pandabynightpandabyday:

🐢 project tortoise 🐢

Meet Esio Trot

And his sibling M’Shell (we have no idea of the sexes)

Both are Marginated Tortoises, a Mediterranean species originating from Greece and Sardinia. When my brother got them as babies a few years back he and my mum were given some really dodgy care advice from the breeder that we recently realised has meant that our torts haven’t been flourishing as well as they should be at 5 years old (we trusted the breeder to care about the living arrangements that they were going into so assumed that his advice was completely reliable – it wasn’t. Do your own research and always consult a vet/reptile expert!)

SO, because I just graduated and have lots of time on my hands to do lots of research, I’ve taken over tortoise care and spent half of yesterday getting to know/playing with/bathing/feeding the tortoises and the other half picking weeds for their food for this week and drawing up plans for a new tort enclosure for when they come inside again full time at the end of the summer. Today we’re hand-building a full-size wooden tortoise table for the two of them to chill out in as well as a smaller one for if one needs some vet prescribed space for health reasons or whatever

I am determined that Esio Trot and M’Shell are going to THRIVE and I’m hoping to hibernate them (or at least Esio, who’s much bigger and healthier than M’Shell – although there’s loads of conflicting info on whether they even should..!!) for the first time this winter. I’m going to reblog this intermittently with progress updates as we overhaul their care and living situation and hopefully set them up for happy, healthy, long life.