever drill or damage his shell purposely.  It is actually a prosecutable  offence to do so. Instead protect your tortoise from escaping by providing good qauality permimeter fencing, walls etc so it can roam freely and safely. Remember a tortoise can feel everything when you touch its shell!

The latter is a myth. Tortoises do get some of their liquid requirement for their diet but should also have access to drinking water all the time. They also like to sit in water and urinate at the same time and can often be seen venturing out in the rain.

The water bowl should be shallow enough that the tortoise can drink easily, without falling into the dish or flipping on its back trying to climb up to take a drink or out after having a drink. The addition of pebbles in the water bowl can aid a smaller tortoise getting out.

I like to use the Exo Terra medium food bowls for my tortoises as they are big enough for them to get into, but shallow enough for them to get out of, even then I add pebbles for hatchlings!

To add to the answer to the above question, the provision of a shallow drinking bowl will allow the tortoise to get in and out of the water, however, regular soaks should be part of god husbandry. Soaking assists in keeping your tortoise hydrated, which in turn helps to keep the tortoise's system flushed.  In the wild tortoises from arid climates will dig long, deep burrows which they retire to during the heat of the day. In these burrows, the humidity may be much higher than outside in the sun. This "microclimate" provides the humidity which keeps the tortoise from dehydrating, thus helping to prevent problems that tortoises kept in captivity tor may develop, such as bladder stones.

Whilst soaking, even if not drinking tortoises absorb water through the cloaca. 

 To correctly soak your tortoise, the water should be lukewarm and no deeper than the point at which the base (plastron) joins top (carapace).  You should soak for at least five to ten minutes each time and make sure the tortoise is clean and dry when it goes back in its enclosure.

A useful guide is the “empty shell” rule. Imagine the tortoises shell is empty then imagine how much food it would take to fill it. That is about the amount of food the tortoise needs each day. The best way to ensure the tortoise is getting enough food is to keep a diary of its weight. A hatchling and juvenile grow much more rapidly than an adult but as a rule you are aiming for 2-3 grams a month as an adult. There are other factors to consider such as a tortoise in a large outdoor enclosure is likely to be more active and require more food than one kept in a tortoise table in the house. Tortoises are natural grazers, and by offering two smaller amounts morning and afternoon, this will mimic conditions in the wild. If your tortoise is eatign every bit of its food then it is likley to need more, if it is leaving food then it is having too much.

All tortoises should be checked by a reptile vet as soon as you have it, especially if bought through the pet trade. A stool sample will be needed by the vet to check for parasites. The vet will then worm the tortoise if there is evidence of worms and it will be wormed a second does in a coupe of weeks. The tortoise should then be checked again a month or two later.  If your animal is alone, living inside, you should have it checked yearly or if you notice marked changes in droppings.  If it is living with other animals or spends some time outside, it should be checked twice a year especially if the stools become wetter and less shaped.

Experienced keepers learn to worm their own tortoise but this is not recommended for the novice keeper and so will not be discussed in this section.

The simple answer to this is NO, other than water. Dirt can be removed with luke warm water and a soft toothbrush. The shell is living tissue and any form of polish, paint or other chemical will cause illness that may lead to poisoning and death.

This is the result of accelerated growth usually as a result of too much protein in the diet which impairs the calcium metabolisation. Pyramiding is the term used for abnormal growth of the shell in the shape of a pyramid. The shell (carapace) can become weakened, or thickened and horny in places. This is the external result, but internally there can be implications for bone growth and structure causing defects and abnormalities, including poor bone density.

To avoid this the diet needs to be balanced including the right quantities of vitamins and minerals and should avoid excess of protein.

Herman’s Tortoises should have a leaf, plant and flower diet only. They should not be given cat food, dog food, pelletted commercial food or other protein diets.

A sprinkle of this at the rate of 1 pinch per kilo should be provided once daily on the feed to ensure optimum health. Cuttlefish bone can also be offered in the enclosure to free feed and is a useful way of keeping the beak trimmed.

Weeds grown in calcium rich soil also provide calcium that can be metabolized by the tortoise.

UVB levels in the tortoise’s natural habitat are vastly higher than anything we experience in the UK , so its food must be lightly dusted with a vitamin and mineral supplement which contains vitamin D3 and calcium, such as Nutrobal.

 In addition all tortoises, whatever their age, will benefit from some added calcium to their diet.

other alternatives used by many keepers include supplementation in the form of limestone flour or another form of pure calcium Carbonate. This can be sprinkled lightly on to the daily feed or provided in a small bowl to free feed. Limestone flour is available from most equestrian stockists and is recommended due to its high calcium content and the fact that it is easily digested.

When providing mineral and vitamin supplementation it is important that the manufacturer’s instructions are followed carefully to avoid the possibility of over dosing.

In order to manage this successfully there are simple steps to follow. Always provide a quarantine period of least 3-6 months. This will give you the opportunity to make necessary health checks and to ensure that both tortoises are in good health and not going to pass on parasites or infections such as worms, eye infections, runny nose syndrome etc.

Also never introduce a different species of tortoise. Each species is different in its diet, environment, reproductive habits etc and should therefore never be mixed. Tortoises also carry different pathogens, bacterias etc  which another species of  tortoise may not be able to fight off and could result in death.

You should also never mix wild caught and captive bred as either could be carrying illness that may not be showing symptoms but may develop at any point and lead to illness in either tortoise. Older/elderly tortoises in the UK will almost certainly have been wild caught and should not be mixed with captive bred. Tortoise that have come via importation and the pet trade may be carrying chelonian herpes virus and should have a long quarantine period but preferably never be mixed with existing groups as the whole lot could end up ill/die.

It is also not good practice to introduce breeding aged males to older females that have never bred as the stress may make them ill from the persitent advances of the male.

I prefer baby tortoises to start off in tortoise tables or large indoor rabbit cages measuring 3 foot minimum in length. This will not be suitable long term as the Eastern Hermans Tortoise (THB) grow to the size of a small tea plate and will need bigger accomodation. Horsefiled tortoises tend to be a little smaller but still need lots of roaming and digging space to avoid boredom.The best accommodation is to have a large indoor space for night time and colder times of the year and a large enclosed outdoor space (measuring at least 4 foot square per medium tortoise) with a shelter, for the remainder of the year. Remember Hermans tortoises can climb and a minimum of 2 breeze blocks high as a wall needs to be used to prevent this. I have experience of one of my Hermans females scaling over breeze blocks and going up small steps too! The bigger and more interesting the space the happier and healthier the tortoise will be.

In their natural habitat tortoises are grazers, wondering around biting bits from here and there. However, they would mainly feed in a morning, after warming up in the sun, and again a little in the evening. For this reason, it is important to feed your tortoise its main meal in a morning and a small amount to top up in the evening, preferably allowing natural grazing in an outdoor, enclosed habitat in between. I usually feed a good weed breakfast about an hour after the heat lamps come on, as they are ready to eat, urinate and defacate then, once thier motabolism is operating at optimum level. i provide a small amount of weeds again around tea time/evening, before they all settle down for the night.

The answer to this is ideally both! The optimum set up is a heated dry enclosure with access to a garden. This all needs to be safely enclosed. Tiny baby tortoises can easily get lost in the garden, as they will bury themselves. They are also not able to retain much body heat due to small shell size so quickly become cold and inactive. My babies have enclosuires that can be taken outside on warm sunny days so they can have the benefit of natural UV, and all have this from the day they hatch. From the age of about 3 years, they live totally outside. They have large heated, insulated, damp proof  tortoise houses to retreat to, with mega ray lamps on timers and thermostatically controlled heaters, for colder weather. They can choose to go in and out of thier garden through a small hinged flap that is opened in a morning and lcosed up at night to keep them all safe. Pictures of these set ups are on my photos pages. I advise new keepers to use tortoise tables and such like, but to make a secure outdoor enclosure where the baby can safely go out on sunny/warm days, as there is no substitute for natural UV. Total indoor permenant accommodation is not adequate in the same way that living ferrel outside, with the inclement british weather conditions is not good for the tortoise either.

The simple answer is NO! In the UK the weather is too changeable and unpredicatable. Tortoises need to spend some time out in the garden to access natural foraging and UV. However, they need to be in a safe enclosure that can not flood, and that they can not get out of. They need access to a dry and preferably heated house, dog kennel, green house, tortoise house etc so that they can escape inclement weather, warm up and avoid cold/damp conditions, that could otherwise lead to illness. Gone are the days of long hot precictable summers where tortoises could while away the days in the garden and with the change in weather patterns so must come the change in tortoise husbandry.

Yes! The physiological make up and metabolism of a tortoises in no way resembles that of a cat, dog or other regular UK pet. Therefore any vet prroviding treatment for illness, worming, or general health checks must have a good knowledge of reptiles and preferablyy tortoises. A tortoise takes longer to metabolise such things as antibiotics and there are also a number of drugs, used on other pets, that would kill a tortoise. Therefore, an exotics specialist is always recommended. Approved vet lists can be obtained from the Tortoise Protection Group, the Tortoise Trust or by emailing website owner, Jacqui.