New Horsfield Advice please!

[jo195]

Hi all,
Sorry if these questions have all been asked before but i've had my horsfield for a week and he seems to be steadily settling in, just wanted to ask a few questions as i've never had a tortoise before and there is so much conflicting info online!
Firstly, how much should a young hatchling be eating? I tend to throw about 3-4 dandie leaves in with the odd flowers (as per a vet recommendation of safe flowers!) and my little man seems to eat between 50-75% of this before trotting off to sleep. I don't want to be under or over feeding him!
Secondly, how often are torts meant to poo? I bathe him most nights and he never seems to pee/poo in the water but i've spot cleaned 2-3 poos out this week, unless it dries quickly i haven't seen much pee.

Thanks in advance guys, I'm looking forward to learning more about my lovely little guy as we go along!
X

[Rambotron]

Hi! I'm a very new tort owner myself but the guys here have been really helpful so hopefully you'll get some good replies.

This is what i was told by the vet in regards to food: Give them about the amount of leaves that would cover their shell,thats a good starting guide. But also if its all gone in 10 mins maybe give them a little more. And on the other hand if there is still food left in 30 mins then its probably too much.

I've also learnt with my tort that her poop depends on what shes eaten! during Jan and feb when she was eating mostly salad type foods (lambs lettuce,reddacio, frisee, romaine etc) she would poop more frequently. Now that she has more weeds in her diet she poops maybe once a week probably because weeds are good and take longer to digest (so they can absorb more nutrients whilst in there I guess).

And if i'm ever worried that she hasn't pooped in a few days I feed her a little bit of cucumber or a bite of Aloe plant and guaranteed she'll poop within 20 mins lol!

I dunno if this helps at all! someone more experienced will be along shortly!

[JerryMaffz]

Hello, and welcome.
All tortoises and species have their own personal traits so we can only generalise on these matters.
Personally, I would say that you are feeding more than enough. When my Hermann was a hatchling he was only eating up to one leaf a day. He has grown slowly and evenly. You could feed more than I did, but I can say that you are definitely not underfeeding.
Variety is important so check out the Tortoise Table website for feeding ideas.
Hydration is also ultra-important at this stage.
As for poo, well all seems normal with your tort.
Ask lots of questions, we are all learning and there is plenty of experience on this site.
No-one minds if a question has been asked before.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by jo195

Hi all,
Sorry if these questions have all been asked before but i've had my horsfield for a week and he seems to be steadily settling in, just wanted to ask a few questions as i've never had a tortoise before and there is so much conflicting info online!
Firstly, how much should a young hatchling be eating? I tend to throw about 3-4 dandie leaves in with the odd flowers (as per a vet recommendation of safe flowers!) and my little man seems to eat between 50-75% of this before trotting off to sleep. I don't want to be under or over feeding him!
Secondly, how often are torts meant to poo? I bathe him most nights and he never seems to pee/poo in the water but i've spot cleaned 2-3 poos out this week, unless it dries quickly i haven't seen much pee.

Thanks in advance guys, I'm looking forward to learning more about my lovely little guy as we go along!
X

Horsfields can be easily over fed:0)
A weight gain of around 2-3grms a month is a good guide.
Feeding enough to cover the shell is also a good guide, but in my opinion should not be fed more if they eat it all. As tortoises are geared to eat and eat while they can, as there are lots of time in the wild when they cant. Hence they can easily be over fed.
If they are being fed the correct diet of weeds, then they it can be up to a week to process through their bodies (this is why when hibernating them, they can poop right at the end of the windown) bathing does help.
As for urinating my hatchlings and adults if put in water, will always expel water from their rear end, and then take on more while in the bath:0)

[Jan W]

Welcome to the forum. Loads of good advice here and so much experience.

I would say I have some experience having owned a male and female for 7 years, but really learnt so much more joining here.

I have found it really interesting to have 2 torts that I would describe as chalk and cheese. Beatrice is a glutton for food, big and slow. Bertie eats far less, much smaller and always whizzing around. Beatrice will always pee and poo either in the bath or just after. I rarely see this with Bertie in his bath. They have different likes with their food too.

Be lovely to see a photograph of your tort.

[CherryBrandy]

Welcome to you and little one ! Horsfields - piggies of the tortoise world - I have a theory they are making up for lost time throughout the evolutionary process as they have had a hard life in the wild. Even my little ones 23 grammes can scoff down quite a few big dandelion leaves and will hunt around for more. Whilst others far bigger species don't tend to. Lots of good sound advice on here. You will notice growth lines more prominent if they are growing too fast. CB