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  1. Skip K

    The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

    Sad when people misread or deliberately misconstrue a post….or consider it ego to have your own opinion or disagree. I feel no need to defend myself by explaining how long I’ve been a herp keeper or my experiences…nor quote other sources as I rely on my personal experiences and do not rely on...
  2. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    @KarenSoCal @Maro2Bear Annnddd another snail question. Recently noticed these two, barely visible black dots in the new aquarium with the mystery snails and ghost shrimp. Finally they positioned themselves on the glass and I could see they were some kinda baby snail. Did some research and...
  3. Skip K

    This box turtles behavior is incredible

    Just an update on Otis the dog turtle. Garden State Tortoise is selling Otis t-shirts. I normally don’t shill for ANYONE but GST does a lot of conservation projects for wild Chelonia.
  4. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    Thanks for the tips! I will look into what you mentioned!
  5. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    Thanks for the reply. I have zero idea about our water hardness or ph. I gonna check the water authority website…but it doesn’t take into account conditions occurring in the tank. The only thing I’m sure of…is our water tastes like chemicals….fluoride and chlorine. I use a water conditioner...
  6. Skip K

    Might want to invest in a UVB meter. Many variables to your question. Manufacturer, frosted or...

    Might want to invest in a UVB meter. Many variables to your question. Manufacturer, frosted or not, height, receptacle etc. The highest concentration will be directly under the bulb and taper off fairly much as you get away from directly underneath…but only a UVB can give you the info you...
  7. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    Thanks…if I had conch shells I’d try those. They are beautiful. Years ago before our youngest was born…we were down in the Keys on vaca. Standing on a little jetty…looking down…wife saw a conch shell and into what looked like 3 feet of water I jumped to get it for her. It was a little deeper...
  8. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    @Maro2Bear @KarenSoCal One more question for the experts! Setting up a separate tank for Ghost Shrimp and Mystery Snails. As decorations/hides and to raise calcium I want to use weathered whelk shells. These whelk shells have been weathering for decades in a garden…and have been thoroughly...
  9. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    Not mine…they look like the flower I initially posted…but smaller and a different color morph. I don’t know if I have any photos of the flowers or the bush in bloom but I’ll check
  10. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    Thank you!
  11. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    I thinking of transplanting it in the spring. The haphazard random way it just “appeared” in our mini forest is probably not ideal…at least not ideal for optimum output for all our faces who want their fair share of flowers. There is a little less “natural food” producing pressure on me now...
  12. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    This is our 2 year old dwarf ROS. A late spring bloomer and stops producing in early fall. It produced pretty well the first year we planted and about 80 flowers this year
  13. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    Thank you! See my response above. Maybe this is the “normal” size ROS vs a dwarf
  14. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    Thank you. Our dwarf ROS is a bush and it’s not supposed to get more than 3-4 feet high. This is tall and more stringy with much bigger flowers than our dwarf ROS
  15. Skip K

    Flower ID…possible hibiscus?

    In our manicured yard…in a housing development… I have a section/garden that I’ve let overgrow for wildlife ( my own little mini park). All sorts of plants “appear” out of nowhere. Just found this. The flower looks like a hibiscus but I’m not sure. I question this because our climate is not...
  16. Skip K

    Upcoming hibernation

    I live in No Virginia. One thing I do is around this time start cutting back feeding and begin adding leaves and grass to their enclosure…to a depth of about 8-12 inches. As more leaves fall I add leaves only. Grass tends to decompose quickly so why I initially put it in the enclosure is to...
  17. Skip K

    This box turtles behavior is incredible

    I wish I could talk to the original owners of the boxie…raised from a baby? kept by itself? did it exhibit this behavior from the get go?. I’ve always tried to let my animals…especially my boxies…live in a natural environment with minimum intrusion to keep some wild traits. Torts have to come...
  18. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    Great advice and pics, Karen! Thank you!
  19. Skip K

    Very interesting read

    Tammy…in the vid if you look closely they use the same technique trainers use for most animals…they receive a treat for doing the test correctly. Positive reinforcement. The torts remember if they do the test correctly…they receive a treat ( this is especially telling after a two month break in...
  20. Skip K

    Mystery snail eating algae in a non conventional way

    Tammy…I think it is sometimes called an Apple snail too
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