Tortoises

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by eeyore

When you say he comes when you whistle him - how do you know he didnt set off sometime before or are tortoise not really that slow.

LOL hee hee

[Boddie]

He can be off in one direction til I whistle him, then he stops and looks for me and comes for his grub. My friend Simon taught him

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by spike

Does anyone own a tortoise on here?

tortoise information http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk

No........But on a job I have just finished, they had one in the garden and as I was tooing and froing from the back garden to the skip and carrying stuff round, I left the gate open, and the thing escaped, it was lucky that I spotted it under my landrover, or it might of gone forever, I think the customer had had it for 20 years. He was called Sod, and if the grand children were around he was called Sode. I liked him, first day there, he was really active, but after that he seemed to sleep most the time.............Jon

[eeyore]

so we've established that tortoises might be really really slow...... but they are still faster than builders

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by eeyore

so we've established that tortoises might be really really slow...... but they are still faster than builders

Lol..........On another forum, I was saying about swallows that had built a nest in a barn I was building. The barn is not finished yet..............Jon

[TORTUGA]

Anyone who has a Tortoise in the Bristol/South West area might be interested to know that tomorrow (Saturday 23rd September) is the annual pre hibernation weigh in at Bristol Roman Catholic Cathedral in Clifton. It is free to take your Tortoises along, they get a check over by a vet, they are meassured, weighed and if needed usually get their clawes clipped. You then get a chart with your tortoises results on it against whether or not they can go into hibernation or not. Its a fun couple of hours chating to other Tortoise owners and seeing what other people have. Some people turn up with large African Spur Thighed Tortoises which is always amusing.

[Mr Mag00]

i used to have 2 as a child, they died in hibernation we did have them for quite some time 17 yaers? and onw yaer they laid eggs, dont what happened to those. Are they not expensive to buy now?

[TORTUGA]

Hi Mr Magoo.

If you buy from garden centres/shops then expect to pay £200+ for a Hermans and Medi Spur Thigh. However I buy direct from breeders and pay £100-£125. There will be a guy there tomorrow who usually has some for sale however if not he can put you in contact with people who can supply. I dont think £100-£125 is alot for a pet which if looked after will last 80 + years and give a supprising amount of pleassure and interest. My garden would be boring without my shelled bulldozers crashing through my flowers and bushes eating all the weeds.

[Mr Mag00]

sorry about terrible spelling^^

I can't get to Bristol tomorrow
which is the hardiest sp to keep outdoors through our summers?

[TORTUGA]

Stick to the mediterranean species. The hardiest to keep are Hermans found in Spain, Italy and other parts of Europe or The Mediterranean Spur Thighed Tortoise also known as Greek Spur Thighed. These are found all round the Med from North Africa to Spain (Well originally). If you buy hatchlings which is likely then you will have to keep them in a vivarium until they are big enough and strong enough to survive out doors all day in the summer. My two adult tortoises are fine out doors from May to October, you just have to be careful of frost as this will blind them. I hibernate them in an old fridge during winter and fatten them up in the early winter and late winter in the vivarium. The hatchlings however live in the vivarium all year. I do put them out in an inclosure on hot days during summer but you have to take steps to keep them safe from birds etc as they do look like snails. If you want one read as much stuff as possible and join a local tortoise group for advice as they dont live on lettuce or dog food as people suggest. If you have a huge garden laid to lawn and space for a concrete heated house and a big budget you could go down the route of African Spurthighed tortoises (or Sulcatas) however as these are the third biggest land tortoises in the world, came form the Sudan, Chad and Senegal regions, They are not for the faint hearted. They eat loads, relandscape your garden and will take a few big guys to lift for the vets, however are impressive. Oh and they dont hibernate so big food bills are 365 days a year.