[tode]

Tortoise-shell  ?                         (sorry)

[madcat]

I note that Hubby and Daughter come after the chooks and the cat in the lovin' list. Which is how it should be   but

I'm sure the Betsy thinks she should come first ...

[mumofstig]

I thought that tortoises only ate fresh veg not cooked

[Snap Dragon]

I thought that tortoises only ate fresh veg not cooked

I thought so too but it depends on what website you look at and what breed of tortoise.

Some sites say to feed meat and cat food  where as others say it's a complete no no!
Fruit should only be given once or twice a month, the same with cabbage and similar veg!

It's soooo much more in depth than when we had one years ago 

[mumofstig]

Well they certainly wouldn't get it cooked in the wild...would they

[AmandaH]

Right, back from airport...

Betsy has been wearing her most put-out expression since the day the chooks arrived.  Especially as I lost my much-loved other cat, Binky, about two weeks before the chooks arrived.  So, for Betsy, it has been a double insult.  Loss of her bezzy mate and then arrival of nasty feathered things.

I wondered about the whole cooked/uncooked veg thing but I do it "al dente" for the best of both worlds 

And you're right Snap Dragon, I don't remember tortoises being very complicated when I was a little girl - they were just grumpy-looking things that lived in people's gardens and ate cucumber...

[tode]

Or lettuce ....   

[Rubellite]

Mine ate strawberries and occasionally my toes!! 

[poultrygeist]

Can I just say thank you Amanda for a most entertaining thread (or two) about Plod. If ever you write a book, have a chapter dedicated to him.

From what Iv found out about hedgehogs, I don't think hibernation for any animal is actually essential as long as you keep them warm and fed. It's only an adaptation to survive the cold and shortage of food. Its actually a potentially dangerous thing in the wild.

By New Year, you'll be shedding a tear or two. 

Rob

[Spana]

Hi Amanda, only just seen this and quickly read through the posts.  Can you give me a little info on Plod.
How big is he, are you sure its a he.
How long have you had him
Has he been eating and what have you been feeding him.
Is he out side free ranging, is he digging himself into the ground on dull days, does he have a house he goes into at night.
Where did he come from.
The main thing is size and weight.
I've got 4, had them over 30years.  Hope i can help you.

[AmandaH]

Hello Spana - sorry, only just spotted your reply and would appreciate any help you can give.

In answer to your questions:

I couldn't be entirely sure that Plod is a "he", he has just always been referred to as a "he";

He is 18.6cm long and weighs 1220 grammes (I measured him and weighed him to work out the Jackson ratio thing);

I got him in mid-October from my MIL who is in Australia for three months and left me to look after him (back 6 January and I'm counting the days);

Yes, he has been eating, on and off (MIL says he doesn't hibernate but nods off for a few days at a time, eating in between naps);

I have been feeding him mixed veg, a bit of salad and apple;

I've also been giving him water (even though MIL said not to) as I read it on all the tortoise websites;

He was outside when he was first here and it was warmer.  He has a house and a pen outside (I wasn't having him free ranging the garden as he does at home as I was terrified of losing him);

Now it is colder he is in the conservatory which, on sunny days, gets very warm (so he wakes up and eats, like today when he scoffed down lots) and, on dull days, stays quite cool (it's unheated) and so he is very sleepy, stays in his bed (a cat bed, inside a cat box, with newspaper that he hides under) and won't eat anything I put down.

I have no idea where he originally came from - the MIL has had him for 18 years.  He free ranges around their house and garden as he pleases (most of their house isn't centrally heated though, hence MIL's suggestion that he live in our conservatory).  In the winter, at home with MIL, he tends to live in the kitchen.  He's never seen a heat lamp in his life.

Lastly, please don't shout at me    The MIL dumped him on me with the briefest of instructions and it is because I am worried that I might be doing the wrong thing and harming him that I have been trying to get some advice.

Any help you can give me would be appreciated. 

[Spana]

Sorry, didn't know the story.  Thought you might have one of those tiny hatchlings that you see for sale in the garden centers.
I think what you are doing sounds fine as its what hes used to. Give him access to water even if he shows no interests in it.  They need a low flat dish so they can stretch their heads out and down.  I wouldn't let him out side now even if its warm as he will start to dig himself in as the temperature starts to drop in the afternoon.  If he can get warm enough to eat all the better if he is not going to hibernate, but if hes warm enough to eat he will also be warm enough to be active and they are very good climbers ::)so watch out
They like big food that they can pull against,like half a lettuce, a tomato cut in half or a lump of cucumber not thin slices that he may find hard to pick up.
But it sound to me as if you are doing all you can to keep him ok until his mum comes home
Whats his shell like underneath, girls are flat, boys are concave to fit over the girls back
PM me if you are worried at all but i think you're doing great.

[AmandaH]

Phew, that's a relief Spana - thank you so much for putting my mind at rest.

The digging thing is partly why I don't want him free ranging the garden.  He *completely* disappeared three days after he arrived here and I completely panicked.  Turned out, after hours of searching, that he'd just buried himself right in the middle of the prickliest shrub in the garden.  He hadn't even dug himself in and I couldn't find him!  Wasn't going through that again 

Interesting about the "big" food - didn't know that so will try it.  I have been giving him cooked veg - does it matter if it's cooked or raw? 

I thought his underneath was flat (when I was looking him over to see if he was OK the other day) but, next time he wakes up, I'll upset him by turning him over.

Thanks again x

[Spana]

  I have been giving him cooked veg - does it matter if it's cooked or raw? 


Thanks again x

I would only give him raw.  If you do continue to feed him makes sure he doesn't get cold enough to fall into hibernation as he then needs to have an empty gut.  I dont feed mine for the last month before i put them to bed.

[AmandaH]

If you do continue to feed him makes sure he doesn't get cold enough to fall into hibernation as he then needs to have an empty gut.  I dont feed mine for the last month before i put them to bed.

But I can't just stop feeding him if he is awake, can I?  I don't want to starve him!  So far, although he has been sleepy and lethergic, he isn't actually asleep.  When tortoises hibernate, are they *really* asleep.  I mean, if you pick them up, do they wake up? 

This whole "having to have an empty tummy before going to sleep" thing was what I was worried about.  I think perhaps it is just easier to keep him warm and awake (ish) and feed him when he wants it.

The MIL says he does sleep but only for a max of four or five days at a time.  I guess that's because he lives indoors in the winter and, although it's cool because of the lack of central heating, it's not cold.  Although I am not convinced that he is ever really asleep as in hibernating, just sluggish because it's cool.

Thanks so much for your help.  It was so hard to know what to do...