Recent content by tikifrog

Air temp 67F, carapace temp 106F!

Thanks, I thought that was a "get off my back" message.

Tommy will just sit when the front of his shell is rubbed, and will do a hootchie kootchie when I rub the the posterior portion of his carapace. I wasn't sure if the amount of "hootchie" movement was a sign of displeasure or not. He will also wiggle his booty when I need to hose off his vent area.

I guess I'll try and provide as large of an enclosed run for the hens, when I get them, and only let them out to forage when I'm puttering in the yard. Thanks for the advice :)[hr] Is Tiago your redfoot?

Greetings All, Are tortoises capable of much feeling through the carapace? When Tommy comes strolling by I reach out and start rubbing him down with a polishing motion, mainly over his anterior vertebral and pleural scutes, and he will park himself down and remain there as long as I continue...

What about the rinds? I feed my guy only the rinds with just a little bit of red flesh remaining. He loves em! Is the rind high in sugars too? It is by no means a staple, but since the watermelons have been very good lately, he's been getting rinds about once a week.

Greetings All, I was wondering if anyone out there had hens, in their backyards, that get into your tortoise's area? I'm looking into raising hens for eggs. Anyone think of possible concerns? My male sulcata is 27" scl and 129 lbs. Thanks, John

It is VERY likely that they will exceed 100 pounds, and it is something that is natural for them to do. My Tommy is 16 years old and was 105 pounds at the end of last summer. I can only hope that he will continue to grow well and be happy.

I attempted to keep three 65-80 lb. males together. I didn't work. I now have one.

Just thought I'd post an update: I filled in the scrape and positioned the tort box on top of the area. Tommy now comes and goes on his own. He comes out when the sun is shining and basks and forages for a while, but goes right into his box when the temp drops.

Thanks for the replies! How do you offer the cuttle bone? Is it attached to something? I guess they find it on their own and consume when they need it? I've planted an opuntia, hopefully I can harvest pads from it next year. I pick up some occasionally from the farmer's market but will try to...

Greetings All, Just curious as to what everyone is offering large adult sullies for their calcium needs. Please offer your advise on what you use, how often you supplement and where you purchase your goods. Thanks, John

Thanks for the responses. He does seem to respond to my "herding" him about the yard so I'd suspect he would respond favorably. Do you close the door on them until they go to bed on their own? Would disallowing access to the favored scrape be a good idea? Are there pics of your torts posted...

Winter is coming and I'd like to get a sulcata acclimated to using a heated house at night. What would be a good way to coax an >80# tort to leave his scrape seek the box for shelter?

Beautiful tort. Love his name! Look forward to a retrofit update when you can.