Hello! I'm new!

[Turtleguy5278]

I recieved my marginated Ricky about 4 months ago and he is doing great! I have had aquatic turtles for over 10 years but decided it was time for "one of them walkin' turtles" as my family would say.

I have done a LOT of research to try and find out everything I can about my lil' guy... but some things I have read have conflicting things and I still have some questions,

1. He has been living off a variety of outdoor weeds (that I know he can eat and won't be poisonous such as dandelions, plantains, clovers, grass) that I handpick everyday as well as some green veggies and carrots on occasion. I have been sprinkling a calcium supplement on his every meal for the past month and a vitamin supplement twice a week, I read that it was very important for young tortoises to have this supplement everyday. However, I read today that marginateds are only supposed to have a limited calcium supplement due to their slow growth rate.

Calcium everyday? 2-3 times a week? once a week? what do you do?


2. I have been experimenting with bedding recently as well. The first bedding I bough him was the reptile bark from petsmart. This seemed ok but after a while I felt like he was a little too small to burrow nicely with those 'big' wood chips. So I bought one of those blocks you soak in water and its a very fine shredded wood that is also a lot more humid and allows him to burrow easier.. even though it is sticking to him a little more than I would like and I have to bathe him daily almost.

Is there any bedding that is harmful to our marginateds? Or just some better than others. You know, if it is more humid than he needs will it be a health problem, or too dry? I have heard that walnut shells are a no-no but other than that nothing.

3. I have read that marginateds are one of the bigger than average species, and I have read they are one of the smaller... how big do they get?

4. During the day I let him munch on grass and 'roam' for about an hour, then keep him inside where I run a UVB and a heat lamp in the day and just a red bulb for heat at night and I monitor the temperature throughout the day to make sure the basking area stays below 100. Is this a correct/ good for him? anything else?

5. What about hibernating? I do not plan to breed this turtle, can he stay awake during the winter months? Is it easier to let him hibernate?

6. Anything else that is sometimes unclear on 'marginated care sheets' you can find online that might be good to know?

any other wisdom?

 

[Turtleguy5278]

Hello! New marginated owner!

I posted this in the marginated section, but will post it here as well.

Nice to find this awesome forum!

I recieved my marginated Ricky about 4 months ago and he is doing great! I have had aquatic turtles for over 10 years but decided it was time for "one of them walkin' turtles" as my family would say.

I have done a LOT of research to try and find out everything I can about my lil' guy... but some things I have read have conflicting things and I still have some questions,

1. He has been living off a variety of outdoor weeds (that I know he can eat and won't be poisonous such as dandelions, plantains, clovers, grass) that I handpick everyday as well as some green veggies and carrots on occasion. I have been sprinkling a calcium supplement on his every meal for the past month and a vitamin supplement twice a week, I read that it was very important for young tortoises to have this supplement everyday. However, I read today that marginateds are only supposed to have a limited calcium supplement due to their slow growth rate.

Calcium everyday? 2-3 times a week? once a week? what do you do?


2. I have been experimenting with bedding recently as well. The first bedding I bough him was the reptile bark from petsmart. This seemed ok but after a while I felt like he was a little too small to burrow nicely with those 'big' wood chips. So I bought one of those blocks you soak in water and its a very fine shredded wood that is also a lot more humid and allows him to burrow easier.. even though it is sticking to him a little more than I would like and I have to bathe him daily almost.

Is there any bedding that is harmful to our marginateds? Or just some better than others. You know, if it is more humid than he needs will it be a health problem, or too dry? I have heard that walnut shells are a no-no but other than that nothing.

3. I have read that marginateds are one of the bigger than average species, and I have read they are one of the smaller... how big do they get?

4. During the day I let him munch on grass and 'roam' for about an hour, then keep him inside where I run a UVB and a heat lamp in the day and just a red bulb for heat at night and I monitor the temperature throughout the day to make sure the basking area stays below 100. Is this a correct/ good for him? anything else?

5. What about hibernating? I do not plan to breed this turtle, can he stay awake during the winter months? Is it easier to let him hibernate?

6. Anything else that is sometimes unclear on 'marginated care sheets' you can find online that might be good to know?

any other wisdom?

 

[jlyoncc1]

RE: Hello! New marginated owner!

Welcome to the forum! I can't help with your questions but I am sure someone will!

 

[Stazz]

RE: Hello! New marginated owner!

Welcome to the forum Turtleguy and Ricky !!! Such a cute name for your tort, he looks so cute This is a fantastic, friendly forum with loads of experts who will help at any time

 

[gary27]

RE: Hello! New marginated owner!

I can tell you what I do, but I am far from an expert:

1. I give calcium once a week in the spring and summer. (growing season)

2. I have an outdoor pen (2), and I use cypress mulch on the ground.
but i will use a little pine. I like the smaller stuff, and they do sometimes eat it. I do have it planted, hides, etc. Heck, fooling with the pen is almost as big a kick as the torts.

3. I have a 8-9 yr. old male- 8.5 inches and about 3.6 lbs
6 yr. old male- 7 inches
3 yr old female- almost 5 inches- about 400 grams
I believe that they grow reasonable fast for the first 10 years, then the growth slows down progressively the older they get.

4. I don't have an inside pen, but your basking temps seems right, somebody else with hatchling would know.

5. Mine hibernate. But here in Louisiana it is not a constant. On warm winter days they do come out and move about.

6. I find Marginateds to be very hardy. I do feed a variety of foods, (fruit included) with spring mix, Mazuri, and forage in the pen being the staples. I keep water in the pen, but I do like to do a soak.

Regards,
Gary

 

[bikerchicspain]

RE: Hello! New marginated owner!

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[Isa]

RE: Hello! New marginated owner!

Welcome to the forum Gary,
Ricky is a real cutie

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Turtleguy5278: Welcome to the forum. I don't know anything about marginated tortoises, but to me, it sounds like you have everything covered. One bit of advice that I don't agree with Gary on is the pine bedding. Pine can be very harmful to tortoise's eyes. My sister made a mistake and used pine bedding on a couple baby sulcatas, and one of them ended up being blind. The vet showed her the corneas and they were terribly burned from the pine oils.

You have a cute little tortoise. Again...welcome.

Yvonne

 

[Crazy1]

Hi tutleguy5278 and Ricky, welcome to the forum.

I am not an expert but I do raise Greeks. They are similar to Herman’s and Marginated torts.

1) I place a calcium carbonate in a salt shaker and lightly shake it on their greens daily.
As hatchlings torts should have calcium daily for the first year or two. To help build strong bones. (IMHO)

2) Substrate: the block with about 30% sand added is a good mix. Or you can use aspen (you must provide a humid hide when using Aspen) or cypress mulch. I personally like the block (bed a beast or coco fiber) and sand mixture as I can keep the lower level damp and the heat lamp dries out the top layer, thus creating a good humidity level. I am currently trying cypress mulch but have not yet formed an opinion on it yet.

I would never use pine or fir bark as these can be toxic to torts. The pine when heated (like under the heat lamps) create a toxic fume that can damage eyes and cause respiratory problems and sometimes death.

3) Marginated torts can get up to 14 inches and about 5 lbs. but are usually about 9-11 inches long

4) The temperature at night should be above 60 degrees and days should be above 80 degrees. The tortoises require a basking light to elevate their body temperature to 85 to 90 degrees which aid in digestion

5) It is not necessary for you to hibernate your Marginated.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

RE: Hello! New marginated owner!

I can tell you what I do, but I am far from an expert:

1. I give calcium once a week in the spring and summer. (growing season)

2. I have an outdoor pen (2), and I use cypress mulch on the ground.
but i will use a little pine. I like the smaller stuff, and they do sometimes eat it. I do have it planted, hides, etc. Heck, fooling with the pen is almost as big a kick as the torts.

3. I have a 8-9 yr. old male- 8.5 inches and about 3.6 lbs
6 yr. old male- 7 inches
3 yr old female- almost 5 inches- about 400 grams
I believe that they grow reasonable fast for the first 10 years, then the growth slows down progressively the older they get.

4. I don't have an inside pen, but your basking temps seems right, somebody else with hatchling would know.

5. Mine hibernate. But here in Louisiana it is not a constant. On warm winter days they do come out and move about.

6. I find Marginateds to be very hardy. I do feed a variety of foods, (fruit included) with spring mix, Mazuri, and forage in the pen being the staples. I keep water in the pen, but I do like to do a soak.

Regards,
Gary

Hey Gary...Be very careful with pine substrate, Pine and cedar are toxic to most tortoises.
I couldn't find my normal substrate when I moved to Oregon from California and bought something that said it had mulched forest products in it...In a few months I had one dead yearling and one blind. I called the manufacturer and asked what was in the forest product and they said it was mostly pine and cedar because that what grows in the Pacific NorthWest.
Please don't recommend anything with pine in it for anybody.
Maybe it doesn't hurt Marginateds but it is seriously damaging to any other species. possibly you just lucked out, but you may recommend a pine substrate for someone who may end up with a dead or blind tortoise...and I am sure you don't want that...

 

[purpod]

Greetings & Welcome to TFO, TurtleGuy & Ricky ~

Stace is right, in that this is a neat place & we have experts here; I, for one, would not doubt a thing which Yvonne & our Crazy1 might say & agree that pine is a Big no-no for your small shelled friend.

I keep leopard tort's & so I cannot help you with the husbandry of Ricky. That is one of the reasons I stick to just this one forum as my main place; many here really know what they are talking about & are not afraid to jump in, help ya out & correct mis-information, such as you were getting thru your extensive research.

Not knowing your environment, I would however suggest creating an outdoor enclosure as Gary had mentioned. I really love taking my lil' couple out there to graze & roam. I have natural hides, such as large pieces of of twisted wood/root, as well as a rather large (& numerous) strawberry plants.

For flooring, there is a long rectangular swatch of black-colored 'Calci-sand' with some stone slabs (You know, the pretty ones with the colored layers running thru them). I used to use just regular sand color, but realized the black would absorb the heat better for days when it was not as sunny as I would like.

A shallow ceramic pie dish with smooth rocks on the bottom borders that area, and is a pool for them to either drink in or soak up. (And yes, a babe should be able to soak in addition to getting a drink, every day when they are just lil' boogers)

For the main area, there are natural grain seeds which have grown into various grasses, with differing kinds of succulants (which they continually eat away, lol) planted thru-out. I also grow parsely, chinese lettuce and yummy strawberries in their home too, for all of us to munch upon, lol. (Oh, and I dunno about Ricky, but my leopards love to eat those shamrock plants you find in the stores in March; seriously, two full plants have been eaten down to dirt level!)

Okie, enuf of that; bestest wishes for you & Ricky & again, welcome to TFO!
Blessings,
Purpod

 

[BigBiscuit]

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[KQ6AR]

Hi,
You can't go wrong with the marginata. They reach about 14".
They are a Mediterranean tortoise, from Greece. All the med. tortoises & our desert tortoises do well with similar care.
moist Coconut & sand mix makes a good substrate. She's so small you better keep a close eye on her when outside because they can get away fast. The outdoor time is very important for their health.
Where I live mine are outdoors 12 months a year & hibernate in the winter. I give mine calcium carbonate a few times per season, & always have a cuttle bone available.

www.russiantortoise.org has some exselent care & diet information for Russians. You won't go wrong if you follow it fir the Marginata.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing Ricky with us. Hope to see you around posting more.

I respectfully disagree with purpod; I don't think Calci-Sand should be used. It is tastier than play sand for example, and some torts like to eat it more readily. Also, smaller particles. Sand can cause impaction. There are other explanations as well if you search for Calci-Sand on this site. Not all tort products are safe for torts, sadly enough. Sand is only typically recommended when mixed in with another moist substrate, less than 50% by weight, not by itself. The mix of moist substrate with sand is to help it keep shape for digging and some other reasons.

If you are able to photograph your enclosure, we might be able to give you more pointers if you are interested. Please let us know if you still have questions. I think the answers you got already were great so I won't add much else.

Bedding usually does take some trial and error with tort and owner. As long as you stick to the safe stuff, you can try different things each change out until you find something you both like. Two more substrates that I don't think were mentioned on this thread yet are orchid bark and plain old organic dirt/soil or potting mix. Also can be mixed with play sand if desired.

 

[Turtleguy5278]

Wow! The responses have been great! Thank you very much, it has been very helpful!