r/Tortoises

would be a help if you support me on instagram : )

hi, i found a baby tortoise in my backyard this afternoon and since none of the neighbors own him and don’t know where he/she came from, i’ve decided to keep him. since i never owned s tortoise or a reptile or anything like that i would reeeally really appreciate any advice🥺 i would love to keep it, i think it is pure fate that brought him/her to me.

it’s very small and i don’t know how old it is. i’ve asked chatgpt a loooot of questions because i really have noone to ask so all help is welcome🥺
p.s. i’m not holding it like that, the picture is just for size reference

EDIT:
i called the vet and they said that it definitely escaped from someone’s backyard or something. yes, it is native, but it’s natural habitat isn’t here in the continental croatia at all, it is most likely somebody’s pet tortoise’s baby that escaped. it was good that i rescued it because the crows would have attacked it. it’s natural habitat is in Dalmatia, at the seaside. it is only a few months old. since this is not their natural habitat and it would actually be dangerous to release her in the wild, they said that i could either give it to the rescue service or keep it so i have decided to keep it. everybody say hi to Leyla!🐢💕🥗🥬✨

also i would love some advice for keeping it, which uvb lamp is the best etc🥺

So I recently got this little baby tortoise, and I'm sure it's a greek tortoise but I'm unsure about the subspecies.

The coloring of the shell suggests it's a Testudo Graeca Nabeulensis (Tunisian tortoise) but the location it lived in suggests otherwise, it was found in Northwestern Algeria, which suggests it might be a Testudo Graeca Whitei or much less likely Testudo Graeca Graeca.

Also I've noticed since I've had 2 Greek tortoises before, the males usually have a cloaca that more closely resembles a slit that goes all the way down the tail rather than a star shaped hole at the base of the tail, so this might indicate it's a male but only time will tell.

MAJORLY SEEKING ADVICE: i had the surprise of finding a very sweet male tortoise on my door step around sunset today. i checked with some neighbors before it got too dark and nobody was missing him, i plan to check with others tomorrow. i posted on local lost and found pet groups but haven’t heard anything yet. the weird thing is that i live on 5 acres of very bushy weed terrain with a decently long driveway. i do think it’s possible he crawled all the way up my driveway but it absolutely must’ve taken him all day.it’s also probably worth noting that the neighbors around me live on large and similar properties as well, so wherever he came from it was a pretty long adventure, even multiple days. i offered him a mix of romain and other greens of which he seemed desperate to eat, along with some water that he was less interested in. as soon as the sun went down he was trying to put himself to bed so i brought him inside as it’s too cold outside, and he’s sleeping in a large box with a towel partly covering the top in my bathroom. i’m pretty novice in tortoise care but want to make sure there’s nothing more i could do to help him until i find his owner. also, his eyes look like they may be different colors which im guessing could be due to a possible injury of some kind? one looks very dark brown/black with no iris or pupil visible and the other has a yellowish iris and pupil. any info, advice, or tips would be very much appreciated!

I made this box for our two female sulcatas. They’re a little under a year old, maybe 9-10 months.
The box is 2x4, with about a 1x2 section covered with a heat lamp in the lid, then roughly 2x3 open air section covered with wire mesh to keep predators out. Base is a mix of coco coir and reptisoil, with a couple hides. How much longer do you all think they can stay in this size enclosure? They will eventually have a larger area of the yard fenced off for them but will this be good until they’re 2 years or so? Wanted to wait until this coming winter to renovate the yard. Thoughts or suggestions?

So Happy that these have arrived to our home finally. Our Family has been looking forward to this day for a long time. We will do our best to give them the best home and habitat that we can! Happy Monday

I have about a six-year- old red footed tortoise. She loves to cause ruckuses and climbs in her cage all over things she shouldn’t climb. Recently, I’ve been seeing a couple posts saying that tortoises red footed specifically get lonely and do well in pairs (not two males) everywhere else I’m seeing is saying that it’s a risk and you could possibly have to get rid of one of them if they don’t get along.. I’m so confused on the mixed education on if my tortoise might benefit from a friend. I know tortoises cause ruckuses no matter what but she just seems bored maybe or maybe that’s just her personality idk 😂 I’m leaning towards not getting another tortoise because I put my whole love and effort into each one of my animals I go above and beyond and as it is, I worry about my tortoise & pets I have enough. I researched feline nutrition. I feed them in all raw or wet food, diet. My tortoise gets calcium protein, flowers, greens, veggies, fruit eye cleaner cage over the other week it’s a 6 foot by 4 foot cage. I put my whole heart and soul and I would be so disappointed if I got another tortoise and didn’t get along. I hate getting rid of animals I never have committed if I can’t give them their whole lives blissful. I guess I’m just wondering, how likely is it for me to get another tortoise and mine to get along with that tortoise? My tortoise is extremely healthy, and will be fine no matter what choice I make. Maybe me wanting another one is my own brain worrying that she’s lonely rather than her needs.

Hello, I got these tortoise pellets for my tortoise. The instructions on the back say to make them moist and to soak them. But I’m just wondering if I can give them to my tortoise dry, like they are?

I just got my tortoise he's a Mediterranean spur thighed!

I rescued this tortoise around a week and a half ago, and have noticed that her shell smells a bit like pee. I researched this, and it said it could be a sign of shell rot. She does not have any soft or spongy patches anywhere on her shell, however, she does have little white lines around the scutes, and on her underside, looks like discolouration? In her old enclosure with her first owners, the substrate was wood chips. Could the underside discolouration be because the wood chips were abrasive on her shell?

Just wondering if anyone could ID this for me. And if so, what can I do to help her? TYIA!

Edit: Her shell also seems to be pretty dry as well as her skin on her legs and head etc. Other tortoises I see on here look very moisturised. I bathe her, how can I fix this?

So my turtoise only eats, sleeps, drinks and bathes. Is it normal that he doesn't explore?? He is abt 7 months old. He only goes in the blue dots at thw picture.

my tortoise damaged his arm around november by scratching at his walls (they are wooden) . went to the vets they said it wasn’t broken but a soft tissue injury and gave him some injections/ some for me to do at home. he seemed to get on okay and slowly heal/ walk better. now him limping is worse than when he first did it and his shoulder seems to be stuck inside his shell. do i go back and demand an xray? what happens if it is broken. does anyone have any experience?

Hello everyone,

I adopted a Tortoise today, the previous owner had told me that the Tortoise is a Horsefield tortoise but to me he looks like a Herman’s Tortoise. Could anyone on here tell me if that’s correct.

Also his beak and nails are very overgrown is there any advice for how to help the Tortoise for this? I am going to get some small slabs of slate and cuttlefish for its enclosure.

The previous owner used only top soil for all of the bedding in its enclosure could anyone please tell me which soil their using for their along with the benefits of which soil their using.

Also is there any advice for what I can do for his shell it looks very dry

Here is a picture of him so everyone meet, Yoda. 😊❤️

Me and my family are so excited to be welcoming a one year old Cherry Head Red Footed Tortoise to our family this weekend. I was wondering if you guys could check that he/she looks healthy and I will take any suggestions on making my enclosure top notch as well! Thank you!

I just acquired a 2-1/2 month old Herman’s (Optimus prime).
What % humidity should I shoot for?
Ambient temp?
Basking temp?
Is a t5 10.0 on top of a mesh screen that’s 12” high enough UV or would you recommend something different?

Hello! This is my first post on this subreddit, but I hope y’all can help me out.

So, after my grandfather passed me and my family had come into ownership of his 3 adult tortoises. We think* they are 2 females and 1 male but we aren’t sure. (2/3 tortoises pictured here I believe)

But those adult tortoises have had babies, 6 that we have in total. Though we think some might be from a different clutch because they are smaller than the rest.

(I have tried to label the pictures with an R for the recent photos. And I’ll see if I can find more photos of the adults.)

My family says they are desert tortoises but we are not entirely sure. We also know that the first tortoise was found by another relative and given to my grandfather and then the other two were gifted to him by another person because they heard he had a tortoise.

If anybody has an idea of what species they are would be so appreciated!