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Tortoises like roaming about, an escape-proof garden would be an ideal location for housing. Walled gardens are ideal but if you have to pen your tortoise in make sure that the animal can neither climb over nor burrow under. Wire or wooden pens should be at least 16 ins high, buried to a depth of 4 ins with wooden stakes as support. Garden ponds should be adequately fenced off or covered to prevent risk of drowning. A well ventilated greenhouse with access to a clover lawn and a paved sunbathing area is ideal for tortoises as in both spring and autumn the animals will be able to heat up sufficiently to feed well, thereby extending their year and shortening their hibernation period. A lower pane of glass can be replaced with a a doggie door panel in it, thus ensuring that the tortoises can escape from overheating on the hottest summer days.
Never attempt tethering a tortoise by string round the leg which will cut off blood circulation and may result in gangrene or by boring holes through the shell, which will cut through live tissue and cause pain or infection. A waterproof house in a sunny position is essential to protect the tortoise from extremes of cold, wet and heat. It should be of a wooden construction, preferably covered with roofing felt and be slightly raised to prevent the floor from becoming damp. It can be lined with thick newspaper or dried leaves.
If you have several tortoises, it is advisable to separate the males and females as the males often engage in female shell-butting and leg biting as part of their courtship. Females constantly exposed to this treatment and unable to escape will feed less, produce eggs less frequently and will eventually suffer from extensive shell and leg damage with an increased likelihood of infections.
WATER
Contrary to belief tortoises do drink, especially on waking from hibernation, when a warm bath is usually appreciated. A shallow dish about 4 inches deep, sunk into the ground to allow the animals to submerge their heads into the water. Allowing for easy access into and out of the dish.
FEEDING
Tortoises need a diet which is high in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals, but low in fat and proteins,feeding mainly on green leaves. If your tortoise has the run of a garden it will forage quite successfully for itself on chickweed, clover, dandelion, groundsel, plantains, sow thistle and vetches and the leaves of plants like mulberry, ice plant, lilac, rose and bramble. Caution should always be taken with the use of weedkillers and slug pellets, if used at all.
In the wild, tortoises are opportunistic feeders and they will on occasion tackle carrion and dung. Their digestive systems are, however, geared towards the digestion of leaves, including cellulose, so a wide variety of greens must be offered and the diet should be as varied as possible with leaves, vegetables and fruits as well as a good vitamin/mineral supplement.
The following foods should be offered: beans (leaves and pods), broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, endive, lettuce, kale, spring greens, watercress. Beetroot, carrots, cauliflower and parsnips may be grated or offered cooked. Also these fruits apples, apricots, blackberries, currants, gooseberries, grapes, mandarins, melons, peaches, pears, plums, oranges, raspberries, bananas, strawberries and tomatoes. Canned or defrosted fruit can be offered as an alternative. A widely varied diet is recommended for resembling their native feeding habits.
BREEDING
A pair of tortoises may mate. The gestation period is from thirty days to three years. The female may dig several trial nests in suitable mounds of warm soil and finally will deposit on average between 5-10 eggs. In the absence of an acceptable site or temperature for laying, the tortoise may become egg-bound, in which case veterinary help will be needed. In colder climates eggs need to be retrieved and placed in an incubator and kept at a temperature of 80-85°F. Depending on temperature, the eggs will hatch after 8-12 weeks. The sex of the hatchlings is determined by the incubation temperature Environmental Sex Determination. At the lower temperature hatchlings will be males, at the higher end they will be female; average temperatures will produce mixed clutches. Hatchlings, although soft-shelled at first, are fully developed requiring no maternal care. They need access to a heated vivarium during cold and damp spells. Only breed from healthy adult tortoises.
HEALTH
Tortoises are susceptible to a variety of illnesses which will need the advice of a veterinary surgeon. Runny nose, mouth rot and parasite infestation are infectious and require isolation.
HIBERNATION
During August and September, as the days grow shorter, the light intensity decreases, the temperature begins to fall and tortoises prepare for hibernation. Feeding declines: it takes 4-6 weeks for their gut to empty for winter, and before they start this process in early September the tortoises need a check over. Make sure there are no signs of wounds, abscesses, infections internally or externally, also that the mouth is clean and pink, the eyes alert and bright. Ensure their weights and measurements correspond with the Jackson ratio, clear away any fecal matter adhering to the shell or tail.
OVERWINTERING
Any tortoise which is underweight or suffering from an ailment should not be hibernated, but overwintered in a vivarium. This should have a heat source and full spectrum light for 13-14 hours to prevent hibernation. The temperatures should be 80°F by day and 65-70°F at night. Fresh food and water should be provided. A simple vivarium can be provided with the light source on one end and a shelter on the other. Never allow the temperature to go below 60°F.
HIBERNATION SETUP
Use a large, wooden, rodent-proof crate or box, with small airholes in the sides. Both the top and the holes should be covered in wiremesh to prevent vermin entering. Line the base and the sides of the box with thick pads of polystyrene or newspaper. Place the tortoise in an inner box with airholes and filled for one to threequarters with polystyrene chips, dry leaves or shredded newspaper. Avoid hay or straw. Place the smaller box inside the larger one, making sure you can open it easily for check-ups. The tortoise can be carefully weighed individually or complete with inner box on a weekly or twice monthly basis. An adult tortoise loses about 1% of its pre-hibernation weight monthly. A drastic weight loss indicates something is wrong: the animal should be brought out of hibernation immediately and checked. Make sure the tortoise is hibernated in a frost-free environment, at temperatures of 36-50°F. Tortoises kept below freezing point can lose their eyesight or at worst their lives. Use a maximum and minimum thermometer (obtainable from garden shops) to check temperature changes. At 40°F the respiratory movements are negligible. If the tortoise is kept too warm and becomes too active it will use up its fat and of glycogen or animal starch stored in the liver, the latter is needed on emergence from hibernation.
EMERGENCE FROM HIBERNATION
Start checking your tortoise from the end of January onwards. When the animal starts moving take it out of its hibernation quarters.
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