Recent content by thompsono

I'll search around for guicance on this... but here I am referring to babies under 50 grams. Also the urates issue has cleared up nicely! During the whole thing I saw good eating habits etc. so ... One thing I am definitely doing now is weighing them at the same time - I weighed them 2x daily...

2 young star tortoise together, and 2 hermanns together. All the others do have occasional urates but seems like they are in a "normal" range and all have decent weight gain. All are young in 42-65 gram range. I am going to be more consistent about how and when I weigh them. Another good tip I...

Thanks @Tom - great info. Its a good reminder not to try to project how a tortoise "feels" too much since thats hard to know, and ultimately my job is to keep them healthy ... I dont want to stress them generally, but good to frame this scrambling in a context that it does get them moving and...

@wellington @Tom thank you for the guidance! I will start soaking for longer periods starting today. I do soak daily on average 6 days per week. But this tortoise seems to want out after 15 minutes or so, and I haven’t had the heart to make them stay longer. I try various tweaks to keep them...

Hi everyone - my 5 month India star secretes a lot of urates, and several weeks ago passed a hard stone as well. I see urates in my other tortoise but much more from this little guy. The stone was a concern for sure. Hydration: the habitat is closed and above 80% humidity - usually around 85...

I had LED spots I had used in an different reptile enclosure. I was just really surprised that brand new 25 w put out no measureable UVB. I found out a 50 watt Zoomed LED spot was also putting out 0 uvb, and the 50 watt ones I bought from amazon were also very low - 1.2 UVB when measured 1" from...

@Blackdog1714 I would have bought it but already ended up getting a new one. too bad - I am sure if you keep posting it will sell easily. I am glad i bit the bullet and bought one - i wasn't relying on uvb lighting but rather recular sun time. But I did discover the 25w spots I had were...

@Tom @jaizei @ZEROPILOT thanks for your input. I definitely watch my outdoor temps here. It’s crazy how much neighborhood microclimates vary in the Bay Area. While I really value simplicity and “use what you have”,( and avoiding the purchase of a bunch of crap!) I think my climate here requires...

@ZEROPILOT - that is good reasoning! Thanks for making this point I'm on the fence here since I try to give my young tortoise about 2 hours per week (30-45 minutes at a time) of sun outdoors. I am in a fog zone in coastal california though and need to research UVB and cloud cover ... but for...

I grew a large, beautiful planter of clover varieties (white, red etc) for mine and they won't touch them. Maybe when they are older ... but next time I will test a smaller tray before planting too much and see what they will actually eat. I trust they know whats best for them.

Thanks for underscoring the importance to keep the tortoise away from soil @wellington @Tom . Understood!

Thank you @Tom . That's a good tip on the mix. I had been using the zucchini dusted in calcium powder too, as a way to get them to eat it. Now I am just making a small piece of cuttlebone available and they seem to nibble on it of their own accord. Good to hear the confirmation zucchini needs to...

I probably wasn't clear enough. The image is tortoise mix from seed in a 3 x 4 foot container, they cant escape. Its not their housing. I have put them in it 30-60 minutes for sunning and foraging. The soil is organic. This is not a picture of my backyard. I wouldnt put baby tortoise in my...

BTW this is what it looks like. Its organic soil and not sure how the little bit of vermiculite got in there anyway.

Hi there - I am new to baby tortoise care. I have 2 star tortoise and I like to give them some sun time in a container I have planted with a tortoise mix. I notice the one star really focuses on the soil, interested in tasting / eating small bits, in particular an occasional piece of...