just got a new tort ^^

Question
hey Jeannie! My name is Geena and I bought a tortoise today. I live in Kuwait so it's usually very hot over here. It is a Spur-thighed tortoise. Temporarily I've kept in our bathtub until I know what's the best home for it. And I've given it lettuce and cucumbers. Are tomatoes "bad" for it? Should I give it water? And what type of home should I get for it? How can I know if it is male or female?! Thanks a lot!!

Answer
Hi Geena,

First it would be helpful for me to know the species of your tortoise, as here in the U.S. "spur-thigh" commonly means Centrochelys (formerly Geochelone) sulcata, which is a very large tortoise; overseas it often means what we usually call a "Greek" tortoise, Testudo graeca.  If you actually do have a sulcata, you have your work cut out for you, but I suspect you have a Greek and that would be more manageable.  

In your environment, you'll have to be careful to make sure your tortoise stays hydrated and doesn't overheat.  When the weather is under 100 degrees, an outside planted pen with plenty of shade and water dishes would be suitable, but when it's very hot you'll need an indoor accomodation.  For one smaller tortoise, something at least 3' x 4' would work, but bigger is always better.  A large plastic bin, an old bookcase turned on its back, or a tortoise table that you build would all work fine.  

You'll need a substrate that holds moisture well, and will need to water it down regularly.  Tortoises cannot be kept completely dry as they will dehydrate; in the wild they spend time in burrows in order to conserve moisture.  Here I use a mix of coir (compressed, shredded coconut husks) and playsand.  You could use that if available, or plain topsoil.  Avoid anything like pure sand, hay, etc.

Indoors, you need to provide a basking area where the temperature is about 90-95 degrees, plus a source of UVB.  I can't tell you what kind of bulb to buy for UVB, so you may have to do some research on what's available there.  UVB is essential for calcium metabolism.  If the tortoise is outside for at least a couple of  hours a day, you would be OK on UVB.

Water should be provided at all times, in a large, shallow dish that is big enough for the tortoise to get into completely.  Since it's so dry in Kuwait, you should also soak the tortoise in shallow lukewarm water a few times a week.  Watch the urates (the white part of their urine); if they're soft and creamy, the tortoise is hydrated, but if gritty, its dehydrated and needs more moisture.

Diet should be leafy greens--no fruit, no veggies, and no pellets.  Lettuce is OK as part of a varied diet, but it's pretty high in water and lower in nutrients, so don't rely on it.  No cucumbers, as they're mostly water and will fill up the tortoise without providing much in the way of nutrients.  Tomato is a fruit, so no tomato.  Some greens to look for are turnip, dandelion, chicory, collards, mustard, kale, endive.  The more variety, the better.

Tortoises can't be sexed until they're mature, so depending on the size of your tortoise you may have to wait to find out the sex.  Immature tortoises all look female.  The males have a longer tail that's a little hooked at the end, while females have short, stubby tails.

Here's a website you can check out.  It's for Russian (Horsfield) tortoises, but the care is essentially the same.

www.russiantortoise.org  
You can find pictures of sulcata here:  www.africantortoise.com
And pictures of Greeks here:  http://www.thetortoiseman.com/greek.html