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you are my favorite sister. just don't tell terr and andrea!

thanks tom! when i lived in venice, i never thought about the actual temps, altho i was always aware that the immediate coastal enviroment was not ideal for these tortoises! i never even meant to have tortoises. i am just an animal lover and these 2 guys needed emergent removal from their...

thanks grandpa! you did help! i think i just needed a reassuring word. i will put a remote thermometer in the box today so i can monitor the temp. happy new year to you!

sorry! they are california desert tortoises!

hi all, been getting cold here in the san fernando valley. my torts have been in their brumation boxes in the garage since late november. they have wooden boxes, filled with alfalfa hay. they have brumated in these boxes for 20 years. the first 18 in venice beach, this is their 2nd...

hi all! so, my big DT Ares woke up last week in his box in the garage. He was moving about, so I took him out and put him in his outdoor pen, where he is eating and drinking water and enjoying himself. the little guy Joxer woke up this past weekend, tho not as lively as Ares. So, he got a...

thanks for all the input! I tried the lip thing last year, thinking that if he stood there and looked up, and saw only board and not sky, he would "forget" for that moment at least, the world on the other side. he did not forget. :) I have the ends of the enclosure close to 3 feet tall...

hi all! I hope everyone's gopherus are slumbering happily away! I have begun redoing my 2 guys (CDTs) outdoor enclosures, they are back to back but individual. I am planting native plants, redoing their burrows and generally trying to make it a more enriching environment for them. I...

i am still grappling with this not feeding thing too, and the feeling that i am starving my torts, tho i am becoming more convinced that it is important that they go to bed with empty stomachs. here is something that made me feel better. i was reading some hibernation info from some tortoise...

thanks tom, that has been my gut feeling these past 16 years, that my DTs will know when to stop eating. and, based on that assumption, i have put supplemental food out for them every year, until they just stopped eating on their own. then, when they stayed in their outdoor houses for a...

handsome guy! how big is he, may ask?

mine are up and about in the san fernando valley also and eating everything in the yard they can find. mostly grass. my question, probably a dumb one, but then, i am quite a dummy. why is it okay for our DTs to eat on their own, but it is not okay to offer them supplemental food when...

I am glad to hear this story with the happy ending for Tex! i hope the wife has a moment of clarity and leaves this jerk

RE: Another Dog Story (Why tortoises & dogs DO NOT MIX. No exceptions!) no insult at all taken tom. i am able to have a difference of opinion with you without hurt feelings. i do appreciate that you have alot of experience with dogs and tortoises and i enjoy your posts and your perspective

here in woodland hills also thatrebecca. especially my big guy who was all over the place, finally just now saw him go into his burrow. my little guy was roaming around too, tho not quite as frantically. funny, every year it is the same, the big guy goes down last and gets up first. he...

thanks ascott for a very well thought out reply, and i agree with the hypothesis that it might very well be bad for a tortoise to go into hibernation with alot of food in their stomach. it was just my thought that, if i read alot of posts here, and heard at no uncertain terms at a recent...

RE: Another Dog Story (Why tortoises & dogs DO NOT MIX. No exceptions!) hi tom! i was not intending that my "stories of good luck" would or would not be helpful to people who would mistakenly believe that their dogs would act as mine have, consistently, and across many breeds. however, i...

hi all, devils advocate here. so, i stopped supplemental feeding my two desert torts 2 weeks ago. they are showing no signs whatsoever of hibernation. eating all the grass and rose leaves and strawberry leaves they can get ahold of in their browsing. today, my big boy ares pee'd...

hi mike cow! i live a bit north of you, in the sfv, but my setup is very similar to yours. cinder blocks, plywood roofs, earth in hollows and on roof. my 2 boys are still out and about in the sunlight hours, but go into their bunkers , and are sleeping by the time i get home at 630pm. i...

raccoon. :) running springs?