Been here a while..

[Sobolco]

Just realized I had not opened an account here

We keep leopards here and now have 4 of them along with all the snakes we also keep.

Here are some old images from when they were babys. Also, our table is a little more done up now...
Enjoy.

Adam,
ABCreations Canada.

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome! That blue hide looks so tiny on that table. Very beautiful. Would love to see them today compared to their then pictures. Glad you decided to let us get to know you.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Adam:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

 

[dmarcus]

Hello Adam and welcome to the forum...

 

[Sobolco]

Thanks!

Here are some today shots for ya. 2 uv spectrum and 1 heat bulb. Tempature controlled room to 80 deg. I add humidity with a humidifier and spray the hot side of the table. Have not gotten around to a live garden, things just keep popping up around this crazy house! We have a 3 year old and a 3 month old now as well (children), and we keep around 20 ball pythons and 3 emerald tree boas.
I had trouble with pyrimiding in the larger one (our first) but thanks to you guys, we have corrected it and turned it around 10 fold!!!!
We were told dry and hot.....um not! So we learned.......blah blah blah Images:

Warm hide and hot side:

Cool side:

Middle:

Models:

High yellow model (;

And 2 year old high yellow (;

Thanks for the warm welcome.

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

Hello, Adam! and welcome to the forum... Very cool little ones

 

[bubbles01]

Hi Adam and welcome, gorgeous torts!

Helen xx

 

[ShadowRancher]

Beautiful s! I love the limbs in your table, looks very cool.

 

[l0velesly]

Beautiful leopards~!

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome.

 

[Floof]

Welcome to the forum!! Those are some beautiful torts you have there. There are a few of us snake keepers around here, too, who I'm sure would love it if you posted pics of some of your legless babies, too! I know I, for one, would love to see your Emmies. Such gorgeous snakes.

By the way, it looks like you use coil UVB? The compact fluorescent UVB bulbs have a habit of causing major eye problems in tortoises, so I would highly recommend switching to a different kind of UVB.

Around here, the favorite is Mercury Vapor Bulbs, and for good reason--they emit much more UVB than a fluorescent UV bulb, as well as putting out heat, making them great basking bulbs. Judging by the look of your table, a 160 watt would be your best bet. They put out significant UVB to around 18". PowerSun is a great brand... So is T-Rex ActiveUVHeat, if you can find one (last I heard, they stopped production).

If you want to stick with fluorescent, ReptiSun 10.0 (the long tube style, NOT the compact) is probably your best bet for fluorescent UVB. Just keep in mind it has to be kept around 6-8" from your torts to be effective.

Again, welcome to the forum! Very glad you found us, and learned that dry is not the way to go!

 

[pdrobber]

welcome!

just wondering more experienced folks, does this look normal/ok? Other then the pyramiding (which I'm not sure if it is continuing or that is old growth and new is coming in ok) isnt that kind of incline of the carapace what is usually a symptom of MBD? (not to scare you, because I'm not really sure)

 

[tygoh]

Definitely not old growth. IMHO, it is pyramiding which at times stand a chance to get it better with proper care, diet and etc.. In normal circumstances, the pyramid scute will always remain as it sizes get bigger. Hope the luck is on your side.

 

[Sobolco]

Ya the problem had taken a 100% leap in the right direction once we found this site. The new growth comes in almost flat but the old growth is so f-ed up it takes some of the good new growth towards the centre of the shell in a flat upright position. I will look into the merc bulbs I think thats what I used to have but it burnt out so I got two of these form my local pet dealer to give a little light therapy.
It looks like I will be moving so once I do, this table will be in a sun room !!!

Here is my 3 emeralds
Joy:

Dotty:

And Hulk:

 

[Yash Raj]

Welcome.

 

[Floof]

Gorgeous Emmies!!! I especially love Joy. Such beautiful color texture along her sides... Thanks for sharing those pics! I love the tree boids... Though I'll have to admire from afar--I don't have the guts to keep one. (I like my (usually) good tempered, "bullet-proof" snakes, lol.)

I think a sun room would be a great idea for them! Just remember, glass filters out most, if not all, of that precious UVB, so you'll still want a UVB bulb over them--at least for those months when it's too cold to take them outside!

It's good that the larger Leo's growth is at least coming in smoother... That pyramiding is definitely gnarly. With any luck, she'll continue to progress and the rest of it will start coming in flat...

 

[DesertGrandma]

Above: If you want to stick with fluorescent, ReptiSun 10.0 (the long tube style, NOT the compact) is probably your best bet for fluorescent UVB. Just keep in mind it has to be kept around 6-8" from your torts to be effective.


You might want to rethink the 6-8 inches. That is too close. A Reptisun 10.00 should be at least 12-14 inches above substrate. A Reptisun 5.0 can be closer than the 10. but you should check it out to make sure the distance is correct or you will cook your tort.

 

[Floof]

Actually, Joy, I have to disagree. To get the most out of the ReptiSun bulb, it should be kept quite close to the animal. At 12", the output is severely diminished; by 21" (the max distance recommended on the packaging), you may as well swap it out for a plain old fluorescent.

6-8" has produced great results for many keepers over many years. I originally was told 6-8" by Bearded Dragon keepers who'd been using the bulb at this distance for who-knows-how-long, and utilized that distance with my own dragon. I kept a Reptisun 10.0 tube at a distance of 8" or less from my dragon's basking spot for the first year and a half, if not longer, that I had him (that is, until I discovered and fell in love with the PowerSun). He never showed any ill effects of being so close, and very often climbed to the very highest point under his UVB bulb as if to soak up as much UVB as possible.

I repeated this again, later on, when I adopted 2 beardies whose enclosure could not accommodate an MVB. They were able to come within 5" of the bulb, and often sat at that spot directly beneath the bulb. I later separated the girls, but one stayed in the enclosure for maybe 6-8 months, and never once presented with any negative effects of being allowed so close to the UVB.

The way you worded your warning-- "make sure the distance is correct or you will cook your tort." -- has me wondering if you misunderstood. With the Mercury Vapor Bulbs, I would greatly agree here. They let off a good deal of heat (hence my earlier comment of them making great basking bulbs) and would present a real overheating danger if you had one as close as 6". However, I'm talking here about tube-style fluorescent UVB bulbs, which put out less than 1 watt per 1" of bulb (too lazy to do the exact math, sorry, lol!), and, likewise, VERY little heat. Under these, a 6-8" distance is not going to cook a tortoise.