# MED TORTOISES... useful links



## Tina (Apr 9, 2007)

There seems to be quite a few newbies looking for info on Med tortoises so here are some links that I found really useful when first researching:

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shel...63070-mediterranean-tortoises-their-care.html

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shel...63162-check-list-buying-healthy-tortoise.html

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shelled-turtles-tortoise/63073-weeds-illustrated-guide.html

http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shelled-turtles-tortoise/80423-uk-cb-tortoise-breeders-list.html

Welcome to Tortsmad ~ UK Tortoise keeping explained.

British Chelonia Group: Vetlist

British Chelonia Group: Advice On Buying a Tortoise

Tortoises

Mediterranean Tortoises: How much to feed?

Tortoise Trust Web - Feeding Mediterranean Tortoises

Tortoise Trust Web - Building a Tortoise Table

Tortoise Trust Web - Basic housing for hatchlings

Tortoise-world.com - Home of the original UK Tortoise Breeders list, by Josh Parry


Hope they help 


Any specific questions that newbies have will be happily answered by the folk in the Shelled section. Just ask : victory:


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## indigo_rock_girl (Mar 9, 2008)

Thanks tina big help 
india x


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## r.lockwood (Apr 7, 2008)

*TORTOISE -Wanted Lowestoft / Norwich area*

Hi useful info thanks. I am looking for a tortoise for 16th birthday. How big do they need to be to live outside? Are any types more or less suitable to roam outside in garden all day?
Thanks Richard


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## tortoise_dude (Mar 9, 2006)

Hi Tina, can you add my site:

Tortoise-world.com - Home of the original UK Tortoise Breeders list, by Josh Parry to this list please?


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## kelly maree (May 17, 2008)

I ve been looking at the type of diet Hermans Tortoise should be having. I read that it is good to put Bermuda Grass Hay in the enclosure. Can you get that over here? Also at the moment our two Hermans Tortoise are in a viv but we are going to build a table top enclosure instead now after reading articles about the dangers of using vivariums. Do we need a heat mat for the table top enclosure, if so where do we put it? Advice would be much appreciated.
Kelly


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## Tina (Apr 9, 2007)

kelly maree said:


> I ve been looking at the type of diet Hermans Tortoise should be having. I read that it is good to put Bermuda Grass Hay in the enclosure. Can you get that over here? Also at the moment our two Hermans Tortoise are in a viv but we are going to build a table top enclosure instead now after reading articles about the dangers of using vivariums. Do we need a heat mat for the table top enclosure, if so where do we put it? Advice would be much appreciated.
> Kelly


 
Hi Kelly Maree :welcome:to RFUK.

I've never heard of anyone feeding Med torts Bermuda Grass Hay - I think that's more for leopard torts. 

If you're thinking of changing to a table top enclosure you don't need a heat mat - not that you need one in a viv either for a healthy tort though they are good for keeping an ill tort warm. You'll need a basking lamp and a uv bulb or you can buy a combined mercury vapour bulb which does both jobs in one.

Anyone in the Shelled section will be willing to help out with any questions you have and I'm sure will be happy to post pics of their tables if that would help you. Just start a thread 

Hope to see you introduce yourself and your torts in Shelled


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## kelly maree (May 17, 2008)

Thanks for the advice.


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## Maxim (Sep 30, 2008)

turtles! :mf_dribble:


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## judithm (Dec 26, 2008)

*Beginner with yellow- bellied turtle.*

I just got a new baby turtle for xmas and im not sure whether i need any heat lamps or uv lights etc. for it? 

I also would like to know how to tell whether its a male or female.

Can anyone help me out? 

Thanks.


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## shiprakaul (Aug 6, 2009)

Its really great and useful links.


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## Richard1952 (Aug 12, 2009)

*New to tortoise husbandry*

I was recently given two tortoises. A small male of about 4 inches and a much larger female. Both were purchased from the souks one in Casablanca the other in El-Jadida. I assume them to be T.graeca graeca. They both live outside in a walled garden. Their food of choice would seem to be Hibiscus leaves and flowers. The male seems to hide away for days at a time and his weight seems low. Can anyone tell me what the weight should be or give me a link to a chart? I believe the female has laid eggs this week, given that they take c.100 days to hatch this would mean any young would emerge in November. November is often wet but not usually very cold. The garden soil is very sandy and well drained.Should I take any action regarding the eggs? I am told that the tortoises in this area do not usually hibernate winter temps never falling below 9C at night and usually higher with daytime temps mostly in the 17c-22c range. Any advice on this much appreciated. I should also like to hear from anyone with knowledge of keeping Spur toed tortoises within their home range. Many thanks.


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## Fritzysmum (Oct 28, 2009)

Hello everyone. I'm very new to this forum and have just this minute joined because I am worried sick about my tortoise. Not even sure what type he is although he is very similar to a Herman I suppose. I have had him now for over 35 years and he has been in good health. I have a safe enclosed garden which he wanders around at his leisure. Normally, I hibernate him in a box with shredded newspaper and he happily stays there in the garden shed until it's time for him to wake up. However, I haven't seen him since Monday afternoon and I can't find him anywhere. I have been on my hands and knees all over the garden and there is just no sign of him. I know he can't get out so he must have dug himself in somewhere. He has never hibernated in the garden before and I am at the end of my tether worrying about him. I did hope that with the lovely sunshine and mild weather we're having that he would have appeared, but no sign of him. He is 120 years old according to the vet who checked him over last year. If any of you have tortoises who happily hibernate in the garden I would love to hear from you just to put my mind at rest. The forecast is for good weather here in the South East for at least another couple of days, so there's still a possibility he may suddenly walk across the lawn, but I'm not in all day, every day, so I worry I may miss him.


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## pinkbonsai (Jun 30, 2010)

*Behaviour Advice*

Hi, I am after some advice on Hermann behaviour. I have a 3 yr old Hermann, I picked him up on Saturday. He’s eating well and digging and climbing as I had expected. He seems happy in his new home.

Yesterday when he was out in the house he started to move strangely, he was moving his back end from side to side, quite erratically, and trying to walk at the same time. I wondered if it was an itch or something and gave him a quick bathe. He seemed ok then, but he was doing it again this morning. This time in his enclosure, I bathed him again and again he seemed fine. I don’t know if I’m worrying for no reason, but I just want him to be a happy little man…

Any advice??


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## russiantortlover (Sep 26, 2010)

Thanks. Ive just got a 1 year old male russian and these websites are Great


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## ChloeAdele (Mar 7, 2012)

Hi, I have two 1 year old male majorie tortoises, and my friend is looking to re-home her 7 year old Herman tortoise, I was wondering if majorie and Herman tortoise can live together? Many thanks x


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## Herm (Aug 14, 2012)

Thanks for these links. I'm trying to work out whether keeping a Med tortoise indoors is ok, or unfair on the animal. I have a flat with no garden and while there are large windows, it would be reliant on a lamp for its UV-B. Does this sound workable?

I'm thinking of a Hermann's on the basis that they're meant to be good for beginners, but am open to suggestions for a more suitable species that can cope with being overwintered at first.

Habitat would be a table like this, provided I can persuade family and friends to help with its construction. I would try to grow food in there as shown in the photos (do others find this seed mix good?), but I'm not sure if there would be enough for him or if I'd need to supplement.

Any hints for this beginner? Any obvious problems with this setup? I've liked tortoises ever since reading Esio Trot as a child and want to live with one, but the animal's welfare is more important than my yen for chelonian company.

Thank you for any advice.


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## Herm (Aug 14, 2012)

(Started a separate thread to ask the above.)


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## chrislee (Sep 22, 2013)

Hi guys I have just getting a 5 yr old female hermann.what is the best method to start her hibernation.also she is 1.5kg and 8 inches in length.is that too heavy for her because some of the posts I have read they are normally between 400/600 grams.i don't fancy the fridge method I don't have the room and also the wife wouldn't be too impressed to see her in there lol.


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## TillyTortoise (Dec 19, 2011)

chrislee said:


> Hi guys I have just getting a 5 yr old female hermann.what is the best method to start her hibernation.also she is 1.5kg and 8 inches in length.is that too heavy for her because some of the posts I have read they are normally between 400/600 grams.i don't fancy the fridge method I don't have the room and also the wife wouldn't be too impressed to see her in there lol.


Hi

Please start a new thread in the Shelled section, more people will see you request for help there. 

Shelled - Turtles & Tortoise - Reptile Forums


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