Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => Pets without Feathers => Topic started by: AmandaH on October 30, 2009, 13:23
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I always used to like tortoises. Even the big ones that I saw when I went to the Galapagos Islands and they smelled *really* bad. We have now acquired one temporarily (a small one, not Galapagos one). He is staying with us while the MIL is in Australia for three months.
However, Plod is a malevolent presence, with his horrible little beady eyes. He gives me the heebie-jeebies. Sure he is just waiting to star in a horror movie. Something like Arachnophobia, but with tortoises :D
He doesn't hibernate much as he simply wanders indoors at MIL's house when he is chilly so, sadly, he is not asleep as he probably should be right now.
He is living in his little house outside in the day but I have had to put a run around that to (a) stop him disappearing - although I would like nothing better - and (b) keep my naughty but much-loved chooks off his food.
When we HAVE to bring him indoors (i.e. at night), he sleeps in his bed, shut in our cat box in the conservatory.
However, I have no idea what to do with him when it is too cold to put him out but he is not asleep. He is NOT having free run of any part of my house - I have cat poo, chicken poo, fish poo and toddler poo to deal with. I am not prepared to deal with any more. Plus I simply do not want him roaming the house (the cat has been traumatised enough by the arrival of the chickens and the house is her refuge). Nor can I keep him in the cat box as that seems cruel (although an ideal solution from my point of view).
So - to finally get to my point - any ideas on how I can contain a tortoise in a reasonable-sized area indoors, bearing in mind that Plod appears to be the Houdini of the tortoise world?
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he probably doesn't like you either :D poor misunderstood plod :(
have you not got a garage or shed you could pop him in? if not then i'm afraid it's free range tortioses in your house :lol: :lol: :lol:
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The way he looks at me TMG, I am absolutely POSITIVE that he doesn't like me. I have no idea why I have taken against him so badly. I was always quite amused by him strolling across the lounge while I was visiting MIL and FIL. But now... *shudder* ...he gives me the creeps.
We've got a shed but it's a bit of a mess and full of things that I'd be worried (but not too much) that would fall on him or something. He has a bit of a history of getting into scrapes - getting stuck, on his side, round the back of MIL's next door's greenhouse; escaping and being found heading up the main road towards the M1; falling in MIL's fishpond (now netted); trying to climb the back step, falling off and ending up stuck on his back for hours... You get the picture...
You don't want him, do you?
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What kind of tortue is he?
Unless he is very old, tortues bought these days usually don't hibernate as they are a different type.
At this time of year he *must* be under a heat lamp to keep his metabolism up. If not, any undigested food could rot in his digestive system and make him very ill.
My friend has a tortue who was bought as a baby and is now 10ins from head to tail! She lives in an indoor bunny cage during the winter (This is about 1m20 x 75cm), under permanent heat, and during the spring/autumn she is in a large stable under heat and during the summer she lives out in a big pen outside the stables.
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You are right royally p*ssed off with your MIL , aren't you? Not that I blame you - you are stuck with the cat poo, chicken poo, fish poo and toddler poo in a damp English winter while they waltz off to the sun leaving you with the problems. Wild guess - the tortoise isn't the only 'baby' you have been left holding??? ???
And no real guidance on what you are supposed to do with the beast. How do your in-laws cope with the tortoise poo - is he house trained like a rabbit, or does she just clean up behind him? :unsure: Not that is matters - if you can't stand him, then at least you need to know where he is so you don't do each other a mischief. And that means a playpen, rabbit run somewhere warm and mostly out of your - and the toddler's - way. Is the conservatory heated in the winter?
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I think he is about 20 years old Casey, so not old for a tortoise? Would a photo help?
I have no idea what sort he is, just the sort that everyone used to have in their back gardens...
The MIL doesn't have a heat lamp, he just lives in a cat bed in the kitchen and wanders in and out as he pleases. He does sleep in the winter sometimes, apparently, but never for more than a week or so at a time.
I've been a bit flippant and I don't like him at all (he really does give me the creeps) but I don't wish him any harm. He is eating ok - I was told to give him mixed veg, salad bits and apple as food. And he is pooing a LOT. Well, maybe not a lot, but it just seems like it.
What should I do with him? He is used to living indoors but he is not free ranging like he does at home. Should I bring him into the house (MIL suggested the conservatory, which is why he is in there at night)?
You've worried me now Casey - he's my responsibility while MIL is away and I'd hate for anything to happen to him...
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Oh no, madcat, all the other poo is entirely my responsibility. The cat, chooks, fish and child are all mine and I love them all to bits. Well, perhaps not the fish so much, as they aren't cuddly... :D
And, much as I'd love to go to Australia, she is going for her (other) son's wedding and he is The Golden Boy (despite having buggered off to live on the other side of the world and leaving my husband to pay her mortgage). So there would be much comparison made with my wedding (to her other son) last year and we would be found lacking, I suspect. I'm sincerely glad that I am not going!! I digress...
No, Plod just poos and MIL cleans up after him. But they have a lot of tiled floor and I have wall to wall carpets. Also we have no end of PC's, laptops, trailing cables and boxes with flashing lights of indeterminate purpose (hubby is in IT) and mountains of children's toys and, well, just *stuff* - if Plod goes walkabout in our house, he could get behind something and never be seen again. Or possibly electrocuted... Seriously, he just can't safely free range in our house.
No , conservatory isn't heated. But utility room is. And a playpen - now there's an idea...
Casey - would he be OK in a playpen in the utility room? It's always very warm in there - big radiator + washing machine and tumble dryer make it positively sauna-like sometimes...
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Here he is...
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I used to get in the play pen when they let my little sister out! :D
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I'm tempted to get one and get in it myself. Just to get away from it all! There's always something in this house wanting something. If I manage to keep all the living things quiet, the flippin' tumble dryer starts squeaking at me!
And to think that my hubby thinks he has the hard job because he has to go to the office...
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A playpen sounds like a great idea.
Salad should be OK. But I think no cucumber or no tomato. I can double check with my friend at the weekend.
During the winter they rerally don't need that much space. Even if he doesn't hibernate, his metabolism will slow down with the colder weather, therefore he wont move around so much.
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So it's more important that he is kept warm than he has space to roam? I can do space or I can do warm, it's both together that are a problem.
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i know absolutely nothing about tortoises, but could it be that mil keeping plod warm all the time could stop him hibernating?
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Well, that was what I assumed TMG. Our thinking was that, if we keep him in the conservatory, it will be cool enough to make him go to sleep but not too cold (i.e. frosty). MIL's house doesn't have central heating in all rooms so it's quite a cool house compared to ours, i.e. like our conservatory is.
I was a bit ashamed of my ignorance on tortoise matters when I saw Casey's post - I thought hibernating was what tortoises "did".
And, despite Casey's comment about the heat lamp, he seems to have survived for (about) 20 years without one (spoke to Hubby a while ago - he thinks Plod is 18, so perhaps I should just take him out for a beer?).
I am a bit confused now as MIL's advice was to keep him in the conservatory as it was cool enough to allow him to sleep on and off - but not too cold so he'll come to any harm and not too warm so it'll keep him awake.
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I would go with MIL's instructions but keep a close eye with what's been said here.
If you go against her advice and anything nasty happens, it'll be all your fault. :unsure:
Rob
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You don't want him, do you?
no thank you very much :wub:
the only thing you've got that i haven't is the fish and toddler pooh :) and i've had them already :D
i have got dog, cat, horse, goat, chicken, duck, goose and sheep pooh....................(nobody in this house would even notice tortoise pooh :lol:)
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I think he's got quite a cute nose (for a tortoise ) :D
Maybe you should get to know him better: he may have a lovely personality . . .
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I think you're right poultrygeist - always best to do what MIL says (if you don't, she talks at you until you give in anyway - and being in Australia wouldn't stop her).
TMG - bit of a poo-fest at your house then? And I thought I had it bad!
And tode - you would say that, he hasn't bitten your toes! They say that tortoises don't move fast - rubbish. Plod can break land speed records when he spots a pair of bare feet. So it's not a cute nose, that's his evil jaws!
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You see ! He loves you: nibbling your toes already. :D
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We had a tortoise when I was young(er)... we had to give him away as he suffered eye damage during a very cold winter and when he woke up he was blind :(... he couldn't stay in our garden anymore as the pond became a real danger to him!
I do remember he had a good bite on him and could move like the wind when he wanted to.
What a shame your MIL isn't looking for a permanent home for him Amanda, my Mum would have him like a shot... he looks a lovlely tortoise!
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He might be a little undernourished. Tortoises are carrion eaters, I believe, so he might like a little cat food. Do check up on that before you give him any, as I would not like to be responisble for giving him a serious case of indigestion. My tortoise was often found scoffing the dog's food with clear enjoyment. The dog was not so happy about it but the tortoise took no notice.
The poor little soul will look a lot happier if he gets an improved diet.
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Really? MIL didn't say anything about cat food. I thought he was strictly veggie! I am learning so much about tortoises today :)
Not looking for a permanent home Snap Dragon, but he could go no holiday until 6 January? I'll just pick him up on the way to the airport to collect the MIl and FIL...
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Well, that was what I assumed TMG. Our thinking was that, if we keep him in the conservatory, it will be cool enough to make him go to sleep but not too cold (i.e. frosty). MIL's house doesn't have central heating in all rooms so it's quite a cool house compared to ours, i.e. like our conservatory is.
I was a bit ashamed of my ignorance on tortoise matters when I saw Casey's post - I thought hibernating was what tortoises "did".
And, despite Casey's comment about the heat lamp, he seems to have survived for (about) 20 years without one (spoke to Hubby a while ago - he thinks Plod is 18, so perhaps I should just take him out for a beer?).
I am a bit confused now as MIL's advice was to keep him in the conservatory as it was cool enough to allow him to sleep on and off - but not too cold so he'll come to any harm and not too warm so it'll keep him awake.
hubby or the tortoise ?
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Wish we lived closer-we would have LOVED to have had him....
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Now there's an idea BBTM - stick them both in the conservatory!
I had no idea tortoises were so popular. Perhaps I'll auction him off on eBay :D Tell MIL he escaped and vanished...
He was scratching to come out of the cat box this morning so I put him out - he's sulking in the garden now and refusing his breakfast. Never mind, I usually let the chooks out of the run about noon, so he'll soon have some friends to play with!