- Joined
- Mar 15, 2013
- Messages
- 3
hi, we introduced ourselves the other day and are just after for help and advice seen as the only advice we have had so far is from the shop we bought our little frank from, which obviously may be biased advice.
Housing
we currently house frank in a vivarium, its 2 foot by 1 foot, with him only been just over a year old hes still fairly small, will we need to buy him something larger in the near future?
he has a uv light and a heat lamp in there which he basks under, the usual temperature in there is between 85 and 90 degrees. he also has a heat mat for at night.
he only really spends time in there wen were out as when we are in the house he has free reign of the place, although he seems to spend his time curled up against the radiator pipe lol.
we currently used wood chippings as his substrate and give him ample amounts of hay to bury himself under.
im considering using the compacted hay pellets as his substrate, is this the better option?
Food
weve tried him with all kinds of vegetables and some fruit, hes a fussy eater though. his main diet consists of: carrots, cucumber, mixed salad leaves, mint, coriander, pepper and occasionally brocolli. he also eats through the majority of his hay through the week.
he is constantly pecking away at his cuttle fish and we also give him calcium powder on his food.
is there anything on the list we shouldnt be feeding him?
he also has a none feeding day, which we have every thursday, this was advised from the shop we got him from. is this correct? on a side note he tends to destroy his home and be a real blighter on non feeding day.
hibernation
we were told from the shop he doesnt need to hibernate although im unsure of this, as it seems to be messing with natural order of tortoises. is there any advice on this?
vetting
is there any check ups we should be taking him to a vets for?
sorry about the in depthness(not sure if thats a word), we really do love the little man and want to care for the best we can and have him grow old with us. he has a real personality and loves nothing more than coming out to play with us wen he sees us come into the house.
any advice or help would be greatly appreciated, thank you for your time
Harry and Rhona
Housing
we currently house frank in a vivarium, its 2 foot by 1 foot, with him only been just over a year old hes still fairly small, will we need to buy him something larger in the near future?
he has a uv light and a heat lamp in there which he basks under, the usual temperature in there is between 85 and 90 degrees. he also has a heat mat for at night.
he only really spends time in there wen were out as when we are in the house he has free reign of the place, although he seems to spend his time curled up against the radiator pipe lol.
we currently used wood chippings as his substrate and give him ample amounts of hay to bury himself under.
im considering using the compacted hay pellets as his substrate, is this the better option?
Food
weve tried him with all kinds of vegetables and some fruit, hes a fussy eater though. his main diet consists of: carrots, cucumber, mixed salad leaves, mint, coriander, pepper and occasionally brocolli. he also eats through the majority of his hay through the week.
he is constantly pecking away at his cuttle fish and we also give him calcium powder on his food.
is there anything on the list we shouldnt be feeding him?
he also has a none feeding day, which we have every thursday, this was advised from the shop we got him from. is this correct? on a side note he tends to destroy his home and be a real blighter on non feeding day.
hibernation
we were told from the shop he doesnt need to hibernate although im unsure of this, as it seems to be messing with natural order of tortoises. is there any advice on this?
vetting
is there any check ups we should be taking him to a vets for?
sorry about the in depthness(not sure if thats a word), we really do love the little man and want to care for the best we can and have him grow old with us. he has a real personality and loves nothing more than coming out to play with us wen he sees us come into the house.
any advice or help would be greatly appreciated, thank you for your time
Harry and Rhona