FrankiesMom
Member
Hello fellow tortoise lovers!
I got Frankie, my adorable leopard tortoise, approximately 14 months ago when he was 3 months old. Before purchasing him, I did research on the internet to find out all about leopards and make sure that I was doing everything right. I found Kamp Kenan and thought he knew everything. He's right here in Florida and seems to be knowledgeable about reptiles -- including tortoises. I watched a ton of his videos and other videos to make sure that I had all of the correct equipment. I bought a tortoise table per his suggestion, set him up with all of the correct lighting, substrate, etc. I knew what to feed and not feed him and I thought that I was going to be the best tortie mom and give him a great life.
A few months after getting Frankie and getting everything set up, I found this forum. I would spend hours on the forum reading all of the different care sheets, following conversations, etc. I soon discovered that I may have Frankie in the wrong kind of enclosure. @Tom kept talking about closed chambers and I would think to myself, where is the fun in putting my new little friend in a closed box where I couldn't see him or interact with him. So I put it off for a while thinking he would be fine since I live in Florida and I can put him outside several times a week and he will get all of the humidity he needs. Well, I started noticing slight pyramiding on Frankie and started to get really nervous. I posted something on this forum and @Tom mentioned enclosures that @Markw84 makes. I reached out to @Markw84 and he sent me information and price lists on the closed chamber enclosures that he created. I will say that they seemed a little expensive, but once we received it and realized the time and effort that went into creating these "smart" enclosures, the price made sense. And it was so worth every penny!! It didn't take my husband and I long to put the double enclosure together. It comes with built in outlets for all of your lights and the lights/outlet can be controlled from a smart app on your phone. I'll admit I am not very tech savvy so I was a little nervous about getting the lighting set up, but @Markw84 was available throughout the entire process to answer my questions. I got it set up with Reptibark and coconut coir. @Markw84 said that plants thrive in the humid closed chamber so I took his advice and planted several plants. Frankie was a little nervous at first and hid for a couple of days, but then started to explore his large new home --- and he seems to love it! It's been a couple of months now and the plants are growing like crazy, the humidity is always around 99%, and Frankie's shell doesn't get dried out looking anymore. I'm positive that this was the best thing for him and his shell will begin to grow correctly going forward.
I'm really happy with the new enclosure and I think it will end up being a great house for Frankie for a long time. Since we live in Florida, he gets to be outside a lot and as he gets bigger, the enclosure will just be a place we put him during the cold season when needed. But since he's still just about 500g, this enclosure is perfect for him! I wanted to share this because I feel like this was a great decision and a great investment into Frankie's health & well being. I'm sure @Markw84 won't mind if I share his email address in case you want to reach out to him directly about these enclosures: [email protected]. Thanks again @Markw84 . The enclosure is great and I really appreciated all of the help you provided along the way!
I have attached a couple of photos -- I hope they come through okay.
I got Frankie, my adorable leopard tortoise, approximately 14 months ago when he was 3 months old. Before purchasing him, I did research on the internet to find out all about leopards and make sure that I was doing everything right. I found Kamp Kenan and thought he knew everything. He's right here in Florida and seems to be knowledgeable about reptiles -- including tortoises. I watched a ton of his videos and other videos to make sure that I had all of the correct equipment. I bought a tortoise table per his suggestion, set him up with all of the correct lighting, substrate, etc. I knew what to feed and not feed him and I thought that I was going to be the best tortie mom and give him a great life.
A few months after getting Frankie and getting everything set up, I found this forum. I would spend hours on the forum reading all of the different care sheets, following conversations, etc. I soon discovered that I may have Frankie in the wrong kind of enclosure. @Tom kept talking about closed chambers and I would think to myself, where is the fun in putting my new little friend in a closed box where I couldn't see him or interact with him. So I put it off for a while thinking he would be fine since I live in Florida and I can put him outside several times a week and he will get all of the humidity he needs. Well, I started noticing slight pyramiding on Frankie and started to get really nervous. I posted something on this forum and @Tom mentioned enclosures that @Markw84 makes. I reached out to @Markw84 and he sent me information and price lists on the closed chamber enclosures that he created. I will say that they seemed a little expensive, but once we received it and realized the time and effort that went into creating these "smart" enclosures, the price made sense. And it was so worth every penny!! It didn't take my husband and I long to put the double enclosure together. It comes with built in outlets for all of your lights and the lights/outlet can be controlled from a smart app on your phone. I'll admit I am not very tech savvy so I was a little nervous about getting the lighting set up, but @Markw84 was available throughout the entire process to answer my questions. I got it set up with Reptibark and coconut coir. @Markw84 said that plants thrive in the humid closed chamber so I took his advice and planted several plants. Frankie was a little nervous at first and hid for a couple of days, but then started to explore his large new home --- and he seems to love it! It's been a couple of months now and the plants are growing like crazy, the humidity is always around 99%, and Frankie's shell doesn't get dried out looking anymore. I'm positive that this was the best thing for him and his shell will begin to grow correctly going forward.
I'm really happy with the new enclosure and I think it will end up being a great house for Frankie for a long time. Since we live in Florida, he gets to be outside a lot and as he gets bigger, the enclosure will just be a place we put him during the cold season when needed. But since he's still just about 500g, this enclosure is perfect for him! I wanted to share this because I feel like this was a great decision and a great investment into Frankie's health & well being. I'm sure @Markw84 won't mind if I share his email address in case you want to reach out to him directly about these enclosures: [email protected]. Thanks again @Markw84 . The enclosure is great and I really appreciated all of the help you provided along the way!
I have attached a couple of photos -- I hope they come through okay.