is it nessacery to have a water dish (flat one) for a spur thigh inside the enclosure or will they just drink form the bath like others do? we intend to bath daily as the pet shop that had the tort said he naths them daily and he/she loves it so we would like continue this as well

Hi Angel,

He/she will require a water dish. They should have access to water at all times. If you got your tortoise from a pet shop - he/she should have come with a certificat (Article 10). If you check box 11 of the license, it will show the country of orgin. If it's outside the UK it may well be worth getting a stool sample done to check for worms.

Here are some care sheets:-
http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/122.asp

Good Luck

HTH
TC
Darren

hi yes we got papers for him/her and the tort original origen would have been turkey we have put water in the enclosure just to be on the safe side whilst waiting for a reply here also we were reasured that all the torts in the pet shop have been wormed they are all checked prior to going on sale the pet shop is a reputable one and everyone has had really good healthy pets from there with no problems. we should soon be sending the papers away to be renewd as the tort will soon be big enough and need to be microchipped aswell. the tort has come from a local breeder here in england so he/she is captive bred.

thanks for your help glad to know we have done the right thing

one more question where is the best place to locate the water dish he/she is in a rabbit cage (just to give an idea of how big the enclosure is)

Hi, its best to place the water dish at the opposite end to the lights, this keeps the basking area dry and its away from electrics.

Regards Vivienne