Recent content by Calaveras

I agree with others that heating the water by a "fish tank heater" which uses electrical resistance is not economical or a good idea. I use a smaller heater than that for a winter in a hundred gallon tank and could see a $30 a month increase in my electric bill. 1500 watts [1.5 KW] costs...

I agree with Tom. What ever you do, do not try to sneak it across the border. They use dogs nowadays to sniff out contraband and the penalties are intimidating.

If this turtle is the species you think it is it is not native to your area therefore, it is probably your turtle. I would provide some water for it. read about the place where it lives and what it needs to eat.

Raptors do not retire when they get old. They get smarter and make it look easy with less effort. A raptor in the wild will not have younger birds bring it food as it ages. It hunts and catches food until the day is dies. In a captive bred situation a blind bird or one that breaks a Talon could...

I agree with chubbs For my tortoise the light goes on a 12 hour timer and the Heater is on a thermostat. I am not in love with the ink bird unit. It is a super cheap in a nice packaging. I currently use a proportional vivarium electronics thermostat. I used to use a more basic on/off which is...

If it is flipping over you need to remove what is causing that. You may need to go to just a shallow water dish and substrate until you figure it out.

In SoCal you should have no issues keeping the tort outside all year. In NorCal my turtles have stopped eating on their own. It may not feel like it yet, but winter will send signals to the tort to stop eating and slow down. I would stop offering any food except Bermuda grass and the like it...

I had a similar experience with Jackson’s. They were just too much trouble. I just keep turtles and tortoises now. Mostly spotted turtles because they are a perfect size and do well inside or outside.

In that part of California you should be able to find somebody with a girl Leopard tortoise that might want to be friends for the afternoon. I would not want to extend the relationship past supervised visits though. Keeping opposite sex tortoises more than doubles your effort. I would not keep...

This all sounds normal to me. Male tortoises can be that way sometimes

You usually have a day Or two after they are laid where they are OK. Once the blood vessels are attached at the end do not roll them until they are hatched

The color designates the year the Queen was born. I tried the queen marking pen this week on a water turtle. It washed off after a couple days so a failure. I am going to have to go with the nail polish after all.

In addition to reptiles, I keep honeybees. The pens they use for marking queens Should be ideal for marking reptiles. They can be pricey ($9-15 each), but work well and stay colorful for years (on a bee anyway) I have relied on taking weights and photos of each Turtle before hibernating as...

It is a supply and demand issue. When I started keeping turtles I got one fertile egg from a female that was pregnant when I got her. I called a friend that had turtles and he came by and took it home. Win-Win. This year I have 10 turtles hatching and no homes for them. I may sell them to a...