Pet horsfield tortoise
Horsfield tortoises are popularly known as afghan tortoise, Afghanistan tortoise, steppe tortoise, central Asian tortoise, four toed tortoise and Russian tortoise. Horsfield tortoises are green, yellow, and brownish in colour. The shell of horsfield tortoise is round and slightly flattened. They are very popular as pet because of their dazzling looks and small size. The life span of horsfield tortoise is 50 years. Owner should provide proper care and attention to his pet horsfield tortoise in order to make it survive it for long. Some of the horsfield tortoise care tips is mentioned below to give you general idea of handling horsfield tortoise.
Care tips:
1. Horsfield tortoise enclosure: The enclosure of horsfield tortoise should be deep enough so that these tortoises can dig down and it should have high walls to let them climb as they love to climb and dig. Make sure that the enclosure of horsfield tortoise is clean. Dirty enclosure can cause infection to your pet horsfield tortoise. Make sure that horsfield tortoise doesn’t have damp environment or high humidity. It is a good idea to provide open top tortoise table with a 100 watt UVB lamp to horsfield tortoise. You should put grass and sand in its enclosure to make them feel comfortable. At the time of mating male horsfield tortoise can prove dangerous to female so they must be kept separately.
2. Horsfield tortoise food: High fiber and low protein food is good for horsfield tortoise. You can serve orchard hay, mixed grasses, timothy hay, berries, clove, prickly pear pads, Dutch clover, sow thistle, romaine, red leaf lettuce, rose leaves and petals, ibiscus and dandelion leaves and flowers to your pet horsfield tortoise. Grasses, vegetation and flowers of non poisonous plants can be included in their daily diet. Avoid fruits to horsfield tortoise. They must have access to water all time. Animal protein, high carbohydrate and high sugar food should be avoided to horsfield tortoise.
3. Breeding horsfield tortoise: Horsfield tortoise usually mate in the month of March and lasts till June. Female horsfield will lay 3 – 5 eggs after eight weeks of mating season. As male can be dangerous towards female during mating season therefore one should regularly monitor mating process to avoid bad circumstances. Proper care should be provided to hatchling and female horsfield tortoise.
Combination of separate basking bulb and UVB strip lights should be provided to horsfield tortoise in their enclosure. Horsfield tortoise requires proper attention and care to stay healthy. If you notice any kind of change in their daily activities then immediately take it to vet for consultation. Clean and healthy environment should be provided to horsfield tortoise.