New Here. "Dozer" was given to me in September 2018. My very good friend Robert gave him to me after I expressed interest in a Tortoise. I believe Robert had him from day one. Robert told me he was over 15 years old at the time. Dozer came from a Family of five Tortoises, however Dozer was extremely aggressive and hurting the other Males. So Robert offered him to me. I built a nice pen and had a Doghouse made for him. He went in the house first day and slept through the night. That's his bed every night since. Shortly after Robert told me the other Male took over the aggressiveness towards the males and breeding like a mad man. Same thing Dozer was doing. Anyway, My Very Good Friend Robert was killed on his Harley Davidson one year ago. Long story but Robert had a nick-name of "AAA". I put a "AAA" sticker on Dozer's Home in Memory of his first Father MSG Robert O. United States Army.
I have a decent size yard that he roams. Only problem I don't have any grass in the backyard. He will eat the weeds and we feed him daily with Romain, Carrots, Cactus, and some misc greens nearly every day. OMG, this dude can eat like a horse. Dozer is about 14" w and nearly as tall. Length, maybe 22 to 22". Weight, maybe 40lbs. He Hibernates typically from Late November to Late February. Sometimes he'll come out a day here and there. I assume he's Hungary, so give him all the Roamin and Cactus he can eat. Then back in the box for weeks at a time. I usually keep our Winter Pumpkins and cut them up in chunks, he loves them. is that ok? Other than that, if he's still out when I get home from work, I'll pick him up and bring him to the front yard and he'll graze on grass for about an hour. Once he's full he'll walk all the back to his pen and go night-night. He seems to be a little onrey, Most of the time, he'll come up to us while hanging out in the yard and sometimes eat from our hands.
I have plenty of Shade for him to rest and he takes advantage of it. Is it normal for them or defecate in their pen? I clean it out every chance I get. I also have a bail of hay that I use for his bedding. when he's restless at night, I can hear him trying to dig inside his pen, not for long, but in the process he'll push all the hay out his door. A few weeks back, he literally push it so bad he blocked his own door. I have a feeling he didn't come out that day. I cleared it out and the next day out eating like a piglet again.
As far as his diet, Robert would get left over Iceberg lettuce and other greens to feed all of his Tort's. After reading and researching I find that that's not a good diet. I've also noticed as he grows his pyramids are getting smaller or maybe he's growing into them. just yesterday I was wrestling a Dog Poo from him. He got the best of me and got to one of them before I could get it picked up. Caught me off guard as I was coming home from work. I do my best to pick up as quick as possible. YUK!. I gave him some Cactus to make his breath smell better. LOL. He can be very active some days. I do have a Tortoise heat lamp in his pen. I purchased from a local pet shop, the owner had several Sul Tort's and most of them over 100lbs. He told me to run the RED light in the cold months. I typically run it if it's under 50deg f, In the dead of winter when it's in the low 30's outside, it will be in the high 70's in the Pen. This is when I don't see him for about 2-months. It's on a timer and I adjust it on the weather. As winter passes, I'll run it every other hour. As of late April, I don't even run it at all. I plan to have a dimmer on it this coming winter. It sits about a foot above his Shell. I've got a wireless Temp sender so I can see the temp in his Pen 24/7.
At times I'll sit in the back yard to watch him roam and eat. it's very relaxing and calming. I now see why Robert had so many of them. Brings up another question, since he had so many buddies/mates, do I need a friend(male) or Female? I do hose him down for hydration and a general cleaning. I also scrub the dirt from his shell. I think he likes that part. Just purchased a kiddy pool and I'll tray again to get him to hydrate in 2" of water. Last year I made a nice pool he could walk in and drink from if needed. He didn't care for that and wanted out!. This time I won't leave an opening. He'll have to soak for a bit till I let him out. He's pretty darn strong and will find his way out if I walk away. LOL
Sorry to ramble, Let me know If I'm doing anything wrong. We really enjoy having him. He's a great conversation starter.
I have a decent size yard that he roams. Only problem I don't have any grass in the backyard. He will eat the weeds and we feed him daily with Romain, Carrots, Cactus, and some misc greens nearly every day. OMG, this dude can eat like a horse. Dozer is about 14" w and nearly as tall. Length, maybe 22 to 22". Weight, maybe 40lbs. He Hibernates typically from Late November to Late February. Sometimes he'll come out a day here and there. I assume he's Hungary, so give him all the Roamin and Cactus he can eat. Then back in the box for weeks at a time. I usually keep our Winter Pumpkins and cut them up in chunks, he loves them. is that ok? Other than that, if he's still out when I get home from work, I'll pick him up and bring him to the front yard and he'll graze on grass for about an hour. Once he's full he'll walk all the back to his pen and go night-night. He seems to be a little onrey, Most of the time, he'll come up to us while hanging out in the yard and sometimes eat from our hands.
I have plenty of Shade for him to rest and he takes advantage of it. Is it normal for them or defecate in their pen? I clean it out every chance I get. I also have a bail of hay that I use for his bedding. when he's restless at night, I can hear him trying to dig inside his pen, not for long, but in the process he'll push all the hay out his door. A few weeks back, he literally push it so bad he blocked his own door. I have a feeling he didn't come out that day. I cleared it out and the next day out eating like a piglet again.
As far as his diet, Robert would get left over Iceberg lettuce and other greens to feed all of his Tort's. After reading and researching I find that that's not a good diet. I've also noticed as he grows his pyramids are getting smaller or maybe he's growing into them. just yesterday I was wrestling a Dog Poo from him. He got the best of me and got to one of them before I could get it picked up. Caught me off guard as I was coming home from work. I do my best to pick up as quick as possible. YUK!. I gave him some Cactus to make his breath smell better. LOL. He can be very active some days. I do have a Tortoise heat lamp in his pen. I purchased from a local pet shop, the owner had several Sul Tort's and most of them over 100lbs. He told me to run the RED light in the cold months. I typically run it if it's under 50deg f, In the dead of winter when it's in the low 30's outside, it will be in the high 70's in the Pen. This is when I don't see him for about 2-months. It's on a timer and I adjust it on the weather. As winter passes, I'll run it every other hour. As of late April, I don't even run it at all. I plan to have a dimmer on it this coming winter. It sits about a foot above his Shell. I've got a wireless Temp sender so I can see the temp in his Pen 24/7.
At times I'll sit in the back yard to watch him roam and eat. it's very relaxing and calming. I now see why Robert had so many of them. Brings up another question, since he had so many buddies/mates, do I need a friend(male) or Female? I do hose him down for hydration and a general cleaning. I also scrub the dirt from his shell. I think he likes that part. Just purchased a kiddy pool and I'll tray again to get him to hydrate in 2" of water. Last year I made a nice pool he could walk in and drink from if needed. He didn't care for that and wanted out!. This time I won't leave an opening. He'll have to soak for a bit till I let him out. He's pretty darn strong and will find his way out if I walk away. LOL
Sorry to ramble, Let me know If I'm doing anything wrong. We really enjoy having him. He's a great conversation starter.