Bird Nesting Boxes And Tortoises

[dorothymeta]

Does anyone have a garden bird nesting box with camera? I've read info leaflets but would like to get tips from someone who actually has one.

Also does anyone have a tortoise. I'd like to get one in the spring. Do they wander out of the garden and get lost? Do they eat flower plants in the garden? Can they be kept in a large run?

[rsvp]

dorothymeta before you get a tortoise do go onto The Tortoise Trust and The Tortoise Table websites and forum - there is a wealth of information there. Tortoises are not easy animals to keep correctly and they are terrible escape artists! As they aren't indiginous to this country they need proper heating, lighting and feeding and many garden plants are poisonous to them. There are a lot of myths surrounding their care so I can't urge you too strongly to find out how to do it correctly. I have four -two marginated, a hermans and a horsefields - different species shouldn't be kept together because of the different bacteria in the gut. Really, they aren't easy and not all tortoise hibernate so make sure you know what type you have and if it is a hibernating type check out on those websites how to do this correctly. My four are currently hibernating in the fridge but I'm getting their indoor and outdoor runs ready for when I wake them up.

[frugalfred]

http://britishtortoisesociety.com/

[woofgang]

what rsvp says. I have got two whitei. One has been mine for about 50 years, they other one I took on from someone who couldn’t keep her. They are a full time 365 day responsibility. When the are hibernating, the temps need monitoring at least three times a day. I don’t fridge hibernate mine because twice in my life I have seen larder fridges go crazy over night and turn into freezers. People will tell you it can’t happen, well it can and I haven’t got the bottle to take the risk. Many people do though and all goes fine. All the time with torts you need a plan B, indoor shelter heat and light when the summer is poor, the means to keep hibernating temps stable, suitable food when they are awake and nothing is growing. Mine are in a large run, the run is 20 by 30 feet ish, double gated to keep my dogs out and doubly secured around the edges because tortoises can both dig and climb. Yes they will escape if they can and won’t stand a meeting with a dog or fox or cat. Additionally many if not all of them carry salmonella so human hygiene precautions are essential. Males kept together will fight and males kept with females will continually attempt to mate which can make the females very ill unless multiple females are kept with one male in a large enclosure. Tortoises can’t be sexed at hatching.
I like my tortoises and am willing to take on the trouble and can afford the costs but they are not a pet I would recommend.

[Jackdaw33]

When I was little we had a tortoise. To stop it escaping a hole was drilled in the back of the shell and string threaded through, tied to a fence, to allow it to roam the perimeter of the garden. I am not recommending this; it's just what my father did.

[woofgang]

yes, they did do it then jackdaw, also paint stuff on their shells. Both are wrong and dangerous to the tortoise and the shell string thing is also very cruel. prosecutably cruel these days. Hopefully now people know better.