Hi All

Well today i became the proud owner of a very lively horsefield tortoise. When purchasing from what i thought was a reputable reptile shop i am now seriously questioning what i have been told. He asked all the right questions (or so i thought), he asked what set up i had, which i advised was a vivarium with both a uvb light and a heat light, i was then advised that i would need a second dish, one for food and one for water and that i would be fine with reptile bark to line the bottom.

Now myself and my partner have been trawling through the internet to get correct information about any harmful foods as we would hate to give it anything we shouldnt and have come across lots of information that would suggest our set up is all wrong.

We have had the vivarium for a while and was from a private seller so it is not possible to return it. We have now placed extra helpings of the bark in the corners to enable it to burrow down a little more. However we need further advise, there is so much contradicting information about what to do and what not to do. So firstly what should we be feeding it, baring in mind all of the snow outside so not much free vegetation around at the moment. And also where should we be keeping it, luckily im quite handy and im pretty sure that with some work i can turn the vivarium into a deep table but before i get my tools out i wanted to check what we should do for the best.

All advice is very much apprectiated, and sorry this has been so long, thanks.

It's good that you have found how poor the info given was, so soon. I'm afraid piling substrate up in corners is not enough for a burrowing species like a HORSFIELD really as they need to dig down and I imagine you have already testified to the constant digging to try to dig a burrow that is not possible. A lot depends on the size of the vivarium as he will need a surface area of at least three feet by two feet, more if possible. You need to replace the substrate with normal topsoil and add some rocks and pieces of slate for it to climb on, dig under and generally make the area more natural for it - bark is not a good idea as the tortoise will go underneath it and it can harbour mould spores below the surface which will cause respiratory troubles.

While wild food is scarce you can use Florette Crispy Salad from supermarkets (not the other ones containing carrots, cabbage etc) You can also use watercress (the bunch type, not salad punnets), chicory, romaine lettuce etc. Don't give fruit of any kind including tomoatoes as this will upset the gut flora. This is how I keep mine www.tortsmad.com/russians.htm.

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

It's good that you have found how poor the info given was, so soon. I'm afraid piling substrate up in corners is not enough for a burrowing species like a HORSFIELD really as they need to dig down and I imagine you have already testified to the constant digging to try to dig a burrow that is not possible. A lot depends on the size of the vivarium as he will need a surface area of at least three feet by two feet, more if possible. You need to replace the substrate with normal topsoil and add some rocks and pieces of slate for it to climb on, dig under and generally make the area more natural for it - bark is not a good idea as the tortoise will go underneath it and it can harbour mould spores below the surface which will cause respiratory troubles.

While wild food is scarce you can use Florette Crispy Salad from supermarkets (not the other ones containing carrots, cabbage etc) You can also use watercress (the bunch type, not salad punnets), chicory, romaine lettuce etc. Don't give fruit of any kind including tomoatoes as this will upset the gut flora. This is how I keep mine www.tortsmad.com/russians.htm.

Hope this helps

Sue

www.tortsmad.com

Apologies for the repeat posts, not sure what is going on lol

Thanks for the response, the piling of bark into the corners was an attempt to make the most of a bad situation until tomorrow when the shops reopen. The vivarium is luckily 3ft by 2ft so plenty of space for now while it is still small.

So really the best way forward without it costing me a fortune to rebuy, is to make a table out of what i already have.

I am so glad i found this site before i did anything that would be detrimental to its health.

Thanks again

It will be fine until you can get to the shops. The area needs to be this size when turned over, so if this is the case it will be fine for now. Remember to keep humidity up to encourage good shell growth as not many shop ones have been grown well, being kept too dry and grown too fast. Keep growth slow and give him chance to dig and new growth should be better.

Good luck

Sue

www.tortsmad.com