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Hi it depends on where you live. If you live in a country where the tortoise you keep lives in that habitat then yes you may not need to bring them in. If you are further north, such as the UK it is advised to bring them in if it drops below 10c to prevent them sleeping for longer than they should. To learn more watch some of the hibernation videos.

Females can live together happily in small groups but you do sometimes need to manage hormonal bashing. Males should live along to avoid fighting. Turkish Ibera and Herman’s are robust breeds. With a secure and rocky south facing enclosure Horsfield’s can work too. There are many seeking new homes in the UK. If you have and space and time to build a habitat please contact the Norfolk Tortoise Club and register interest :)

@@tortoise_matters thank you very much. I will do. 👍

Hi is you bought a tortoise as a captive bred in the UK. If not from a specialist he is likely a spur thigh turkish ibera. Algerian whitei and Morrocan were imported before the ban in 1984. Very few people breed and sell them and if they do they are more specialist. Gracea is the Latin but when it comes to cities all spur thighs are listed as Gracea. If you would like to learn more about the gracea varieties I show the massive range in my PowerPoint talk, but you can also ready more by visiting the tortoise trust website :) hope this helps.

I recommend having a read of gracea articles on the tortoise trust to look at the wide variety of spur thighs. In short though …. Turkish Ibera is a testudo gracea. It’s just the common name :)

Watch some of my other plate feed guys. Start gently, you may have to mix in a little salad that he will eat with weeds to get him onto a good diet. It is likely to take all summer so keep your nerve and good luck. It takes a while for a tortoiae to settle somewhere new too, so two warm bathes a week and help to find sunshine/lamp and food can help too :) stay in touch. Is you are in east of England come to the tortoise open day in norfolk. Detail at www.tortoiseclub.org. I can also recommend buying the Linda king weed book on ebay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335400124868?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GtSZ9CQPTJW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=GtSZ9CQPTJW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

This was great. I’m so happy I found your channel. ❤🐢 Thank you!

So glad you’ve picked up something new from across the pond. Such a brilliant species.

Yep, you’re of course completely right. I’ve spent decades trying to talk in everyday terms to make information accessible and in the process… it’s clearly fried my logic in places. Thank you for the reminder. I will keep it in mind;)

I am glad the video has been of a little help. There needs to be a bit more support for setting up for Redfoot’s tortoises. Super animals, but there is little to no resources for keeping adults in cooler climates well.

@@tortoise_matters 100%. It feels like everything you look at online for Redfoots in the UK is only ever for babies/young adults. There's minimal coverage or information for adults.

As some one who's got a few rescue animals from iggys to redfoots . This is a great video. We're currently looking to adopt another redfoot . Do you have any links or contacts. We fully expect rehome fees and enclosure inspections ect. We would rather adopt than buy from a breeder . Thanks in advance

@@beenherebrforemurry6365 i have several contacts, but it depends on what part of the world you are in? :)

​@@tortoise_matterswe're in the uk Norfolk

Glad it was helpful!

Best wishes

Hi Kale in my opinion is best avoid as it’s still brassica family. I would stick to weeds or if not rockets, lambs lettuce or rocket. Free healthy food guide at www.tortoiseclub.org

Well done for getting there. It can be very confusing when you first start out :)

Hi I recommend using testudo agrobs which you can buy on ebay quite easily. Start with small amounts until they are used to it which can take all summer, but it’s worth it when you need it more come autumn. :)

Coming soon!

Disposable pets ...

There is still a lot of wrong info out there and most don’t mean to be ignorant. We all have a role to play to educate :)

Unfortunately consumer culture and easy access may be making it a little too easy to obtain an animal that can live into the 100s. Forever is a LONG time. Especially with the growing cost implications.

As long as you can feel a little sun on your face we’ve been putting tortoises out once they have warmed under lamps for a few hours in the morning to get started. They normally are straight to browsing weeds or exploring. It’s documented they can benefit from UVB even when it’s slightly cloudy so as long as it’s not grey and damp we tend to put everyone out. I’d say tortoises have be out 5 out of 7 days weekly last month. They are indoors every night until we are happy night time temps are not below 10c which won’t be for at least another month.

@@tortoise_matters interesting. Do you have a minimum temperate you could recommend. As I say here in South Wales we are getting average highs of around 11 or 13 but most days hover around 10 degrees, today was only around 7, night time temps are still.very low 5ish degrees sometimes less. On Saturday and sunday it got to around 14/15 with sunshine (felt really quite warm.in the sun) so they were out, as soon as it clouded over they started to dig down, at which point I brought them in. They have a green house in there but don't seem to seek it out when it clouds over, they tend to go under brush or dig down. I usually go by consistent day time temps of 15 degrees. The green house tends to stay around 2 degrees above air temp at night. Obviously gets much warmer with even the smallest amount of sunshine. I have eastern Herman's btw

Fortunately there are less ‘oiled’ tortoises these days. However the occasional scrub with tamodine after a bath with a soft toothbrush with any tortoise is a good idea. Especially in corners such are around the tail.

Hi it depends on the time of year, ages and species of the tortoise. Season change is important when keeping a tortoise along with heat, humidity and health of the animal. It is currently spring and the tortoise are getting fresh food 5 days a week, but they are a bit slower and not eating it as readily. Two days a week they are left with dried left overs and what they can find in their outdoor enclosures. I'll try and do a video to illustrate diet variation soon :) thanks for the question.

Autumn and Winter in Europe is a compromise when it comes to feeding a natural diet. You will have to reply a little more on the added fibre supplements mentioned in this video mixed with bought produce such a water cress, lambs lettuce, rocket, romaine or baby gem. In reference to pesticides you can ask your local authority what their procedures are for areas they chose to treat. You can also consider asking friends with wild gardens and allotments for assistance.

It depends on how firm the ground is already and what breed of tortoise. A mediterranean breed is normally ok with 2 inches dug down. You can also add extra bricks and slabs as a precaution and remember to keep climbing aids away from the edges. If you have a young male you may want to cover covers also. Horsfields would require lots more gravel and slabs in the enclosure to prevent digging and 6inch deep surround.

Thank you I will try and find time to do more this year :) If you fancy a full nerd out there is a tortoise weekend in May. www.turtlesurvival.eu/new-events. There are also owner events if you don't mind having a holiday in Norfolk. www.tortoiseclub.org/events

when I was in Turkey last year I was shocked to see dark and light iberas in the same locations, so amazingly they appear to often be from the same location. I think the very grey black iberas are from somewhere different though. You even get some with different head shapes and leg scales. If you are interested in this area you may enjoy wolfgangs research. amzn.to/43NTB0n

Hi Drast, apologies I have only just seen this message. I hope hibernation plans went ok. It reads like you were making the right considerations. unfortunately with modern winter temperature fluxes it can be hard to be sure you are staying a safe 4-8c in hibernation which is why may are switching to fridges now. Tech can help a little with max min thermometers which can help track the temperatures 24hrs a day. An example is here amzn.to/3VBxAjm