Horsfields
Tortoise Indoor Care
Common Turtle Species
Horsfields Tortoise Indoor Care by Chris M Jones
General Information
Also known as Russian Tortoises, these are among the most commonly seen tortoises in the pet trade today. Thousands of juveniles are exported from Russia every year. Horsfields tortoises are small, reaching approximately 15cm long or a maximum of 20cm. Being a Russian species, they make an excellent choice for UK keepers. They can tolerate the English weather and will hibernate over the winter period. The shell is a light olive brown colouration, with darker brown blotches. The head and legs are a lighter, yellowish brown.
Housing
It is recommended that for the first few years of your Horsfields tortoise life, you keep it indoors in a controlled environment. A perfect enclosure would be an open top, box style enclosure measuring L120cm x W60cm x H45cm. This box can be constructed from a number of materials, although melamine coated wood is preferable.
These tortoises need a dry substrate with the ability to dig. They are persistent diggers and like to build their own burrows to hide in. It is not essential to provide a deep substrate, but preferable. The choice of substrate really depends on you as a keeper, however you must bare in mind that it must be kept dry at all times. Horsfields tortoises do not tolerate damp surroundings and will slowly deteriorate if kept under these conditions. Sand, soil, mulch, fine gravel and Repti-turf are all good substrates for your tortoise.
Heating and lighting is vital for your tortoise to grow a healthy shell and live a long life. Horsfields tortoises are a diurnal species and therefore require UVA and UVB rays normally gained through the suns rays. A two in one heat / UV bulb is the best option and should sit no further than 12” higher than where the tortoise will bask. This heated area should reach approximately 90°F, allowing the opposite end of the enclosure to drop to around 75°F.
Décor is an important part of enriching your tortoise’s life. By placing some foliage, rocks, wood and other items in your enclosure, your tortoises mind will be more stimulated and it will allow for more exercise. Be careful not to place any objects in the enclosure where the tortoise could accidentally fall up-side down in an area where it could not turn itself upright again.
Many keepers choose not to place water into the enclosure. Rather, they bathe the tortoise every few days allowing for an adequate drinking and cleaning session. It does not matter too much whether you do this or not. However, water must be accessible to your tortoise at least twice a week. If you place a water bowl in your enclosure, it must be shallow and have easy access in and out of it. Be careful not allow spillage either, as damp surroundings is not tolerated well.
Feeding
Horsfield tortoises are generally very good feeders, and eat almost anything you could put in front of it. Many keepers will place a variety of foods into a shallow bowl and place it in the same spot every day. Try to stay away from this habit; it is important to stimulate the tortoise and make it work for its food. Spread the food out across the enclosure and offer different feeding methods. For instance, put a cabbage leaf higher up on the wall of the enclosure. This will force the tortoise to stretch its head upwards and pull chunks off the leaf.
Most fruit and vegetables can be fed with little problem. However, certain foods should be avoided. Such foods include iceberg lettuce and tomato. These have little nutrition and will often give your tortoise diarrhoea. Some of the best foods include: greens, romaine lettuce, kale, shredded carrots and kale. Fruits such as apple, banana, strawberries, blackberries and pears can also be fed, although should be limited. Specialist tortoise diets are an excellent addition to a tortoise keeper’s cupboard. They can be fed every day, although this is not stimulating for your tortoise and should only be fed sporadically between fresh food feedings.
Supplementing your foods with calcium and mineral dusting powders are vital, along with UV rays these will help ensure your tortoises shell and bones are kept strong and healthy. Reptavite dusting powder, specially formulated for tortoises is an ideal supplement.
By Chris Jones. Director
of Pet Club UK Ltd. http://www.petclubuk.com.
Common Turtle Species by Danielle Rose
Turtle Species
Turtles are cold-blooded reptiles. They have a shell making them unique from other reptiles. Their upper shell is called the carapace, and a lower shell that protects the belly called the plastron. The carapace and plastron shape and color varies from species to species. One might think it would at least always be a hard shell, which also is untrue. There are softshell turtle species, along with many others.
Some turtle species include Clemmys insculpta which is the wood turtle; Geochelone sulcata which is the African Spurred tortoise; Chelonia mydas which is the green turtle; Emydoidea blandingii which is the Blanding’s turtle; Clemmys guttata which is the spotted turtle; Malaclemys terrapin which is the diamondback terrapin; and Trachemys s. elegans which is the red-eared slider.
The species name for the wood turtle is Clemmys insculpta. This turtle is the largest in its genus. The carapace has raised projections on the back that resemble a small pyramid, making it different from others in the Clemmys genus.
The wood turtle is omnivorous and eats things like algae, moss, blueberries, mollusks, insects, earthworms, and mice. Typically adult males are larger than adult females, but not by a whole lot.
The species name for
the African Spurred tortoise is Geochelone sulcata. The African Spurred
Tortoise is the only tortoise in the world that has adapted fully for
terrestrial life. The turtle is famous for digging burrows to protect
itself from predators and the temperature. This turtle can go weeks without
food or water. When the turtle does get a chance to drink water though,
it can drink up to 15% of its body weight.
The species name for the green turtle is Chelonia mydas. Adult green turtles
have a different diet than juvenile green turtles. Adults are herbivores
eating plants and juveniles are carnivores eating meat. Adults usually
spend their time in patches of sea grass and algae to get their food,
while juveniles spend their time among the coral reef. Adults preferred
food is young leaves and roots of sea vegetation. Juveniles eat animals
such as jellyfish, sponges, snails, bivalves, and others.
This turtle is a medium to large sea turtle that has a broad, low, heart-shaped carapace.
Most of their lives are spent in the water but females return to the land to lay their eggs. The eggs take about two months to incubate, and then hatch. As most turtles are, green turtles possess environmental sex determination. Temperature of the nest determines the sex of the hatchling. Warmer temperatures produce females, and cooler temperatures produce males.
Green turtles are found throughout the oceans of the world. Populations are endangered or threatened everywhere.
The Blanding’s turtle is a northern turtle that has a black carapace with tan to yellow spots on the scutes. Its species name is Emydoidea blandingii. Sometimes this turtle is confused with the box turtle because of similar appearances.
This turtle lives in clean, shallow water habitats. They like abundant aquatic vegetation, and firm aquatic bottoms in ponds, lakes, marshes, and creeks. However, preferences in habitat can change seasonally and by location. In Wisconsin, the Blanding’s turtle prefers marshes over ponds, which is just a location preference. Turtles elsewhere may choose a pond over a marsh.
This turtle nests once a year usually from late-May to early July during the night. However, not every female nests every year.
The common name for Clemmys guttata is the spotted turtle. This is a small, black turtle that has a pattern on its smooth carapace with small yellow spots. Over time the spots may fade, making older turtles appear spotless.
Male spotted turtles tend to have tan chins with brown eyes differing from the females who tend to have yellow chins and orange eyes.
These turtles live in areas that are shallow wetlands. This can consist of swamps, bogs, fens, and marshes, but not confined to just these areas.
Spotted turtles are active during they day for the most part, meaning they are diurnal. However, females are active at night while they are nesting.
Spotted turtles are preyed upon by bald eagles, skunks, and raccoons.
The species name for the Diamondback Terrapin is Malaclemys terrapin. This turtle is a small to medium size turtle which feeds on sponges, bryozoans, gastropods, crabs, carrion, and plant material.
They have a hingeless plastron which can be yellow to green or black, and an oblong carapace is gray, light brown or black. They can be found in estuaries and salt marshes.
Nesting for these turtles is different from a majority of turtles because it is during the day. Most turtles tend to nest during the night. High tide is the most usual time for this particular turtle to nest.
The red-eared slider is native to the United States. It is commonly found in the Southern regions. The species name for it is Trachemys s. elegans.
When the red-eared slider is young it is carnivorous, but as it ages they become more vegetarian. They are a medium size and have a dark green oval shell. Their legs are green with think yellow stripes. The head is also green, but it has a red stripe behind the eye.
These turtles are found in most permanent slow-moving bodies of water. They prefer areas with mud bottoms.
Danielle Rose s a
featured writer for ForTurtles.com.
To learn more about turtles and good pet turtles, visit us.