Awaiting new Baby Penelope!

[Sully06012018]

Penelope is soooo adorable.

 

[daniellenc]

That's awesome to hear! So far she seems pretty spunky. I'm calling her a she but she might surprise me in a couple of years!

Yeah who knows about sex I call mine he buuuut I’m Years from knowing. Skurt is one lol so who knows. @TylerStewart is a member here. Very healthy babies and Skurt was never shy.

 

[Nursemomzie]

Penelope is soooo adorable.

Thank you!

 

[Nursemomzie]

Yeah who knows about sex I call mine he buuuut I’m Years from knowing. Skurt is one lol so who knows. @TylerStewart is a member here. Very healthy babies and Skurt was never shy.

I've been hearing great things about Tyler's tortoises. That's funny about Skurt. Maybe they're siblings!

 

[daniellenc]

I've been hearing great things about Tyler's tortoises. That's funny about Skurt. Maybe they're siblings!

No Skurt is a Redfoot but he was so shy his first week. By week two he was killing food and week 4 had a routine. Now he’s a bold guy and very awesome

 

[Nursemomzie]

No Skurt is a Redfoot but he was so shy his first week. By week two he was killing food and week 4 had a routine. Now he’s a bold guy and very awesome

I bet he is beautiful!

 

[Pearly]

Thank you! I'll get some pics of her outdoor enclosure soon. We're working on some finishing touches on her yard today. Right now, she's so tiny, her indoor enclosure will work great during the winter. We'll just build something bigger as she grows. I posted some pics of it on the previous page under Tom's reply if you want to check them out! My husband is on here, but rarely posts. He says he leaves that up to me. Lol. He's "Michael from Texas". Thanks again for the welcome!

Oh yes! Your indoor set up is so much more than sp many of us have fist begun with! Great job! 85F all throughout the enclosure is ok, but you could turn it down just a notch. 80-81F seems to be a good 24/7 ambient temp for raising those little babies. If you are using thermostat, just remember that it will only work based on temps in the area around tbe probe. I found my temp gun to be my best friend. Use it all the time to this day (torts are 3 yrs old). It is very evident that you are putting some serious thought into building surroundings for your new pet. I love that! You will fit right in with this Forum

 

[Nursemomzie]

Oh yes! Your indoor set up is so much more than sp many of us have fist begun with! Great job! 85F all throughout the enclosure is ok, but you could turn it down just a notch. 80-81F seems to be a good 24/7 ambient temp for raising those little babies. If you are using thermostat, just remember that it will only work based on temps in the area around tbe probe. I found my temp gun to be my best friend. Use it all the time to this day (torts are 3 yrs old). It is very evident that you are putting some serious thought into building surroundings for your new pet. I love that! You will fit right in with this Forum

Thanks for the info! Yes, my husband has 4 thermometers and 2 humidity monitors in there. We have a temp gun as well....has come in handy for her soaks. It's been a challenge keeping the water warm enough. We change it out every few minutes!

 

[Pearly]

Thanks for the info! Yes, my husband has 4 thermometers and 2 humidity monitors in there. We have a temp gun as well....has come in handy for her soaks. It's been a challenge keeping the water warm enough. We change it out every few minutes!

Couple ways to help with that: 1) put a heating pad on low setting under the bath container, or 2) put heat lamp over the bath container. I wouldn’t be suggesting any of that if I didn’t have confidence that you guys have got „the temp thing” and have your temp gun for spot checks. Those little babies can overheat (if it’s small container, and strong heat lamp... I can just see problems with that. It’s just the never ending battle against losing the warmth into the room air so we try to counteract it

 

[Cachorra]

Hi Tom! First of all, let me say how honored I am you replied to my post! I have read many of your posts, care lists, etc. I have even copied many of them to make my own personal Penelope care sheet! My husband (Michael from Texas) and I have done a lot of research, so I'm hoping we're doing this right!

I ordered Penelope from Tyler at Tortoise Supply. We estimate she's about 6 weeks old, give or take.
She arrived today and we immediately soaked her. I will be soaking her daily.
Next, we put her in her enclosure and gave her a nice green mix of triple washed dandelion leaves, spineless prickly pear cactus, and some mustard greens. She ate and drank very well. She's pretty spunky.

Her enclosure is 3' x 5' with a hide that is 3' x 1' in the front that can be opened. Her enclosure has a plexiglas top. Half of it is permanent and the other half can also be opened. We have a basking light running 98 degrees at the top of her carapace. We have 2 -18" 10.0 UV lamps running down the middle of her enclosure about 12" high. We have a Che warming the entire enclosure to 85 degrees at the farthest corner (even at night with the lights off). Her hide has a heat panel on the wall running 83 degrees. Humidity in the hide is at 95% and between 75-80% in the rest of the enclosure. We have damp coco coir covered with dry cypress mulch. Her water and food bowls are the shallow terracotta saucers.

Her outside house is screened for protection with a hide. We plan to have her outside about 2 hours a day for now.

We plan to give her a sprinkling of reptical and exoterra 2-3 × week. I have bought mazuri to give once a week. I have a variety of greens, grasses, and flowers (all from your list!) To give her as well.

I'll post pictures. If you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them!View attachment 242012View attachment 242014View attachment 242015View attachment 242016View attachment 242017View attachment 242018

That’s a real palace! Great job!
How do you know it’s a girl? I have two torts; one is year and a half old and still can’t tell whether or not it’s Romeo or Juliette....

 

[Nursemomzie]

That’s a real palace! Great job!
How do you know it’s a girl? I have two torts; one is year and a half old and still can’t tell whether or not it’s Romeo or Juliette....

Thank you! Lol. We have no idea if she's a girl or not. She may be a boy named Penelope! [emoji3]

 

[Momof4]

Lol. I think my husband would kill me!

Ha ha!![emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I said the same thing 8yrs ago and guess what? I own FIVE now and I just rescued #5 2 weeks ago!!
I was so nervous to even ask for more but some how it got easier with each one!

This last one I just “told” him my sister was giving me one they didn’t want anymore.

Your baby is super cute!! Enjoy her!!

 

[EllieMay]

Hi Tom! First of all, let me say how honored I am you replied to my post! I have read many of your posts, care lists, etc. I have even copied many of them to make my own personal Penelope care sheet! My husband (Michael from Texas) and I have done a lot of research, so I'm hoping we're doing this right!

I ordered Penelope from Tyler at Tortoise Supply. We estimate she's about 6 weeks old, give or take.
She arrived today and we immediately soaked her. I will be soaking her daily.
Next, we put her in her enclosure and gave her a nice green mix of triple washed dandelion leaves, spineless prickly pear cactus, and some mustard greens. She ate and drank very well. She's pretty spunky.

Her enclosure is 3' x 5' with a hide that is 3' x 1' in the front that can be opened. Her enclosure has a plexiglas top. Half of it is permanent and the other half can also be opened. We have a basking light running 98 degrees at the top of her carapace. We have 2 -18" 10.0 UV lamps running down the middle of her enclosure about 12" high. We have a Che warming the entire enclosure to 85 degrees at the farthest corner (even at night with the lights off). Her hide has a heat panel on the wall running 83 degrees. Humidity in the hide is at 95% and between 75-80% in the rest of the enclosure. We have damp coco coir covered with dry cypress mulch. Her water and food bowls are the shallow terracotta saucers.

Her outside house is screened for protection with a hide. We plan to have her outside about 2 hours a day for now.

We plan to give her a sprinkling of reptical and exoterra 2-3 × week. I have bought mazuri to give once a week. I have a variety of greens, grasses, and flowers (all from your list!) To give her as well.

I'll post pictures. If you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them!View attachment 242012View attachment 242014View attachment 242015View attachment 242016View attachment 242017View attachment 242018

How Precious!! Awesome enclosure too!

 

[Nursemomzie]

Ha ha!![emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] I said the same thing 8yrs ago and guess what? I own FIVE now and I just rescued #5 2 weeks ago!!
I was so nervous to even ask for more but some how it got easier with each one!

This last one I just “told” him my sister was giving me one they didn’t want anymore.

Your baby is super cute!! Enjoy her!!

Oh wow! That's awesome! What kind do you have? If I got another one down the road, I would like a special needs one I think. I gotta make sure I am doing this right before I tackle one of those though. So far so good. Penelope gained 4 grams her first week!

 

[Nursemomzie]

How Precious!! Awesome enclosure too!

Thank you! [emoji4]

 

[Momof4]

Oh wow! That's awesome! What kind do you have? If I got another one down the road, I would like a special needs one I think. I gotta make sure I am doing this right before I tackle one of those though. So far so good. Penelope gained 4 grams her first week!

Penelope looks so cute in her enclosure!! As long as she stays warm, humid and hydrated she will thrive!!

I have 2 redfoot, 2 Ca Desert(CDT), 1 Sulcata.

 

[Nursemomzie]

We've had Penelope for 2 weeks today! She has gained 7 gm and has grown 1/4"! She poops every evening when I soak her and is really thriving! We've given her a variety of greens, but dandelions are her favorite. She definitely has a hearty appetite! She likes to be in the warmest corner of her enclosure where the CHE keeps the temp around 99 degrees. The basking temp at her carapace runs about 97 degrees, but she's never there. Do some torts just not care for basking? Another corner of the enclosure runs about 82 degrees, but she's never there either.

 

[Emptysea]

Omg so cute!! How did you build your tortoise house?

 

[Lyn W]

Thank you! Lol. We have no idea if she's a girl or not. She may be a boy named Penelope! [emoji3]

I have a male leopard named Lola!
Doesn't do much for his street cred but we are both used to it.
Welcome to you and Penelope. He has a lovely home to start off in.

 

[Lyn W]

Oh wow! That's awesome! What kind do you have? If I got another one down the road, I would like a special needs one I think. I gotta make sure I am doing this right before I tackle one of those though. So far so good. Penelope gained 4 grams her first week!

Very wise!
Just remember the more you have the more space you need for each tort enclosure.
My leopard's age is unknown but he is probably about 6-8 years and over a foot long.
He has his own adapted room where he lives all year round (because of UK climate) as he is too big for anything else.
He also has an outside enclosure for warmer days but he doesn't like being outside for some strange reason.