I have posted this in two sections as wasnt sure where best to put it.

I have always wanted to keep a tortoise and have finally decided to take the plunge, however I did not realise I was stepping into a world where there is so much conflicting advice! I have been to two different pet shops looking at equipment and have recieved different reccommendations from both.

This is my situation.

I want to keep a Horsefield tortoise in a tortoise table. What do I need in terms of lighting and heat.

One shop said I could have a combi light/heat bulb that would need to be on all day but could be turned off at night as long as there was a heat pad that I could put in the roof of the sleeping area.

The other shop said I needed a uv light that must remain on 24/7, a heat and uv combi light and a heat pad that had a perspex cover over the top that the tort could crawl onto when needed and this needed to be in the basking area.

Its so confusing can someone help.

Thanks

Firstly if you are asking for advice at pet shops, you will not usually get any worth using. Their main aim is to sell you something, regardless of how nice they are (that is part of the training). Try to imagine what the tortoise would have in the wild, in the case of the HORSFIELD tortoise, this is rocky, stony terrain with deep tunnels to retreat to - they are a burrowing species. In the wild they would come out to bask in the morning, possibly hide away from the heat midday (depending on the season) and then bask again later in the afternoon while looking for food before retiring to their burrows for the night. You need to have heat/light for roughly 12 hours a day and then let them cool down over night - no heat mat (these can be lethal, contribute to dehydration and go against natural occurences). In the morning the lights shoudl come on again and the tortoise will come out to feed and bask. Don't leave any lights on overnight, the sun goes down and so should the lights ;) In nature, all heat comes from above, the same should be the case for tortoises in captivity. You won't see tortoises basking on rocks like snakes do except at extreme ends of the season and that is not very often.

It's worth noting too that horsfields only eat for 3-4 months of the year in nature and have evolved to do so, so doing things very differently in captivity will produce a deformed tortoise which is likely to become ill at some time in the future. That does not mean that you must only feed your tortoise for 3 months, but that you should keep eating to a minimum and not feed as much as it will eat. They will eat for ever, but this is because they are geared to, due to not enough food being available in the wild. I would strongly recommend hibernating all horsfield tortoises and giving them a resting period of less feeding mid summer, to mimic wild growth.  this is how I keep mine www.tortsmad.com/russians.htm

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

Thank you for your reply its so hard to know who to trust as the guy in the pet shop sounded so knowledgable.

My second problem is that the tortoise is to be a classroom pet for (older children) and I realise that heat lamps must become very hot to touch. Does anyone have any experience in keeping a Tortoise in a classroom. Would I be better off using one of the large rabbit cages.

Also if I have read your advice properly you are saying no heat at night is necessary. I was going to buy a timer that would switch the light on at 6 and then i would switch it off when I left at around 7 at night. Obviously I would take hime home at weekends and holidays. does this sound feasible

That's the probloem they DO sound as though they knjow what they are talking about to beginners. You should hear them waffle when an long term breeder starts talking to them though ;)

Do you already have the tortoise as it's not a good idea to have them for classroom pets for many reasons. From the tortoises point of view it's not going to have a permanent outdoor enclosure presumably, which is essential and from the childrens point of view, I'm not sure what the parents would say if one of them was to contract salmonella or one of the other diseases often carried by tortoises.

One of the larger rabbit cages would be safer but a horsfield is a burrowing species and it would not be able to do this very well, they are not suited to keeping indoors at all I'm afraid.

Taking them home at weekends is also not a good idea. Tortoises don't like change and as mentioned to keep them happily to a ripe old age, they really do need outdoor accomodation. Not many breeders (myself included) will sell to totally indoor accomodation, it's just not consistent with what they have evolved to do I'm afraid Click on this link for horsfield care www.tortsmad.com/russians.htm

It would be better to get a furry animal or maybe a turtle for classrooms in my opinon.

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

That's the probloem they DO sound as though they knjow what they are talking about to beginners. You should hear them waffle when an long term breeder starts talking to them though ;)

Do you already have the tortoise as it's not a good idea to have them for classroom pets for many reasons. From the tortoises point of view it's not going to have a permanent outdoor enclosure presumably, which is essential and from the childrens point of view, I'm not sure what the parents would say if one of them was to contract salmonella or one of the other diseases often carried by tortoises.

One of the larger rabbit cages would be safer but a horsfield is a burrowing species and it would not be able to do this very well, they are not suited to keeping indoors at all I'm afraid.

Taking them home at weekends is also not a good idea. Tortoises don't like change and as mentioned to keep them happily to a ripe old age, they really do need outdoor accomodation. Not many breeders (myself included) will sell to totally indoor accomodation, it's just not consistent with what they have evolved to do I'm afraid Click on this link for horsfield care www.tortsmad.com/russians.htm

It would be better to get a furry animal or maybe a turtle for classrooms in my opinon.

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

Hi there I am  a newbie so would be grateful for advice.  Do I need to turn heat and light off at night.  I have Hermann tortoise 4 years old she lives in a tortoise table at the moment as I am getting outdoor pen ready for warmer weather although we dont get much of that in Wales.  Would be grateful tho for advice on heating and lighting at the moment.  I usually leave heat lamp on at night and turn lighting off but dont know if this is correct.  Many thanks.