I have been a tortoise owner for just over a week now. So far so good! I continue to read as much as I can and keep myself informed. This is an excellent source of up-to-date information. Thank you all for providing that!
It was mentioned that pictures are appreciated, so I thought I'd start this thread and keep our progress all in one place.
Goosefoot is an Eastern Hermann's tortoise that we purchased from a local breeder. I am going to default to calling Goosefoot a 'she' (wagers anyone?) for the interim. I wanted a unisex name...and have fond remembrances of The Land Before Time dinosaur movies. I also went through my native plants books and found an endangered plant species called Smooth Goosefoot that could use a little press. Seemed like a solid tortoise name! She is 3 months old.
I did buy pet store products to make do with for now. We will revisit indoor housing requirements when the time comes.
I purchased the low 40g ExoTerra vivarium. What I like about it is its height (low), the screen mesh on top (to keep cats out) and the doors that open in front (to let me in without having to remove tops and move lights (been there, done that, don't want to do it anymore if I don't have to).
The back of this vivarium comes with a decorative Styrofoam backing, so we cut plywood for the sides and for the lower front strip to get rid of the see-through glass issue and to make the enclosure 'warmer'.
I have wood chips on the bottom. I have a hide filled with sphagnum moss (which she tried to eat and then spat out, so I'm not worried about her eating it) that I make sure is moist at all times. Then for an experiment...I filled a water bowl with damp peat moss. I want to see if she is interested in it at all and how it acts for retaining humidity. I have been misting the entire enclosure 2X a day and keeping the substrate humid.
There is a little water dish, filled with pebbles so she can drink but not drown, if she wants to.
I have a terra cotta saucer for food. However, I have turned it upside down. I had it right-side up...watched her climb in and out several times without issue...and then came home to find her upside down in the middle of the dish. I have no idea how long she was like that and frankly, I found it rather stressful myself. Such a helpless situation to be in. Mother Nature goofed a bit when designing tortoise anatomy. If she can up-end herself that easily in a 'safe' environment - how often does it happen in nature?
I have a MV bulb hanging from a pet store light stand for stability and safety. The temperature at the substrate is between 90-95 F (using a probe thermometer). I have a light at the other end that gives off no appreciable heat (I turned it on to even out the light levels at both ends of the enclosure). The night time temperature is between 60-65 F. The regular light is on from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The MV light is on from 10:00 a.m. to 10 p.m.. I think this will simulate outdoor heat levels more accurately, and keep the enclosure a little warmer for a little longer at night.
I am giving her a bath every other day. She finally pooped in the bath water on Saturday! Now I know what goes in is coming out since I had seen no sign of it in the enclosure. When I rescued her from the food bowl she pee'd on me...so I knew she was at least getting enough fluids.
I am currently buying mixed greens from the grocery store. She is eating well. She obviously likes radicchio. She knows exactly where the food bowl is. As soon as our spring arrives I will start pulling weeds. We are "blessed" with an abundance of purslane, redroot pigweed, lamb's quarters, Shepherd's Purse, dandelions, sowthistle, chickweek and a host of others I have yet to ID properly. We have horses, so I can easily add hay to her diet.
Outdoor plans - so far - are to buy and modify a chain-link dog run. We have too many predators to safely have any other type of enclosure I've concluded after looking at all the many examples on this site. In the meantime I have an old guinea pig cage that I use to put her outside in, on the deck, while she's so little. I can also give her supervised free range time on the lawn.
Did I mention she gets her own room?
It was mentioned that pictures are appreciated, so I thought I'd start this thread and keep our progress all in one place.
Goosefoot is an Eastern Hermann's tortoise that we purchased from a local breeder. I am going to default to calling Goosefoot a 'she' (wagers anyone?) for the interim. I wanted a unisex name...and have fond remembrances of The Land Before Time dinosaur movies. I also went through my native plants books and found an endangered plant species called Smooth Goosefoot that could use a little press. Seemed like a solid tortoise name! She is 3 months old.
I did buy pet store products to make do with for now. We will revisit indoor housing requirements when the time comes.
I purchased the low 40g ExoTerra vivarium. What I like about it is its height (low), the screen mesh on top (to keep cats out) and the doors that open in front (to let me in without having to remove tops and move lights (been there, done that, don't want to do it anymore if I don't have to).
The back of this vivarium comes with a decorative Styrofoam backing, so we cut plywood for the sides and for the lower front strip to get rid of the see-through glass issue and to make the enclosure 'warmer'.
I have wood chips on the bottom. I have a hide filled with sphagnum moss (which she tried to eat and then spat out, so I'm not worried about her eating it) that I make sure is moist at all times. Then for an experiment...I filled a water bowl with damp peat moss. I want to see if she is interested in it at all and how it acts for retaining humidity. I have been misting the entire enclosure 2X a day and keeping the substrate humid.
There is a little water dish, filled with pebbles so she can drink but not drown, if she wants to.
I have a terra cotta saucer for food. However, I have turned it upside down. I had it right-side up...watched her climb in and out several times without issue...and then came home to find her upside down in the middle of the dish. I have no idea how long she was like that and frankly, I found it rather stressful myself. Such a helpless situation to be in. Mother Nature goofed a bit when designing tortoise anatomy. If she can up-end herself that easily in a 'safe' environment - how often does it happen in nature?
I have a MV bulb hanging from a pet store light stand for stability and safety. The temperature at the substrate is between 90-95 F (using a probe thermometer). I have a light at the other end that gives off no appreciable heat (I turned it on to even out the light levels at both ends of the enclosure). The night time temperature is between 60-65 F. The regular light is on from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The MV light is on from 10:00 a.m. to 10 p.m.. I think this will simulate outdoor heat levels more accurately, and keep the enclosure a little warmer for a little longer at night.
I am giving her a bath every other day. She finally pooped in the bath water on Saturday! Now I know what goes in is coming out since I had seen no sign of it in the enclosure. When I rescued her from the food bowl she pee'd on me...so I knew she was at least getting enough fluids.
I am currently buying mixed greens from the grocery store. She is eating well. She obviously likes radicchio. She knows exactly where the food bowl is. As soon as our spring arrives I will start pulling weeds. We are "blessed" with an abundance of purslane, redroot pigweed, lamb's quarters, Shepherd's Purse, dandelions, sowthistle, chickweek and a host of others I have yet to ID properly. We have horses, so I can easily add hay to her diet.
Outdoor plans - so far - are to buy and modify a chain-link dog run. We have too many predators to safely have any other type of enclosure I've concluded after looking at all the many examples on this site. In the meantime I have an old guinea pig cage that I use to put her outside in, on the deck, while she's so little. I can also give her supervised free range time on the lawn.
Did I mention she gets her own room?