Herd Update

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Neohippy

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New year comes so it's time for an update!

Here's a pic of how the new terrarium is coming along. No half tonne of dirt yet, still have to move so I can avoid carrying that much up and down 3 floors. Got a vicks warm mist humidifier in there since it gets so dry here and it keeps the temp nice and level in the large empty space.
Also have some plants in a bin in the back closing off access to the plumbing works which are to be buried in the soil away from curious tortoises.

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

They are enjoying the newer setup so far. I think the HUGE hide really floats their boat. I do look forward to opening it up a bit more for them. This setup already holds heat better due to the multiple layer wall. Insulation still needs to be added, and of course the tedious job of 'finishing' the outside to give it that home appeal and make it harder for the kid to climb. All in all, with almost a solid 2 months with -20C down to -30C weather, it's been an interesting challenge keeping both temp and humidity up.
 

Neohippy

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As for the little torts. Their enclosure has seen significant upgrades. A new grow light for the plants, as well as a new basking lamp to aid with the heat issue lately. All of the plants who weren't outright eaten, seem to be thriving. Upgraded the soil drainage a tad, and tortoise proofed the favourite basking and hiding spots.

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

Cordelia bein' cute.

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

The good news is, in the last month or two, Woodrow has gained nearly 10 grams, which is more than he gained all year. Cordelia is not slowing down, she has gained about 10x weight as Woodrow at around 100g this year. She is now triple the size she was when I got her those few short months ago. She is my pride and joy as far as model tortoises go. Smooth, healthy, stable growth and she is the only one I got young enough to verify age and source. Henry is huge compared to the other two, weighing in at just over a pound now. Maybe I'm just used to him, or his growth is taking the 'edge' off, but his pyramiding seems to be getting better, which is excellent!
 

Yvonne G

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That's very nice (the new bigger habitat). Only one comment, and that's about the way your clamps for the lights are. It would be pretty easy for one or both of them to slide off and fall into the habitat. Try to figure out a way to anchor them more securely.
 

Neohippy

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Oh, and on a side note. It looks like Horace may actually be female as well. I've been checking him out more now that he is eating more and moving around more.

Opinions?

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2010-01-03

emysemys said:
That's very nice. Only one comment, and that's about the way your clamps for the lights are. It would be pretty easy for one or both of them to slide off and fall into the habitat. Try to figure out a way to anchor them more securely.

They are Screwed into the wood on the side actually. Bolted to the wood, then the wood was bolted in.
 

Neohippy

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matt41gb said:
100% female, Horace may need a name change. Ha!

That's what I figured. I'm thinking he had a "longer skinnier" tail when I picked (s)him up due to the dehydration. I'm having trouble now finding any real male feature. Still a cute little transgender.
 

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It makes me smile to think how strange and untidy most tort enclosures looked when I first studied photos of them...now I am actively seeking the number and kind of lights/MVB/CHE's, the humidifier/plants have an important purpose, the hides are not there to be pretty to human eyes but secure and valuable to torty perspectives! Food tiles, water dishes, substrate all have a completely different and discernible meaning now!

And I most certainly relate to the all-important goal of keeping a climbing youngster from unintentionally falling over the barrier onto the tortoise!;)
 

Neohippy

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Stephanie Logan said:
It makes me smile to think how strange and untidy most tort enclosures looked when I first studied photos of them...now I am actively seeking the number and kind of lights/MVB/CHE's, the humidifier/plants have an important purpose, the hides are not there to be pretty to human eyes but secure and valuable to torty perspectives! Food tiles, water dishes, substrate all have a completely different and discernible meaning now!

And I most certainly relate to the all-important goal of keeping a climbing youngster from unintentionally falling over the barrier onto the tortoise!;)


The little girl does love all the tortoises so much though. Tortoise was one of the first words she truly understood and got excited about. Say "Where are the tortoises?" and she'd get a concerned look, get up, grab a soother and blanket, and run over to smack the side of the terrarium (another good reason for multi walled insulated sides I figure).
I actually put the chair there so we have something to put her on while she tortoise watches. My arms and her Mom's arms couldn't take it anymore, and putting her down before she got her fix made for a high pitched grumpy little girl.

This was taken a couple months back when Penny was showing the kid all the best spots.

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2009-10-20
 

Madkins007

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Uh... urm... look, Neo... I am not big on 'the germs are going to kill us all' OR on the idea that tortoises are dripping with Salmonella... but... well...

OK- there is a FAINT BUT REAL chance that your big guy there is leaving footprints of Salmonella that the little human there is also crawling in, then getting on her face- and since one of the top risk factors for complications in Salmonella is being very young you may want to rethink having the tort on the floor.

In other words, the chances for getting it may be low for her, but the risks of having it may be tragically high. To me, as unworried as I usually am about this stuff, this is a really poor gamble.
 

Neohippy

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Madkins007 said:
Uh... urm... look, Neo... I am not big on 'the germs are going to kill us all' OR on the idea that tortoises are dripping with Salmonella... but... well...

OK- there is a FAINT BUT REAL chance that your big guy there is leaving footprints of Salmonella that the little human there is also crawling in, then getting on her face- and since one of the top risk factors for complications in Salmonella is being very young you may want to rethink having the tort on the floor.

In other words, the chances for getting it may be low for her, but the risks of having it may be tragically high. To me, as unworried as I usually am about this stuff, this is a really poor gamble.

This is very true. In fact, we have a colombian rainbow boa as well, the same species that made the news earlier this year for putting a 2 year old in the hospital with salmonella. We do realize the possibility. Between our critters and her grandma's pet care business, this kid has seen more critters than most people even my age, and handled pretty well all of them. I'm not saying it's not a risk anymore, but even I went to the hospital a few years back for salmonella when I worked in less than kosher kitchens. So in reality, there is no way to avoid it, but one can take precautions to make the risk minimal.

It is a very valid point to bring up, and one people should be aware of. I do like how you tip toed around it instead of the usual internet forum response "OMFG WTF?!?! YOU'RE GONNA DIE!!!11!!".
 

elegans

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Just as a side not there is a live Croton in enclosure, this in of itself is not a big deal. the problem is that where all of those are grown (here in S Florida) we have a new scale that has been tearing them up. So they are being sprayed extensively, like every 7 days so that nurseries do not loose their ability to ship across state lines over a tropical bug. This still means that the plant "may" be toxic from residue, I personally would remove it. Keep it as a house plant for a couple of months and put in back in if you wish. It is Croton Petra with the red ribs in the leaf to the front side of the King Sago. Watch for white scale on the sago, I'll be happy to tell you how to get rid of them if they show up. Best wishes and happy new year! Glad that you have Redfoots they really are great animals. Douglas
 

Neohippy

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elegans said:
Just as a side not there is a live Croton in enclosure, this in of itself is not a big deal. the problem is that where all of those are grown (here in S Florida) we have a new scale that has been tearing them up. So they are being sprayed extensively, like every 7 days so that nurseries do not loose their ability to ship across state lines over a tropical bug. This still means that the plant "may" be toxic from residue, I personally would remove it. Keep it as a house plant for a couple of months and put in back in if you wish. It is Croton Petra with the red ribs in the leaf to the front side of the King Sago. Watch for white scale on the sago, I'll be happy to tell you how to get rid of them if they show up. Best wishes and happy new year! Glad that you have Redfoots they really are great animals. Douglas

I've had the 'croton' for about a year and it has been in the terrarium for about 7 months. It wasn't doing so well when it was closer to the glass in the back because Henry would always try to squeeze by it and knock off all the bottom leaves. But yeah, I have a few planters with future terrarium plants growing good strong bases and cleaning up any unknowns. Been having a problem with little fruit fly type thingies since I started growing canteloupe in the quarantine bins with the other tropicals. Would love any pointers on controlling those organically before I start collecting web spinning spiders and setting them free in my terrariums.

Please do tell, what is white scale?
 

-ryan-

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Looks good! What are the dimensions, and what are the sizes of the tortoises? I just recently built my 10" male a new enclosure measuring 6'x30"x18", and he seems to enjoy it, though I have been bugging him a bit too much trying to get the lighting just right! Finally I was able to get it just about right with a 45 watt halogen flood, a 45 watt indoor incandescent flood, and a compact fluorescent. He also has a heat pad attached to the side of his rubbermaid humidity shelter so he has nighttime warmth.

Are you planning on eventually housing all of the tortoises together when they grow large enough? Right now I am doing that with my russian group. I have 1.2 housed together right now who have been giving me good eggs (but I just figured out that I was letting them dry out too much in the incubator, so I have only hatched 3 out of about 40 over the past 3 years... I think I have it straightened out now so I am hopeful!). I am raising another female to go in with them when they get a new enclosure, and I've got another hatchling that I am raising and I have to wait and see. If it is female it can also join the group, but if it is male it will be iffy. I think eventually I would like the group to be either 1.5 or 2.5. Then I will be satisfied :)

Again, looks pretty good, and it looks like you are doing a lot with what you available to you! Got any pics of the snake? :)
 

Neohippy

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-ryan- said:
Looks good! What are the dimensions, and what are the sizes of the tortoises? I just recently built my 10" male a new enclosure measuring 6'x30"x18", and he seems to enjoy it, though I have been bugging him a bit too much trying to get the lighting just right! Finally I was able to get it just about right with a 45 watt halogen flood, a 45 watt indoor incandescent flood, and a compact fluorescent. He also has a heat pad attached to the side of his rubbermaid humidity shelter so he has nighttime warmth.

Are you planning on eventually housing all of the tortoises together when they grow large enough? Right now I am doing that with my russian group. I have 1.2 housed together right now who have been giving me good eggs (but I just figured out that I was letting them dry out too much in the incubator, so I have only hatched 3 out of about 40 over the past 3 years... I think I have it straightened out now so I am hopeful!). I am raising another female to go in with them when they get a new enclosure, and I've got another hatchling that I am raising and I have to wait and see. If it is female it can also join the group, but if it is male it will be iffy. I think eventually I would like the group to be either 1.5 or 2.5. Then I will be satisfied :)

Again, looks pretty good, and it looks like you are doing a lot with what you available to you! Got any pics of the snake? :)


Thanks alot!
Dimensions are roughly 60" x 30" x 30". Both the torts in there are roughly 9". Horace being the smaller one closer to 9.0" and Penny being a dense tort outweighs Horace by about 3-4lbs and is closer to 9.9".
I've got a shop light with 2 - 48" plant & aquarium bulbs in it suspended about 1.5' from my ceiling. It has been doing wonders for all the plants which have been getting crap light in the 4 hours of sun we might have if it's not snowing. There is a coroplast cover for the terrarium to retain heat and humidity until I build a canopy to hold the grow lights which will double as a 'lid' for the plants as well.

One day they will all be housed together. We are currently hunting for a house with an extra bedroom... you know, just in case.

Very jealous of your eggs! I can't wait until I can get one of mine to squeeze off an egg. I figure I've got a good couple years before that, but incubating these little guys that long seems very daunting at the moment.

Here's the best pic I have of Ophelia, it kinda shows off her beautiful rainbows. She lives in a 50gal bow front terrarium set up much like the small tort's terrarium in my previous pictures.
Back when she used to escape, I caught her in with the torts sleeping with them in the morning, and her terrarium is clear across the house!

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By neohippy, shot with Canon PowerShot A580 at 2009-10-06
 

goReptiles

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What are the dimensions of the new enclosure that you're working on? What type of humidifier are you using? I'm thinking about getting one for my redfoot.
 

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Scale is a tiny insect that adheres to the stems or under-sides of leaves, sucking the juices from the plant.
 

llamas55

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goReptiles said:
What are the dimensions of the new enclosure that you're working on? What type of humidifier are you using? I'm thinking about getting one for my redfoot.
I just got a Sunbeam warm air humidifier for my redfoot orchidarium, and love it. It has 2 speeds, and the low one lasts about 14 hours, and I let it be off at night. It has a nice wide hole for cleaning that many lack. and quiet. $29 at Walmart
 

Neohippy

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goReptiles said:
What are the dimensions of the new enclosure that you're working on? What type of humidifier are you using? I'm thinking about getting one for my redfoot.

It's a Vick's warm mist humidifier. It's fantastic. Cheap and effective for sure.

Dimensions are 60" x 30" x 30"... roughly.
 

-ryan-

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Great looking snake! Funny too that she would get out and then find her way to the tortoises. Did she actually get in the enclosure with the tortoises?

I am in a similar situation as I would really like to expand my russian group like I said earlier, but I need to wait until my fiancee and I move out of my parents' house and into our own place, so that we can have a dedicated room (or two) for the animals. I am going to be building the russian tortoises an enclosure similar to the one I built for my red foot. It will be 6'x30"x24". They need more height because I put about 9" of dirt in their enclosure. However, that will be to house the current group, plus a female that I have been raising from the egg for the past three years, so that will give me a 1.3 group. I have another hatchling I am raising but I am fairly certain it is a male, so I am not sure if I will want to simply add him to the group and make it 2.3, or wait until I can raise a few more females and build a larger enclosure so the males won't have as much competition. The red foot is going to likely remain on his lonesome, but he is a great tortoise even if he is the odd man out.

Keep us updated with pictures and such!
 
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