NEWBIE HERE

[zerlineeeweeenieee]

SO I JUST GOT ME TWO ADORABLE LITTLE CRITTERS MARLEY AND ZIGGY VALENTINE..... THEY ARE THE MOST ADORABLE THINGS IN THE WORLD..ASIDE FROM MY TWO KIDS WHO ALSO ADORE THEIR NEW SIBLINGS.

BEFORE RECEIVING THEM I DID ALL MY RESEARCH ON EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ON TAKING CARE OF THEM.. BUT ONE THING I STILL DONT KNOW..IS HOW OFTEN DO I NEED TO FEED THEM????

RIGHT NOW THEY ARE LIVING INDOORS AS THEY ARE BABIES.BUT I DO TAKE THEM OUT TO GET SOME OUTDOOR ACTION..

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi there, zerlineeeweeenieee:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

Wow...a leopard AND a sulcata. You are a glutton for punishment. Cute little babies. I can see why you and your kids have fallen in love. Please be sure to read the important threads shown at the top of the sulcata section and at the top of the leopard section. It looks like your leopard baby has been started under the "slow cook" method of tortoise-keeping. You will find out here on the forum that that is the old school method. Now-a-days we give them more moisture in their habitats.

What would you like us to call you?

 

[Carlotta84]

Welcome!!

 

[tortle]

Oh my goodness, your tortoise has a heart shape on it. So cute!

 

[zerlineeeweeenieee]

"EMYSEMYS"

ORIGINALLY I WAS ONLY TO BUY A SULCATA BUT WHEN I TOOK A LOOK AT THE LEOPARD TORTOISE WELL HE/SHE JUST HAD TO COME HOME WITH ME TOO... LOL.... BUT YES I DID NOTICE THAT THE SHELL WAS NOT AT ALL THAT SMOOTH LOOKING ... AND THAT IS WHY IVE BEEN RESEARCHING AND EVEN JOINED THIS FORUM SO I CAN BETTER HELP MY LITTLE ZIGGY-VALENTINE..

FOR THE MOISTURE I READ THAT PLAYSAND AND LOAM IS GOOD..BUT THEY DONT CARRY LOAM IN S. CALIFORNIA SO THAT THAT BED AND BEAST AND PLAY SAND WILL DO. ONLY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT PLAY SAND IS???

 

[zerlineeeweeenieee]

Welcome!!

THANK YOU.

 

[wellington]

Hello and WELCOME . The threads at the bottom of my post will help you raise them happy, healthy, hydrated and will help out the pyramiding that has started. You do also know, that they should not be housed together. If the info you got was from their breeder, I would dump most of that info and pay close attention to the info on this forum. I fed mine at that age two times a day with a hand full 2-3 times his size. If he didn't eat all his morning food, I left it until the next feeding. Good luck, they are adorable.

---

One more thing. The stones the picture of them soaking. If those are in their enclosures, remove them and go with coconut coir, cypress mulch or even plain dirt, not sand. The little stones could be swallowed and cause impaction.

 

[zerlineeeweeenieee]

Hello and WELCOME . The threads at the bottom of my post will help you raise them happy, healthy, hydrated and will help out the pyramiding that has started. You do also know, that they should not be housed together. If the info you got was from their breeder, I would dump most of that info and pay close attention to the info on this forum. I fed mine at that age two times a day with a hand full 2-3 times his size. If he didn't eat all his morning food, I left it until the next feeding. Good luck, they are adorable.

---

One more thing. The stones the picture of them soaking. If those are in their enclosures, remove them and go with coconut coir, cypress mulch or even plain dirt, not sand. The little stones could be swallowed and cause impaction.

---

the flooring thing is vermiculite..it did cross my mind about being consumed but bc.its very very light and dissolves into dust when pressed against ur fingers i thought it wouldnt harm them but i did also buy that coco coir bc of the moisture it gives them... it was a wrong idea though to put the vermiculite near their bathing area bc when they stepped out a whole bunch got on their tiny little bodies...

will check out ur links..thanks

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[Zamric]

Welcome to the Forum!

I have a Sulcata and 2 Leopards...But of WAY differant ages and size!

Do not house together! They look the same size and have the same care but they are not the same and the 2 mix like water and oil.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum..

 

[KimandKarasi]

the flooring thing is vermiculite..it did cross my mind about being consumed but bc.its very very light and dissolves into dust when pressed against ur fingers i thought it wouldnt harm them but i did also buy that coco coir bc of the moisture it gives them... it was a wrong idea though to put the vermiculite near their bathing area bc when they stepped out a whole bunch got on their tiny little bodies...

will check out ur links..thanks

Vermiculite?? For substrate?? I don't know why you would do that, but very VERY bad things can happen when and if they ingest it, which, knowing babies and their urge to eat everything they see, is very probable.. Take all of that out and put in that coco coir QUICK, and keep a close eye on them in case one of them has already eaten one and will get sick... The coco coir sadly will also stick to them when they get out of the water, so you could either put pretty big flat stones all around the water dish so they can get the dirt off their feet before going in, and so they can have just a moment to dry before going back into the dirt, or cover your enclosure (on top of the coco coir) with sphagnum or forest moss, which helps not only with the humidity (which should be a little bit above 75%) but it doesn't stick to them as bad. I do both of these and my baby leopard seems to be extremely active and happy! Best of luck with your two new additions!

 

[zerlineeeweeenieee]

the flooring thing is vermiculite..it did cross my mind about being consumed but bc.its very very light and dissolves into dust when pressed against ur fingers i thought it wouldnt harm them but i did also buy that coco coir bc of the moisture it gives them... it was a wrong idea though to put the vermiculite near their bathing area bc when they stepped out a whole bunch got on their tiny little bodies...

will check out ur links..thanks

Vermiculite?? For substrate?? I don't know why you would do that, but very VERY bad things can happen when and if they ingest it, which, knowing babies and their urge to eat everything they see, is very probable.. Take all of that out and put in that coco coir QUICK, and keep a close eye on them in case one of them has already eaten one and will get sick... The coco coir sadly will also stick to them when they get out of the water, so you could either put pretty big flat stones all around the water dish so they can get the dirt off their feet before going in, and so they can have just a moment to dry before going back into the dirt, or cover your enclosure (on top of the coco coir) with sphagnum or forest moss, which helps not only with the humidity (which should be a little bit above 75%) but it doesn't stick to them as bad. I do both of these and my baby leopard seems to be extremely active and happy! Best of luck with your two new additions!

Thanks for the tip... Will get to it as soon as I get home