Since I named Alex after a founding father, he had to some fun on his first real fourth of July (technically he was hatched in Feb, but I didn't get him until September). The one photo shows he is a little pyramided, despite my best efforts.
Alex is growing well (I got him in September and he was 69 grams and today he was 179 grams, whoa. I weigh him once a week), but I think his diet of greens and Mazuri is pretty boring. I give him cucumbers and carrots every now and again and I do mix his greens up when I find something new...
I see Russians at every Petsmart at around that price. They don't get as big as leopards (max around 10 inches), but all tortoises benefit from some outside time and space, imho. I'm sure there are some keepers that keep them entirely indoors.
Russians hibernate in the winter if I'm not...
Meet Alexander Tortilton. My baby leopard tortoise came today. And yes that's a ninja turtle party wagon. It's not his only hidey hole, but he seems to like it (and I know it's not practical long term, but he's the coolest tortoise on the block until he outgrows it or it gets gross :).
I'm...
I'm not an expert, and he's a lot smaller than I expected so I may end up regrouping this weekend. I followed the instructions here (more or less) to build: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/habitat/470803-how-build-your-own-wooden.html
And I modified with these care guides in mind...
I was honestly overestimating how hot those heat emitters got. Reading about them malfunctioning, I was imagining them be oven hot and I saw several warnings never to run them without a thermostat for fear of them melting fixtures, setting fire to substrate, etc. which is why I hadn't really...
So, I've had all the lights/heaters on full blast since I last posted (so about 5 hours) and I guess I'm paranoid for nothing. The warm side of the tank is too warm (under the basking light is 107) but the cool side is still only 89 (my house to thermostat is set on 77 degrees). It's actually...