Hi guys, I've been following these forums (along with others) for a long time and just recently decided to take the plunge and purchase a RT. I've spent the last three months reading everything I can find on the little guys and purchasing equipment that came recommended on these forums. Here is my current setup
- A single Zoo Med Tortoise House (will purchase another in the future and link them together)
-A Zoo Med PowerSun UV (85-90 degrees in the shot-spot - 65-70ish on the other side)
- Zoo Med Mini Deep-Dome Lamp Fixture
- Mulch/Sand - Coir mixture for Substrate
- XL Half Log as an extra hide - Extra Large Groovy Jacuzzi for water - smallish flat food bowl
I wont go into food, but I have a good mix of greens to feed him and some decent Flukers calcium dust. I ordered some TNT yesterday. I'll take some pics this evening when I get out of the office this evening
I picked up a little male from Petsmart yesterday evening and before taking him home, I had their in-house vet do a complete exam and de-worming. It took a little over two weeks for them to complete the tasks and I was fine with that. One of the managers at our local Petsmart was pretty knowledgeable of RT' and I was rather impressed with his dedication to the little tort and making sure I received a healthy tort. In the end, he had a clean bill of health and I took him home last night. he has bright eyes, clean sinuses, great looking skin and a very nice looking shell with no signs of issues at all. He also has a nice long tail that is clean.
Before looking at Petsmart, I went to Petco and was very unimpressed with their staff, the small aquarium they kept TWO RT's in and other aspects of the store. While Petsmart is a national chain, I believe their quality control, staff training and prices are several steps better than Petco.
At the store, he was very active in his enclosure, was climbing all over everything, ate like a horse and loved life. Yesterday morning, he had a good soaking at the store before I arrived to bring him home. When I got him home and set him in his emclosure, he looked around and made a beeline to the half log to hide in. That is pretty much where he has been the last 15 hours. He wont eat right now and just wants to hide.
I've read several forum posts around here that indicate I should just leave him alone for a few days and let him adjust to his new surroundings, but I would life to hear it from you guys for my situation and just get a little reinsurance I assume when he gets hungry enough, he will come out and search for food... It's been less than 24 hours, so it's pretty premature to raise alarms, I'm just a nevious new RT owner
On a side note, I have the wood and space picked out in my back yard to plan to build an outdoor enclosure as well.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to comments and/or questions. I'll post up some pictures later this evening Thanks guys and I look forward to becoming a long term contributing members to these forums!
- Bill
- A single Zoo Med Tortoise House (will purchase another in the future and link them together)
-A Zoo Med PowerSun UV (85-90 degrees in the shot-spot - 65-70ish on the other side)
- Zoo Med Mini Deep-Dome Lamp Fixture
- Mulch/Sand - Coir mixture for Substrate
- XL Half Log as an extra hide - Extra Large Groovy Jacuzzi for water - smallish flat food bowl
I wont go into food, but I have a good mix of greens to feed him and some decent Flukers calcium dust. I ordered some TNT yesterday. I'll take some pics this evening when I get out of the office this evening
I picked up a little male from Petsmart yesterday evening and before taking him home, I had their in-house vet do a complete exam and de-worming. It took a little over two weeks for them to complete the tasks and I was fine with that. One of the managers at our local Petsmart was pretty knowledgeable of RT' and I was rather impressed with his dedication to the little tort and making sure I received a healthy tort. In the end, he had a clean bill of health and I took him home last night. he has bright eyes, clean sinuses, great looking skin and a very nice looking shell with no signs of issues at all. He also has a nice long tail that is clean.
Before looking at Petsmart, I went to Petco and was very unimpressed with their staff, the small aquarium they kept TWO RT's in and other aspects of the store. While Petsmart is a national chain, I believe their quality control, staff training and prices are several steps better than Petco.
At the store, he was very active in his enclosure, was climbing all over everything, ate like a horse and loved life. Yesterday morning, he had a good soaking at the store before I arrived to bring him home. When I got him home and set him in his emclosure, he looked around and made a beeline to the half log to hide in. That is pretty much where he has been the last 15 hours. He wont eat right now and just wants to hide.
I've read several forum posts around here that indicate I should just leave him alone for a few days and let him adjust to his new surroundings, but I would life to hear it from you guys for my situation and just get a little reinsurance I assume when he gets hungry enough, he will come out and search for food... It's been less than 24 hours, so it's pretty premature to raise alarms, I'm just a nevious new RT owner
On a side note, I have the wood and space picked out in my back yard to plan to build an outdoor enclosure as well.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to comments and/or questions. I'll post up some pictures later this evening Thanks guys and I look forward to becoming a long term contributing members to these forums!
- Bill