Getting them soon!

[biglove4bigtorts]

Well, it is here...March...the month I was hoping to be able to ship my pair of Vic Morgan burmese blacks. I am waiting for warmer weather...the temps are in the 30sF here and while Vic is reasurring, I see no reason to risk discomfort or death through impatience.

I bought a large green tote for housing and have infared heat bulbs, UVB (I know some say it is not needed for forest torts), coir, sand, and sterile leaf litter for bedding, and I have started some seeds indoors.

I am assembling plants for the outdoor enclosure, which will contain a mud wallow and have automated watering. I also am growing edible plants for planting in the outdoor enclosures. So far I have started portulaca, mustard, collards, turnips, marigolds, nasturtiums, and arugala. I am buying colocasia bulbs and cold hardy needle plams for decorative plantings, as well as some cold hardy cannas and bananas. I also plan to harvest some leaf litter for them to bury in, when they go outdoors. I am getting soooo excited!!! I will be sure to post updates and pix, when they arrive and are settled into life with me.

 

[harris]

Sterile leaf litter? Did you obtain this or did you do it yourself? I'm assuming you mean leaves that are dried and broken up? Do tell, you have me intrigued. Sounds like it would work great for a moist habitat.

I'm looking to get another emys emys and go through Vic for it but that is one hard dude to get a hold of!

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

Well, I plan to immerse the leaves in scalding hot water and place them in a container with a no pest strip, which fumigates them with no lasting residues and takes care of any mites, ticks, or other nasties. It won't truly be sterile, but safe enough. I will also be sure it is dry after imersing it in hot water to prevent it from molding. The no pest strips are available at Lowes or Home Depot. I use the Hot Shot brand, place them in a tote with a lid, place the leaves in the bottom and set the strips on a plastic bag, paper plate of something of the like...leave overnight, then remove strip and air out the tote with leaves on the porch for a few hours. I use these strips to treat insect problems on plants and I always handle them with gloves and avoid breathing in the fumes, but they are considered pretty safe and have even been used in reptile and bird cages....this I vehemently advise against!!!

 

[N2TORTS]

Well, I plan to immerse the leaves in scalding hot water and place them in a container with a no pest strip, which fumigates them with no lasting residues and takes care of any mites, ticks, or other nasties.

No Lasting residues?? are you kidding? Its a chemical strip !
PAN Bad Actors are chemicals that are : highly acutely toxic, cholinesterase inhibitor, known/probable carcinogen, known groundwater pollutant or known reproductive or developmental toxicant. NOTE! Because there are no authoritative lists of Endocrine Disrupting (ED) chemicals, EDs are not yet considered PAN Bad Actor chemicals.
By U.S. law, only active ingredients (AIs) are reported. In addition to active ingredients, pesticide products may contain one or more "inert" ingredients. Many "inert" ingredients in current use have known adverse human and environmental effects.
I wouldnt use any strips, chemicals or sprays with my torts.....
Here is a tip: ...
Use crushed garlic and lemons ...put in blender with warm water... Drain off liquid and soak your " leafs, sticks, rocks, ect....
in that liquid . It works for killing ... all mites or other parasites you may encounter and helps slow the process of molds(cut/ dry leaves are still decaying matter).
PLus it wont kill your torts!
They sound way to cool
JD~

 

[Tom]

I've got to agree with JD on the pest strips. Those things are very heavy duty. They kill bugs in open air patio situations! I used to use them from time to time when I had a large reptile collection and had lots of animals coming and going, but over time, and with a fair a mount of research, I grew very leery of them and stopped using them all together many years ago.

Every turtle and tortoise I've ever raised, of all ages, have been housed outdoors, in multiple locations with exposure to all the wild bugs and foliage. In 30 years, this has never once caused me a problem. When I used to have a lot of CDT's, I had a bank of old reefers laying on their backs for hibernation. I'd put down a thick layer of sani-chips, then the torts, then fill most of the remaining space with whatever leaf litter was blowing around at the time. This never caused me any problems, with parasites or anything else.

 

[Yvonne G]

I had a bank of old reefers laying on their backs for hibernation. I'd put down a thick layer of sani-chips, then the torts, then fill most of the remaining space with whatever leaf litter was blowing around at the time. This never caused me any problems, with parasites or anything else.

Just a little bit of a hi-jack here: Did you happen to know Harold Cardy of Chowchilla? That's how he housed his larger tortoises. He'd remove the backs of old refrigerators or freezers, lay them on their backs, then cut a door way in one end (either top or bottom) and the tortoises used them as their "burrows."

 

[biglove4bigtorts]

No Lasting residues?? are you kidding? Its a chemical strip !
PAN Bad Actors are chemicals that are : highly acutely toxic, cholinesterase inhibitor, known/probable carcinogen, known groundwater pollutant or known reproductive or developmental toxicant. NOTE! Because there are no authoritative lists of Endocrine Disrupting (ED) chemicals, EDs are not yet considered PAN Bad Actor chemicals.
By U.S. law, only active ingredients (AIs) are reported. In addition to active ingredients, pesticide products may contain one or more "inert" ingredients. Many "inert" ingredients in current use have known adverse human and environmental effects.
I wouldnt use any strips, chemicals or sprays with my torts.....
Here is a tip: ...
Use crushed garlic and lemons ...put in blender with warm water... Drain off liquid and soak your " leafs, sticks, rocks, ect....
in that liquid . It works for killing ... all mites or other parasites you may encounter and helps slow the process of molds(cut/ dry leaves are still decaying matter).
PLus it wont kill your torts!
They sound way to cool
JD~
[/quote]



Please do not consider this a challenge or as me arguing with you. What I have found ( I did research the warnings and studies on the active chemicals used in these strips), there is no lasting residues or harmful contaminates, once the strip is removed and the area left to air out. I do favor avoidance of chemicals and if I di not have to use them on my indoor planst that had mites (I tried other, less toxic methods), then I would not have them. I do agree that the tortoises should not be exposed to them or the fumes and I mentioned that avoid breathing around them and handle them with gloves. When I use them to treat my violets, I use a plastic drop cloth over the stand, then place the strips in, then tape the drop cloth down, so there is virtually no fumes escaping into the surrounding air. Once treated, I remove the strips from under the cloth, with gloves, reseal them in three plastic bags, one inside the other, and slowly uncover the stand, letting the fumes dissapate.

I would be interested to read any information that you can provide that indicates there would be lasting chemicals in treated plant material, that had been aired out. If it is indeed so, then I have made a serious mistep, based on misinformation and I apologize and am greatful that you stepped in bfore anyone poisoned thier tortoises. Like I said, I did research the strips extensively and nothing I came across implys any harmful results from using them in the manner I described. I certainly would not expose the tortoises to the fumes directly and I intended to air out the leaves for a week or more before using.....exoecting all chemical traces to be eliminated.

I also agree that sterilizing items is less of a concern with tortoises, ecspecially when we house them outdoors anyway. I do like to clean things, before they are used indoors though, b/c no one want termites, molds, and other nasties/allergens in thier home or in close proximity to the tortoises. When they are exposed to these things in outdoor locations, they have immune boosting affects of sunlight and natural graze, and they have more fresh air circulating, so they breath in smaller concentrations of spores and experience reduced exposure to any pathogens.


I hope I have demonstrated that I am not in desagreement with anyone and that I look forward to learning new and safer ways of doing things and that I am willing to take the high road, when there is information that contradicts what I may already have experienced, read, or heard. I look forward to seeing any information citing lasting affects from brief fumigations with strips, after they are removed. Until then, I will neither condem or condone thier use in conjunction with tortoises, but will not use them myself, until such fears can be 100% disproven. Until then, a bit of hot water and vinegar should work well, with thorough drying afterwards.