Hi i am buying a horsefield tortoise and wonder what exactly i will need?i have heard negative things about vivariums so am now unsure?will he live outdoor or indoor?any comments greatly appreciated..thank you

Hi Catherine, I'm not one of the bosses on here but I'll mention a couple of things to get you a start.  We don't approve of vivariums and urge people to use an open tortoise table for indoors.  They can be got off e bay and likes or you can make your own.  Have a look at the info pages on this site and there are loads of pictures of indoor and outdoor enclosures.  Probably you are going to need a table indoors for you Horsefield and a suitable outdoor enclousre as well.  These are wild animals and my belief is that they must be allowed to be outside at least part of the time.

One way to get started is to either make or buy a tortoise table (as big as you can manage) and get a combined heat and UV lamp to keep your tort healthy when he's indoors.  Horsefields love to dig and must be allowed somehting they can dig down in a bit including when indoors.  Soil or a mixture of soil and playsand works well.

For outdoors you might start with a rabbit or guinea pig cage that you can take out on nicer days until you can plan somehting more spacious and permanent.  Horsefields dislike damp and must always have a dry place to retreat to.

Please look aorund the site for ideas.

Hi Catherine,

I am not an experienced tortoise keeper but I do have a Horsfield and completely agree. My little one is happy in her tortoise table but you can see the difference in her as soon as she is in her outdoor enclosure. She has much more room and alot more depth to dig in. I found the care sheets on this website fantastic to get me started and the photos in the gallery of members enclosures gave me great ideas for my little one. Good luck with your set up.

Julie :-)

Hi Catherine,

Please can i ask if you are getting your tortoise from a breeder or a petshop?

Ali

TPG

hey there, might I suggest a large indoor rabbit cage (something around the 4 foot long 2 foot wide area) I find Jollyes pets stock really really big sturdy ones and I find them brilliant as they have a cage bit over the top too which you can hang the selfbalasterd mega ray bulb holder above (sometimes within the cage if its high enough). This give you a ready made smart looking tortoise table and at around £100 new would be cheaper than buying timber/fittings/paint/plastic trays and making one- unless you have alot laying around already.

The other good thing with the indoor rabbit cages is you can wet the substrate and not worry if you put a little too much water on as it is contained in the plastic base section of the cage.This stops the substrate getting too dusty.

so basic list of equipment I'd say:

Large indoor rabbit cage

a nice hide if the cage doesn't come with one, maybe afew bits of slate or stone to add interest for tort.

megaray self balasted bulb (kimbos reptile world)

100w rated ceramic bulb holder with reflector on chain to hang vertically down!

accurate thermometer or two (digital with alarm)

playsand (argos! cheap and really good quality! no stones in it), garden topsoil (no additives or fertilisers) mixed 50/50 to a depth of around 4 inches in the base of your cage.

suppliments: limestone flour, nutrobal, cuttlefish bone.

large shallow dish for water - I use a large exoterra food dish.

a tile for feeding on.

I also use a large cat litter tray and riddle (the tray I use to soak my torts daily in warm water and the riddle I use to remove their stools).

An electric timer switch for your light (set to come one for 12 hours per day).

Mundo hand sanitiser (anti bacterial and anti viral and not drying on your hands) for before and after handling your tort! essential if you have more than one species!

You will also need to think about an outdoor enclosure, with a insulated shed and a greenhouse or coldframe setup which will be safe and secure for your tort so it gets plenty of time outdoors when the weather permits.

Then tortoise and a good handful of fresh suitable weeds from known sources every day.

I would also recommend you consider re homing a tortoise or buying from a British breeder who is recommended by one of the trusted tortoise organisations (tort friends tort trust etc)

Thank you very much for all your advice,for some reason I have only just been able to view this?bob is happily settled in and have taken great advice from here,i am in the middle of applying to rehome,wish me look and thank you for all your great advice... love Catherine xx