any updates for us?
spikethebest said:any updates for us?
kyryah said:That is AWESOME news, I can't wait to see what you have come up with!
Kristina
Tom said:Welcome Skyler Nell. You've been getting good tips, so I've just stayed out of it. Wanted to let you know that I don't find much use for pet stores, when it comes to tortoise stuff. I get most of what I need at hardware stores. Check out these threads, for example:
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-13520.html
http://tortoiseforum.org/thread-12436.html
You could go broke trying to buy enough substrate at a pet store.
Good luck and keep those questions coming. The more you learn the better it is for your tortoise.
emysemys said:I just hate it when someone goes out and spends their hard-earned money for tortoise supplies, posts about it on the forum, and then I feel I have to say something negative about it. I'm really sorry...but I can't let it go without saying anything.
I would never in a million years put any sand of any kind in my tortoise habitats. And that includes the calci-sand that the pet stores sell. Sand bothers their eyes (especially Russians), and it gets stuck to the food and eaten. Then the tortoise gets this big ball of sand blocking the intestine and he's really sick!
I just love your enclosure and you've done a great job with it. But I can't abide the sand, sorry.
emysemys said:Oh no...please...I wasn't bothered by your post at all. I love the tortoise habitat and you are a very nice and friendly person. I was just giving you my opinion on having sand as a substrate. I've seen radiographs of tortoises with sand impaction, and I would never use it as a substrate. Sorry if I offended you. I really didn't mean to.
emysemys said:Even though the package says it is digestible, it isn't. The only harm that comes from it is if they accidentally eat it. And they walk through it, getting it stuck on their legs and shell, then they walk through the food and it gets stuck on the food. Then they eat it.
Tom said:Congratulations on the new enclosure. It looks great, but I have to agree with Yvonne about the sand. Once you've seen the suffering a tortoise has to go through with sand impaction or eye problems, you'll never want to use it again. Some members use a mixture of sand and other stuff, but I've had nothing but problems with it every time I've tried to use it over the last 30 years.
Does anyone have a radiograph to post of a sand impacted tortoise? I'll try to get one from my vet friend.
Also, speaking from experience, a bad experience, you need to hang or mount that light from over head. It will be much more effective and you'll eliminate the risk of fire or injury to your tortoise when (when, NOT if) that clamp fails. We've all had those clamps fail and hot bulbs fall either into the enclosure or on to the floor. Many, here on the forum, lost their beloved tortoises to this mistake. That's one of the greatest benefits of this forum, in my opinion. We get to learn from everyone else's mistakes and avoid making them on our own.
Yvonne is very humble, so I'll answer your question to her. Yes, she knows a lot about California Desert Tortoises. There aren't too many people in the whole world that know more about them than she does. She is also much more tactful and appropriate with her answers than some of us (Me, for example). You are in very, very good hands with Yvonne's advice.
Candy said:Yvonne's also been raising tortoises, but she's had over 35 years of it. She is right sand is not good although some people do mix it with soil and they say that's alright. I'll let others chime in. You really don't want to take chances with your little one. Yvonne is very experience at keeping most tortoises. I would listen to her.
ChiKat said:I used a coir/sand mix for my Russian hatchling and I'm really not a fan of the sand. It irritated his eyes and stuck to everything. Now I use a top soil/coir mix.