My 55 year old tortoise is poorly!

[mytortoiseisill]

apparently "tortie" has a parasite and if s/he doesn't start eating dandelions again in 5 days has to go to the vet for blood tests.

I didn't even realise tortie had blood in him/her.

Seriously though - how long do tortoises live? Is this old age? Am very fond of tortie (as was childhood pet) but I don't believe in prolonging animal lives unnecessarily.....

www.squiresgardencentres.co.uk/mediterranean-tortoise/#

Katy naturally starts eating less and then stops altogether some days before hibernation as it starts to get cooler.
Actually both going into and coming out of hibernation, she will spend the nights and colder days in her box, and come out for a few hours on warmer days.
She scratches the box a bit when she’s wanting to come out if if’s a mild day, but buries deeper under her straw in the depths of winter.

@mytortoiseisill

It’s a dry garden in Dorset not a muddy garden in Devon. Haven’t seen mud there since the 1990s!

Tortie likes water on a tray in a heatwave.

Is there a no strawberries consensus?
Any tips on weeds other than dandelions.

Unless you can evidence that it's climate and UV exposure is similar to Greece/Turkey the point stands.

It's a totally unsuitable environment for a tortoise

@mytortoiseisill

“Hope your parents little guy is okay OP. What a weird bit of responsibility to have to suddenly assume.”

Thank you Vaguely.
Just imagine all the other responsibilities I must be neglecting whilst participating in a tortoise thread :)
One thing though - tortie isn’t little he’s really big! And fast (usually)! And greedy (usually).

Anyway, here’s hoping for more weed tips.

Honestly OP if you're serious about caring for him then please do seek specialist vet advice and change his husbandry.

If not then sadly the chances are that this is the start of a slow and preventable decline.

If it was a dog being kept outside in a snowstorm and foraging for scraps, with no preventative healthcare, most people would be pretty horrified. The husbandry you describe is equivalent to that

Sadly it’s getting that way (more like Greece)
Dry summers are killing the dandelions.
It’s several degrees warmer than the uk average down there.
But I guess it will get that way for the rest of the country. :(

Makes me wonder - what do Greek tortoises eat July to September when everything is burnt out?

Veter- I’m hearing accusation and anger but I’m not hearing specific constructive advice that is proportionate to the circumstances. Mum took tortie to the vets. I am not going to tell her that someone on the internet is angry it’s the wrong kind of vet.

@mytortoiseisill

Sadly it’s getting that way (more like Greece) Dry summers are killing the dandelions. It’s several degrees warmer than the uk average down there. But I guess it will get that way for the rest of the country. :(

Makes me wonder - what do Greek tortoises eat July to September when everything is burnt out?

So not serious then.

Why bother starting the thread?
Animal neglect goading.
Lovely

@mytortoiseisill there's a free app called the tortoise table. That will help you with weeds and flowers. Obviously you cannot feed any shop bought plants or flowers (unless you repot in topsoil and leave for 6 months before feeding) as they can't have anything grown in compost.

There should be plenty of weeds and flowers available in your garden or nearby. Along the sides of canals and rivers often have a good variety. Use the app to identify things. I go on a big weed walk once a week. Come home and wash it and store it in a large Tupperware box with kitchen roll on the bottom and top.

If you imagine turning his shell upside down so it is like a bowl. If you filled that bowl size that should be how much food he has a day.

There are also lots of groups on Facebook you can join where people will help you with his set up.

@mytortoiseisill

Veter- I’m hearing accusation and anger but I’m not hearing specific constructive advice that is proportionate to the circumstances. Mum took tortie to the vets. I am not going to tell her that someone on the internet is angry it’s the wrong kind of vet.

You've been given a link to vets with herp experience, one to the tortoise trust who are incredibly helpful and one to an informative tortoise FB group.

You've dismissed, sneered and been facetious at all of the constructive advice we've given

Thanks fella that is useful to know re compost.
I can definitely get nasturtiums going in that garden.

We all have passions and personal priorities I guess. Clearly the care of captive animals is yours and that’s fine. Other people sometimes only have a moderate interest in subjects that preoccupy us.
I’m enjoying the advice.

They can eat all sorts of lovely weeds

Find a tortoise group on Facebook

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/

Have great information on what to feed them

Thanks tangled.
It’s a gardening challenge as it’s not my garden so I need to be able to give guidance/make sure the tortie-food is easy to reach for mum etc/not too similar to other stuff, etc.
She has repurposed the flower-bed round the fountain as a dandelion-bed!

@mytortoiseisill

We all have passions and personal priorities I guess. Clearly the care of captive animals is yours and that’s fine. Other people sometimes only have a moderate interest in subjects that preoccupy us. I’m enjoying the advice.

Sure - you think it's fine to post about an animal suffering from neglect, fake concern about it and ask for advice, then dismiss or ignore all of that advice and mock posters who are concerned about avoidable animal suffering.

I think that's a pretty crappy thing to do.
But I guess everyone needs hobbies 🤷‍♀️

.....one of the pines has been cut down and I’ve spent the past few days clearing overgrown bushes so hopefully we can get some more variety of planting back.

Where do people stand on the idea of sprinkling the calcium supplement on the salad leaves?

Lots of contradictory advice online it seems.

Shouldn't be feeding salad?! but I sprinkle calci dust on his food x 3 a week. Also have lump chalk or cuttlefish in their enclosure

Loving the idea of cuttlefish as dad used to pick it up off the beach.
Wonder if it was for tortie?

@mytortoiseisill

Where do people stand on the idea of sprinkling the calcium supplement on the salad leaves?

Lots of contradictory advice online it seems.

If only someone would link to sources of reputable expert advice that clearly give you that information...

Daily is recommended

www.dailymail.co.uk/home/gardening/article-3043805/Why-tortoise-perfect-pet-don-t-need-walking-children-adore-ll-generations-shell-read-tortoise-tips.html

Seems from this that tortie may have been tortoise-napped from the wild 50 years ago :(. Dad got him from a pet shop together with smoky the rabbit and rocket theguinea-pig. Sounds from the article like most of the pet-shop tortoises died young but dad obviously applied all his engineering skills to project tortie.

Interesting article in the Mail but I still don’t know which sort Katy is. It’s just grey - grey shell, grey legs, grey head.
My grandmother brought it home in her shopping bag, on the bus from Birmingham market.

“My grandmother brought it home in her shopping bag, on the bus from Birmingham market.”

Lol!

Paper - probably both tortie and katy are whatever was most common at the time (whatever that was).

I'm sure the thread needs a picture of tortie!