What kind of ants are they? Some can sting and some can only try to bite with their jaws. You may have to agitate one to see if it is a stinging variety. My big sulcatas seem oblivious even to stinging fire ants, which are about as bad as they come, but I still get rid of any new nests I find...
Sounds like you are doing a great job. Most sulcatas his size don't dig burrows yet, they just kind of partially bury themselves under bushes in leaf litter like you mentioned. When he gets big and decides it is too hot out, he will be able to tunnel in the hardest packed clay or gravel.
This thread is missing something...ah yes, pics.
These are the leavings of a 16" relative baby. A size 10 flip flop is included for perspective.
This is actually a smaller poo, I have been feeding a lot of cactus recently. The pure grass and weeds tortie poos resemble horse or cow manure and...
Perhaps we should warn the wild sulcata in the parts of their range that are currently experiencing 84% humidity. They are quite content as this is the time of year they can actually move about above ground. Don't forget that even in the dry season, humidity is still maintained within the...
Lol, I also assumed you were asking for the purpose of designing something that would accommodate an adult. I was pondering the same thing as I am knocking the idea around of using plaster to sculpt the wooden supports I use to prevent erosion of burrow entrances. I want to make it look more...
Yep, just bury from a third to a half of it in the ground in a well drained sunny spot and it will grow. When I first moved to my bigger property, I brought a big branch from one of my mature ones at my little house and threw it in the yard to plant later. A week later when I went to plant it...
LOL @ the yoda reference.
I don't use any poisons or chemical fertilizers here because I am on well water. The amount of poison I would need to cover 2-1/2 acres would find it's way into my ground water. I know my filter is designed to handle that stuff, but it just gives me the creeps.
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Fire ants are a constant nuisance to me. I have 2-1/2 acres with woods on both sides, so eradication is impossible. New nests are always popping up whenever the nests in the woods send out new queens. I have learned to live with them and just focus on keeping the tortoise pens clear. I usually...
I need to get a video of mine eating it one of these days. I hold whole 12+ inch pads firmly in my hand and they devour them. When they get to the really fibrous part near the base they bite down and pull so hard with their necks and front legs that they throw me off balance. I weigh 190 lbs. My...
One clarification, our S. Florida winter dry season is similar as far as rainfall and overnight temps. In both S. Florida and the sulcatas native range, the winter months have low to no rainfall and lower overnight temps.
The difference is with daytime temps. Winter months in that region of...
Awesome pics, I just have to resurrect this thread. I spend a lot of time monitoring temps in the native range as well. Glad to find out I'm not the only obsessed weirdo out there, I think most reptile keepers tend to get a little obsessive. I have found that the summer wet...
I love the bolivians, the perfect combo of color and size. I've been trying to talk a couple different local guys out of a pair for a while to no avail. I may have to settle for hatchlings.
You can buy small and plant in pots until they are big enough to plant in the enclosure without getting stripped. Another option is just to plant near the enclosure and prune off pieces to feed. I highly recommend hibiscus. The leaves have a great calcium/phosphorus ratio and they love both the...
Sandra, I believe you live in S. Florida as well if I remember correctly from another post. I have had zero success with preventing them from digging here once summer hits. Sheds and dog houses are actually hotter inside than the shade of a tree, so if the shade is too hot for them, a shed or...
I bolded the qualifying word that makes flintus' post correct. By saying without HIGH humidity, he acknowledges that SOME humidity is vital in the form of a humid hide and a water dish that is available at all times to the hatchling for drinking and soaking. I have yet to see a hatchling raised...