Horsfields Tortoise Care Basic Guide for Beginners
~ Diet ~ Housing ~ Bathing ~ Hibernation ~
Contents
Hello!
13 Health Problems
Thank you for viewing my guide on Horsfield tortoise care! I have a Horsfield myself called Yukkuri who is 7 years old and a very cheeky boy! I would like to thank members of tortoise groups on Facebook for helping by providing me lovely photographs of their shelled babies. If you are thinking of getting a Horsfield and not sure where to begin, I hope this guide enlightens you on the basic care on how to look after this species.
16 Horsfield Gallery
Kirsty
4 Introducing Horsfields 5 Housing 7 Outdoor Housing 8 Diet and Vitamins 10 Bathing 11 The Big Sleep
Introducing The
Horsfield Tortoise
Some Facts About Our Shelled Friends
The Horsfield tortoise, named after
American naturalist, Thomas Horsfield also goes by the names Russian Tortoise, Central Asian Tortoise and Four Toed Tortoise or it’s biological name, Testudo Horsfieldii. They range from 13 to 25 cm,(13–20 cm for males, 15–25 cm for females). The females grow slightly larger, while males stay comparatively small. Males tend to have longer tails generally tucked to the side, and females have a short, fat tail. They can be found in Afghanistan, Northern Pakistan, Northern and Eastern Iran, North Western China and the Soviet territory Kazakhstan. Coloration varies, but the shell is usually a ruddy brown or black, fading to yellow between the scutes, and the body is strawyellow and brown. They have four toes. They live for over 50 years, people who keep them as pets often leave them in their wills. Male Horsfield
Female Horsfield
Housing Horsfield tortoises live
in hot dry places such as deserts or dry slopes on moutainous regions so it’s important to re-create this setting for their living space. An ideal indoor enclosure for a Horsfield would be an open top table. Some people also use large guinea pig cages or vivariums, although vivariums are not ideal as tortoises don’t recognise see-through barriers such as glass and it may cause stress for them. It’s important to make sure the enclosure is spacious enough for your tortoise to explore and move. It should also be secure enough to ensure your tortoise doesn’t escape. Horsfields are adept climbers and expert diggers.
Your Enclosure Should Have The Following Substrate Horsfields are natural burrowers so it’s important to give them ideal substrate atleast 10cm deep. that allows them to dig down. Ideal substrate is fertilizer free top soil mixed with play sand or coco fiber. Avoid bark chips or hemp as this can be an impaction risk. Whatever substrate you use, make sure it is kept dry and clean at all times. Horsefield tortoises are not tolerant to damp conditions and risk many illnesses if they are not kept in dry environments.
Outdoor Housing
A place to hide Tortoises like to hide so something like branches, rocks, plantpots, log hides or plants can be suitable. If using plants, make sure they are suitable and non toxic for the tortoise as it may eat the plant. Heat and Light Horsfield Tortoises require a overhead heat source with temperatures around 29-32°C (84-90°F), with surrounding temperatures around 20°C (68°F) and 12 hours of full spectrum UVA/UVB lighting. They are a diurnal species, so light is not required at night time, and temperatures can also be allowed to drop overnight to simulate the conditions they would be accustomed to in the wild. The right sort of lighting is critical for the health and well-being of your tortoise, as they require UV-B lighting (10%) to help their bodies absorb vitamin D3. You can get a combi bulb which provides both heat and light or you can go for two seperate units, such as a UV-B strip bulb for lighting and a ceramic heat bulb which does not emit any light. All heat sources need to be controlled by a thermostat. UVB bulbs need to be changed every 6 months.
Natural sunlight is important for tortoises as well as their UVB
lighting so if you live in an area with warm summers, it may be a good idea to build or buy an outdoor pen. Be sure to bring your tortoise indoors at the end of the day! It’s a good idea to decorate the outdoor enclosure with safe plants, rocks, a hide or two and whatever you feel would be exciting for the tortoise to explore. To protect your tortoise from predators such as cats or foxes, a mesh/chicken wire roof would be ideal.
Calcium
Feeding Horsfields are enthusiastic
eaters and are strictly herbivores. But this doesn’t mean they can eat every plant. Some may be toxic or useless if the tortoise cannot process or metabolize the material. They are dependant on their environment and to maintain it’s body at an adequete temperature to digest the food it consumes. It is important to provide a natural diet. Horsfield tortoises normally consume leafy greens, this can include some weeds that grow in the garden or open fields. A few include: • Chicory • Clover • Dandelion • Mallow • Plantain • Thistle • Wild mustards There are many others as well and are most abundant in the springtime. Your tortoise is usually not picky and there are not many plants that pop up during spring harmful.
Plantain weed
Calcium is an important part of a tortoises diet and needs to be supplemented on a daily basis. The easiest way to provide calcium carbonate is cuttlebone which can be purchased in the bird aisle in pet stores. If it’s available at all times in the tortoises enclosure, your tortoise will graze on it providing calcium and also help keep it’s beak trim. Another way of providing calcium is in powder form which can be sprinkled over their food. Nutrobal is available from many reptile stores. Limestone flour is also a good source of calcium and you can make ‘calcium cakes’ by mixing with water to get a thick mixture and leave to set overnight before offering to your tortoise. I don’t recommend making ‘calcium cakes’ with nutrobal as it is said too much is bad for them.
Feeding amount You can feed everyday if you feed a limited quantity. If you are feeding weeds or grasses, overfeeding shouldn’t be a problem. You may only get an over feeding problem if you are feeding a rich or nutrious diet such as leafy greens from the grocery store.
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk
Make sure the plants you feed are safe for your tortoise by checking the plant database.
The Big Sleep Hibernation is a tortoises way of avoiding the harsh weather and
Bathing Although it is important to have water inside the enclosure at all
time, you should give your tortoise a lukewarm bath atleast twice a week for roughly 20 minutes. This will allow the tortoise to soak, drink and go to the toilet. Afterwards, let your tortoise dry on a towel and dry it’s back. (Not only does it keep his shell clean, but he can feel it and will likely enjoy it!) Urates (what the tortoise will pass in the bath) should be anything between liquidy and toothpaste like. If it is hard and gritty it may indicate dehydration. You may occasionally notice white urates, which is completely a normal product of protien metabolism. However, if it is being passed more than twice a week, it may be due to too much protien in the diet.
lack of food but because it is being cared for in an enviroment created by the owner, hibernation can be a choice. Horsfield tortoises should be hibernated over the winter months, unless they show any signs of illness and then they should be kept awake in an indoor enclosure. A good time to hibernate your tortoise is in November when temperatures begin to drop naturally to below 10ºC (50ºF). Try to mimic this gradual drop in heat and light within the enclosure to prepare your tortoise for hibernation. Before allowing your tortoise to hibernate you should refrain from feeding for about 2-3 weeks to allow your tortoise time to clear any food still within the digestive system. Water should still be given and regular baths around every two days to ensure your tortoise passes everything in it’s system. If any food is still inside the stomach, it will rot during hibernation which could be fatal.
Create a hibernation box in preparation. This is usually two cardboard boxes, one being smaller and being placed within the other. The larger box should be insulated with straw or shredded paper. Place your tortoise in the inner box with a bedding of more shredded paper and cover within the larger box. This hibernation box needs to be kept in a place where temperatures stay around 5ºC (41ºF), which should be constantly monitored using a thermometer. This is important because temperatures below freezing are likely to kill your tortoise and temperatures above around 10ºC (50ºF) would mean that your tortoise will remain active and risks losing sufficient weight or becoming ill by doing so. Check on your hibernating tortoise regularly to monitor for any signs of illness or dramatic weight loss. In Spring your Horsefield tortoise should reawaken and should be removed from the hibernation box and returned to it’s indoor enclosure for a gradual increase in temperatures. It is advisable to soak your tortoise in a warm, shallow bath on the first day to encourage your tortoise to drink. Food can be offered at this time and should be taken within the first few days after reawakening.
It may be a good idea to book an appointment to see a reptile vet for a check up to confirm your tortoise is ready for hibernation.
Health Care Sometimes tortoises can get certain illnesses, sometimes due to
the environment they live in and can be easily avoided. If you are worried about your tortoises health or notice any signs of illness, see a reptile vet ASAP. Here are some of the most common health complications.
Shell rot Shell rot often goes unnoticed in its early stages, It can take two forms, wet which is bacterial and dry which is fungal. Both can be treated quite easily by the regular application of povidone iodine but if severe with blood loss then a vet should be consulted as antibiotics may be necessary. Wet shell rot should always be treated by a vet as it can lead to septicaemia. Shell rot is often caused by keeping on unsuitable substrates, such as lawns, or damp or unclean bedding indoors.
RNS (Runny Nose Syndrome Occasionally a tortoise will be seen to be breathing differently to what is normal for him. This can take the form of gasping, wheezing, making squeaking noises or breathing with mouth open and head extended. Anything which differs from the norm should be taken seriously and observed to see that it is not just a temporary thing.
Sometimes a tortoise will bubble at the nares shortly after a bath, This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about, but a tortoise which bubbles at other times or seems to have a runny nose accompanied by inappetance should be investigated by an experienced vet as a matter of urgency, Respiratory problems can escalate surprisingly quickly in tortoises and need prompt treatment to prevent it developing into pneumonia or worse.
Dehydration Dehydration can also show up as sunken or dull eyes, The same procedure needs to be followed as for gritty urates - lots of baths and soaks
Parasitic infestation It is not always the case that parasites are evident in the faeces of tortoises. Obviously if you have seen them then worming is necessary but sometimes it is only a microscope examination that reveals the eggs which shows that worms are present. If you have bought a tortoise from a shop, dealer, garden centre etc then it is always a good idea to find yourself a decent vet and have a faecal sample analysed for parasites. The most common worms are oxyurids and ascarids. Both are visible to the human eye and can cause tortoises to be quite unwell if present in large numbers. Often the tortoise stops eating, can have diarrhoea or simply lose condition. Treatment is often with Panacur (fendbendazole) but it is best to let a vet do a faecal test to determine how severe the infestation is and to decide on a course of treatment. Do not attempt to medicate your tortoise unless having previously been shown by a vet. It is a good idea to get your tortoise checked for worms regularly, between every six months to a year.
Pyramiding Pyramiding is almost certainly the most common disease affecting pet tortoises today. In case you don’t know what pyramiding is, the picture explains it better than a thousand words. So what causes pyramiding? Well, in one sentence, pyramiding happens whenever weak bones are put under strain by outward growth. There are two preconditions for it: first, the bone must be weaker than usual, and second, the strain placed on the scutes must be greater than usual. One thing I and other tortoise enthusiasts emphasise is that tortoises must, must, must be given adequate vitamin D and calcium. The tortoise has a higher bone mass:total body mass ratio than any other animal I can think of, so naturally it needs lots of calcium and vitamin D to sustain that bone mass. Here’s what you need to do to prevent pyramiding: Provide a source of ambient humidity, such as a USB humidfier or a heat lamp over moistened substrate Provide a variety of microclimates, like a rock for your tortoise to climb onto, a box for them to hide into, and substrate that they can burrow into Sprinkle calcium carbonate powder on their food once or twice a week and give them plenty of calcium-rich vegetables. Limit phosphorous-rich foods (including meat), as phosphorous blocks the absorption of calcium. See Practical Tortoise Care if you want to be sure which foods are best to prevent pyramiding. Let them bask in UV light as much as they want, so they can synthesize vitamin D. See out article on housing your tortoises for more information on lamps.
A big thank you to those from tortoise keeping communities on Facebook for the help on their care methods and wonderful photographs of their shelled babies!
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