slightly stressed out newbie needing housing advice...

[Widgitwoo]

Hi,
I am a new tortoise owner - I got 3 on Saturday - I have always wanted one and long story short my partner randomly met someone who needed 3 rehoming because of health reasons (theirs not the tortoises).
I spent a week researching like mad and then picked them up.
They are 2 Mediterranean and a spur thigh. they are all about 5 years old and have always lived together.
I had them booked in with a vet who is a specialist in tortoises for a general look over and because one was very snuffly and all my research said this was very bad.
From seeing the vet we have antibiotics and they have all been checked, however the person who had them before apparently hasn’t looked after them all that well - not intentionally she was a lovely lady - they haven't had the right food, they lived on wood chip, and they didn’t have a UV-B lamp. I have ordered the lamp and they are getting the correct food and now have a sand/top soil mix, stones and an area of the wood chip (as it’s what they have been used to) in their tortoise table. I am also in the process of making an outdoor area for them. However the vet said they shouldn't be together. Especially the 2 different types.

The outdoor area I will be able to split up and still give them plenty of space each however my indoor space is more limited.
I need ideas on how to give maximum space for the tortoises within a small area. I made them an enclosure which they are currently in which is 120 x 70cm it has an extra shelf at one end that I was going to make in to a 2nd basking area but as I need to separate them I won't bother with that.
I am in the process of ordering all the lamps and things I need for the extra enclosures but from looking through this site over the last week many of you seem to have more than one tortoise so how do you house them?

All ideas and help very gratefully received

[Ozric Jonathan]

Hi there

yes things can get complicated with multiple tortoises indoors!

Personally I don't think that different species should be kept together but there are different views on that and some keepers do it without any problems.

If these tortoises have been kept together so far then separating them might not be top priority if they are going to be outside mostly in the summer. That is your decision of course but I might focus on the outside at this point.

What I have is a three level 'table' which is a bit like 3 layers of bunk beds with each level being the size of a double human bed. This takes up most of a room including the height. If you go for a multi-level job then there does need to be adequate space between levels for hanging lamps and also for air circulation. That is why my 3 layer one is so tall. 2 layer ones are quite common and work well for most people.

There are lots of photos of indoor enclsoures including bunk bed type things on the site. I suggest you use the search function in the housing section. There is a thread on there which is just photos of indoor enclsoures.

Over time you will find out what works for you and your tortoises. But if they can be kept outside for as long as possible that will be good for them. How you keep them outside is a subject to itself. Most tortoises benefit from some kind of greenhouse, coldframe or shelter of some kind.

Once tortoises get past a certain size I think most of us struggle to provide a lot of space for them indoors so ideally keep them outside for as long as possible.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Widgitwoo

Hi,
I am a new tortoise owner - I got 3 on Saturday - I have always wanted one and long story short my partner randomly met someone who needed 3 rehoming because of health reasons (theirs not the tortoises).
I spent a week researching like mad and then picked them up.
They are 2 Mediterranean and a spur thigh. they are all about 5 years old and have always lived together.
I had them booked in with a vet who is a specialist in tortoises for a general look over and because one was very snuffly and all my research said this was very bad.
From seeing the vet we have antibiotics and they have all been checked, however the person who had them before apparently hasn’t looked after them all that well - not intentionally she was a lovely lady - they haven't had the right food, they lived on wood chip, and they didn’t have a UV-B lamp. I have ordered the lamp and they are getting the correct food and now have a sand/top soil mix, stones and an area of the wood chip (as it’s what they have been used to) in their tortoise table. I am also in the process of making an outdoor area for them. However the vet said they shouldn't be together. Especially the 2 different types.

The outdoor area I will be able to split up and still give them plenty of space each however my indoor space is more limited.
I need ideas on how to give maximum space for the tortoises within a small area. I made them an enclosure which they are currently in which is 120 x 70cm it has an extra shelf at one end that I was going to make in to a 2nd basking area but as I need to separate them I won't bother with that.
I am in the process of ordering all the lamps and things I need for the extra enclosures but from looking through this site over the last week many of you seem to have more than one tortoise so how do you house them?

All ideas and help very gratefully received

If you can post pictures we can ID their species correctly for you:0)
Also getting them outside is far better than any UV we can give them artificially. I keep ibera (one of the spur sub species) and they are outside 24/7 now.
My tortoises live in a heated greenhouse. I turn all heating off at the beginning of May until September or October depending on the weather:0)
I also hibernate mine in the greenhouse.
If you can hibernate your tortoises, it will save a lot of indoor problems:0)
I wont say more until you ask questions as it will send your head in over load:0)

[Suze65]

I agree, it would be a good idea to concentrate on the outdoor enclosure as summer is here, and natural uv is much better, they definitely respond well to being outside. Also it would be a good idea to post some pictures, then someone can ID them for you, if they have always lived together without any problems, then I wouldn't rush to separate them, but if one has RNS you do need to quarantine this one , as RNS can be very contagious. You will need to keep this tortoise at 30c day and night, so it's immune system can fight off the infection. To do this, you will need a ceramic heat emitter for the night when the basking light is switched off. Antibiotics may or may not work, depending on what's causing the runny nose.

[emma_mcraf]

Hi, I just want to welcome you to the forum. You've been given excellent advice so far and clearly done a certain amount of your own research to know to take the torts to the vets. Try not to worry as there are plenty of knowledgeable people on the forum willing to answer questions and offer advice.
I hope your poorly tort soon picks up and you can make some plans for their outside and indoor accommodation to suit them all. As Suze says, your poorly one needs to be quarantined and a constant temperature maintained.
Good luck!

[Jan W]

Welcome to the forum. I'm still learning, but you will get excellent advice here and tips that will help you choose to suit you and your torts.

[CherryBrandy]

Welcome to the site ! ask away too and photographs would be fab when done of torts and enclosures. I have all sorts of tables and outside accommodation. I even have one have under an old leather chair with the warmer end in the open - saves lots of space and the tort loves to disappear under the chair in the heat of the day. its cool and he likes his only private little burrow.

[Widgitwoo]

Hi, thank you so much for all your advice. I made them a 'bunk bed' style enclosure:

I am gradually tking the woodchip out and putting more of the soil and sand mix in, I just didn't want it to be too much change all at once for them.


I haven't moved the spur thigh into the other bit yet as I am waiting for the 2nd UV-B bulb to arrive. Hopefully that will be tomorrow as I am a little conerned as she isn't going under the lamp much at the moment and is staying in her hide. When I get her out she is fine and wanders around but hasn't been in the enclosure.


I worked on the outdoor enclosure over the weekend - just need to put a divider through the middle, get the topsoil/sand mix and hopefully some sun so I can let them out:

I bought a load of tortoise friendly plants today to put in the beds around the enclosure so they will have plently of choice to nibble at as it grows over the sides.


These are my three torts (I didn't name them and they are all girls I have found out) they are (left to right) Tommy, Queen Tutt and Tilly:

[Jan W]

The photos did not appear, what a shame.

This happened to me the first time I posted pictures, after spending what seemed like hours taking snaps and then trying to post.

Eventually I discovered photobucket was essential and had to click on the IMG. Box on the right, it tells you image copied and then you click paste on your forum message. If you go to advanced before posting reply it allows you to see your message and picture.

Not sure if this helps, but I did get there eventually!

[Widgitwoo]

Oh how annoying, they come up when I look at it on my laptop but not one my phone...odd...
I will try the way you suggested 😃