Balcony

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mromero92

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I keep my greek on my balcony of my condo and the ground is made of like a rough coating on wood. it is about 20' X 6'. he has a dog house full of moist coco dirt to dig in and this spring when he goes back outside, he will have a 4' X 2' tub with grass growing in it to walk around on and graze. is this setup suitable for his needs? anthing i need to add? and yes he has access to water.
 

Crazy1

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mromero92, Greeks are not big on eating grass though they love broad leaf weeds like dandelion or clovers Perhaps you could plant those for her. And a pic of her enclosure would truly help.
Oh and Welcome to the forum. :)
 

mromero92

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ok thanks for the tip! only problem is that my balcont is in full sun and its hard getting anything to grow. what kinds of things can i grow? and where do i get dandelion seeds? cam i collect them from outside? im at school right now so ill get pics when i get home.
 

mromero92

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Im at home now. im gunna go get some pics. what time of the year should i plant the dandelion seeds so they will be ready by when i put my tort outside? im in cali btw.[/align]
 

mromero92

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here are some pics of her outdoor area and her indoor house.

DSCN0731.jpg

DSCN0735.jpg
 

Crazy1

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mromero92, if you can perhaps you could get her some coconut bark (eco-earth) and play sand mixture (50/50). She would then have someplace to dig into. You could make her a place outside that she can get into with the sand and eco-earth mixture and you could even dampen it, the inside house she could have it in also so she could bury herself. They really love to do that. Or use some Aspen shavings inside for her.
I know you really love your tort and want to do the best by her. She really should have something she can dig into. Outside if it is in full sun you need to provide her a shade area. Perhaps a plant or two that are in pots could help provide shade. Something like a Spider plant that drapes over so she could hide under it or a Geranium which she will like to eat the leaves and the flowers Plus it will make the balcony look nice. If you could Place something around the edge of the balcony so she could not stick her head through and look out. This could cause her undue stress.
I know this is a lot to take in all at once and I have tried to give you some suggestions that are not expensive, but could be a labor of love over time for you to accomplish.

Dandelion can be planted anytime in CA. What part of CA are you in?
 

mromero92

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Thank you very much for your advice. ill get a big tub with about 5-6 inches of dirt and sand and make a ramp for her to get in. i live in the bay area. so what time should i put her back outside to stay outthere? and as for the shade, there are tonnes of places for her to hide because we have a BBQ and bikes that blot out the sun in some spots. Would spiderplants be ok to be around her? is it ok if she eats it?
 

Crazy1

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mromero92 said:
Thank you very much for your advice. ill get a big tub with about 5-6 inches of dirt and sand and make a ramp for her to get in. i live in the bay area. so what time should i put her back outside to stay outthere? and as for the shade, there are tonnes of places for her to hide because we have a BBQ and bikes that blot out the sun in some spots. Would spiderplants be ok to be around her? is it ok if she eats it?

No problem. The temps should be about 70 at night for her to stay outside. Spider plants are fine for her to hide in and eat as are Geraniums, Have several in my outside enclosures for my Greeks. Look in the food forum there is a list of landscaping plants for desert type torts any of those would work. Be careful if she can get around the bikes and BBQ that these don’t present a hazard for her. How long have you had her on the balcony so far?
 

mromero92

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she has been out there all her life durring the warmer months. and ill have a heat pad under her doghouse.
 

Crazy1

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mromero92 said:
she has been out there all her life durring the warmer months. and ill have a heat pad under her doghouse.
Well, she looks like she is in good health. When do you usually put her outside? mromero92, alot of people want to change things in a torts enviornment for different reasons, just out of curiosity, why do you want to change things in her enviornment now?
 

mromero92

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I keep her outside starting when it feels warm and its no longer raining. usually around march. i want to change it to make sure it is suitable for her needs because i want her to live a long and healthy life.
 
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