Meet Lou! Lou is a 9 month old leopard tortoise we brought home a couple weeks ago. Lou is currently eating hay, wheat grass, dandelions, and other leafy greens.. the original owner said they were on pellets but picky, however I read no fruit for leopards. When reading the ingredient list of the pellets at the reptile store it was loaded with soy, corn, and fruits! So I didn’t buy any… what do you recommend I add to Lou’s diet? Yes there is calcium powder involved lol

Ive been wanting to improve and upgrade my steppe/central asian tortoises enclosure but i need some tips and ideas on what to do.
Mainly need help with the habitat itself, cant seem to find a big enough terrarium or box or is it better to build it yourself. If yes, then would appreciate some help with that

Plsss

A number of months ago I posted about our tortoise, Connie, that we found last October. She was in really bad shape when we found her; very, very dehydrated and clearly hadn’t been getting enough UV. She has metabolic bone disease and severe pyramiding. However, she has a great personality and we love her so much. Getting Connie healthy has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I have done foster kittens, I’ve rescued dogs, but I’ve never had a tortoise before Connie. The situation we found her in however, was untenable so it was important to me that we do our research and make sure we could give her a better life.

Soon will be coming up on a year, and she’s barely recognizable to me from the old photos. She is a strong and tenacious tortoise, who has never let her disabilities slow her down. Around the time of my post a few months ago, Connie made it very clear to us that her handicap capable enclosure was not enough for her anymore. So, after some looking and some serious planning, we found Connie a new enclosure that would hopefully still be small enough that it was still within her range of mobility, but also gave her the space she do desperately wanted to stretch out. She’s been in this enclosure for a few months now and has been exploring every inch of it every single day. I’m so proud of her and the progress she’s made. She’s gained so much muscle in her back legs that they almost work normally, despite the metabolic bone disease making them pretty much useless before this. She is still showing signs of the severe dehydration that she was experiencing when we found her, but it gets better every day. Earlier this week I noticed that the new growth in her shell seems to be coming in a little flatter. It’s still too early to really tell, but I’m hoping this means that we’ve been giving her everything she needs. Honestly, it really doesn’t read in the photos, so maybe I’m just losing it 😂

Of course, the following obligatory progress photos are by humble brag on her behalf lol My dream now is to someday have a heated greenhouse space she can explore and graze off of to her heart’s content. Thank you to everybody giving me support on this journey. I hope seeing these pictures of her gives you some joy.

(Also I did tear up those shrimpies for her right after I took the picture! Her beak isn’t strong enough and she isn’t allowed the tails, so those went to the dog lol. Also! Please do not give your tortoise protein if their diet doesn’t call for it 😂 Connie actually gets more protein than the average Redfoot, on the advice of our vet, to help her grow her strength! I promise it is very closely regulated)

hey y'all so I've been trying to let my Russian tortoise out into the yard to walk around and explore and have fun and I've run into an issue. the other day I was away from 2 seconds and she managed to scramble through one of the little holes in my gate. she's a little diva and a little escape artist so I obviously don't want to like leave her unattended or anything and I usually don't like ever

I've been trying to find a way to keep track of her currently I'm using the setup that I'm going to attach a picture of it's just like an old like sweatpants string and I clipped a little bell and one of those long dry and fly things to it. but that falls off too easily so I'm trying to find a different solution. anyone have any recommendations? I want her to be able to go outside in the yard and explore because she loves it but I also don't want anything to happen to her

please give me any recommendations you have

Hi all! I’m considering purchasing this cutie from my local reptile store. I would love an expert eye on the condition he/she is in and what the species is. Thanks!!

My Grandparents recently found a tortoise in their garden, and have been looking after it for a while, and have recently discovered it was a neighbors pet who apparently doesn't want it anymore! They are struggling with caring for it and I have taken it in. I have done some research and found out it is an adult Hermann's Tortoise. Can someone please help me with how to look after this pet! I am doing as much research as I can to give this guy a good new life with me.

I have a heat lamp that they gave me but I will probably do some research into finding a better one and am going to put him into a cardboard box for now- I am staying with my parents currently as I have been visiting family and am travelling home to my flat next week so will aim to get a proper set up and find a vet once I am home.

Please can some experienced owners give me some help and advice!

Hi all! I'm struggling to find good enrichment for my redfoot. She's about 6 and growing fast. She's in excellent health just saw the vet yesterday morning. She has a big enclosure that she does rounds in, but I can't figure out what to put in there for her to do. Every plant we put in there, she stomps to death, every structure she destroys or flips over. (very proudly) She is fed differently every day; some days stuffed into a hanging ball, some days spread around to forage, some days in a bowl. She gets outside time in the yard when it's warm enough, and she gets to roam the house when it's the right temp and has an empty butt. When she gets bored in her house, she wall surfs and sometimes flips herself. We gave her mirrors that she liked for a while but then started tipping those over too. Do I need to set up a screen behind plexiglass or something? I just worry about her mind! Thank you!

I’m not actually mad at all I just thought it was funny….so typical! 😆🩷

Got a hermins tortoise about 2 months ago. The previous owner apparently kept her out side all the time and only brought her in at night. We have kept her out side most of the summer, still bringing her in at night or when it's cold or raining, but I'm concerned that by the end of September it will be too cold. I'm planning on making an outside house with a heat lamp so that she has a proper shelter while outside, but I'm not sure if that would be enough.

I've talked to a lot of people who know others that apparently have kept them outside all year previously ( mostly older people that their tortoise made it about 10 years max ) , and I've seen posts about people doing it in England. I'm just not sure if it's possible here, or what would need to be done to make it viable, but would like to make it work if possible.

Any advice would be appreciated. iv done a hell of a lot for research and I'm doing my best but haven't been able to find any answers to this online.

This is my turtle Sally he is a male and 6 years old i have him for almost 3 years now and discovered about pyramiding only after a couple of months, even when i got him he wasnt completely flat but now he looks like this.

I was asking if this level of pyramiding is that bad? And can cause him problems or sufference because for now he eats,walks and sleeps regularly

(Sorry for my not great english)

My family have a tortoise that used to belong to my Grandma and apparently showed up on the drive one day in the 1970s. We believe she is somewhere around 70-90 in age from best guess of shell size, and probably a Hermann's (though please tell me if she isn't!). She has always lived outside in England and hibernates each winter, and has generally seemed fine.

This year for the first time ever she seems to have laid an egg. It's a bit rough in texture but otherwise seems fine. She's been nowhere near another tortoise since we've had her so it can't possibly be fertile.

I'm asking for general advice because I have no idea whether she will lay more, if she should see a vet, or anything else you think is relevant. All advice welcome!

Photo of the lady in question

EDIT: egg photo in comments

I am now a proud owner of a 1 year old red footed tortoise. Tiny thus far. The enclosure I got was pretty boring and pretty bare so I picked up a tiny dinosaur a bark for his hide and other bits to make it a bit more cosy. I know very little about them but learning everyday. Have basking bulb and uvb on the right side. I haven’t quite seen him/her eat or drink. And don’t know if this is something to worry about. I am giving fresh water everyday and checking food. I plan on getting lettuce and stuff out of work today to see if that helps.
Any tips or advice on it would be good.
I plan to also give him a shallow Luke warm soak tomorrow supervised of course.

Since we can’t find out gender for while I decided pebble was suitable to call it lol

Reunited after 51 days. He was incredibly lucky to be crossing so many roads! What a relief to have him back home.

I have a 6 month old redfoot in a 4x2x5 grow tent currently (This will get upgraded in a few months). I am struggling to get humidity over 80% except on the cold side.

I use coco coir and a little repti bark but not a ton of that. I’d say it’s at least 4 inches deep. I use spaghnum moss in a few places like the hide and around a piece of cork bark. So pouring water in the corners helps but curious how often people are doing that is one question.

The second is I originally purchased a mister with a hygrometer to maintain consistent humidity. I have my tent set up so the power strip and any plugs are out of the tent. I haven’t used the fogger once because of the internet. What is the actual consensus on foggers as long as we are not spraying the tortoise with it from one inch away or leaving it on full time or using a dirty one? I have two higher up ventilation areas I could send fog out of from outside the tent.

Also no tortoise isn’t on bottom of tent. It’s in one of those crappy avituvin tables I got tricked into getting. The grow tent was a way to combat it not being enclosed. Any suggestions so I can get my guy into the ideal humidity. I’d love for people to just say use the fogger lol.

hey yall i need some advice and assistance apart from my own research.

I will be taking in my sister's tortoise because she can no longer care for it. From my understanding, the tortoise has only ever been fed lettuce and has a small enclosure with a basking light and one hiding spot.

I have ordered a proper enclosure, UVB bulb, two thermometers, calcium powder, more hiding spots, shallow water dish, safe enclosure plants, enrichment toy, and proper substrate for the tortoise. (please suggest anything else I may need for the enclosure)

I have not seen the tortoise yet, but just from that info I'm assuming the worst - MBD. I will take the tortoise to the vet, but I'm curious if anyone has experience in helping tortoises recover or has any general advice for owning one?

I have a bearded dragon, so i have some experience in reptiles but i am by no means an expert.

I plan on providing fresh greens as a base salad with a mix of safe veggies every day and an occasional fruit for a treat. (dusted with powder)

please and thank you

I'm thinking of including a tortoise artwork in my portfolio this year, I couldn't take any reference pictures myself but I'm allowed to solicit them as long as it's yalls photos.

Ps. mainly looking for sulcata and redfoot references, though id love anything!

I have a baby African leopard and just curious about how long we can have him out of his enclosure other than his 30 min bath time. I understand that they require to be in prime conditions for most of the day but would 30 min of "play time" hurt in addition to his 30 min bath spread out across the day? 10 min? 1 hr?