Not sure what i am doing....

[the_newzie]

I have read the feed on here and I appreciate the heads up!!! and as an animal rescuer I know all too well how one day they can get along fine and then the next bam! I know that vagueness can be bothersome to most people but I do not take mixing animals lightly.... and would never recommend unsupervised mixing even for a second, and yes I am fully aware of how things can change from one second to the next even with you right there. this is not something I do regularly, it is also not for long periods and she is usually alone in the "living room". however she is family now and will be for a LONG time and introductions are best in a controlled environment as opposed to "SUPRISE!!! this now lives in your yard!!!" bulldogs are very thoughtful and suspicious dogs and Bebo needs to be familiar with her scent and appearance. she will be small the whole time he knows her because he is 7 now. I don't allow the yorkies to roam freely with her because they are not so accepting. they also wont be outside as often.... even though she will be inside an enclosure I don't want Bebo giving himself a heart attack trying to figure out what is in there and barking constantly stressing her and him and making her miserable. like you said some wont agree with how I do things all the time and I know that I will have to accept responsibility for what I do. but maybe this will curb some of the more hostile responses......

Hopefully there will be no hostile responses! This forum is usually pretty nice. In the end nobody can (or should) make decisions regarding your torts but you and any sort of hostility is just out of place (IMHO).

 

[Alaskamike]

I've only seen one triple decker - wish I'd kept the link

It would be great for all of us if you took photos of the build along the way. There are so many people who have limited space and need good ideas. Some would hire a carpenter to build it but don't even know how to describe what they want

Good fortune with your new family member !

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

Hello, Krys, and a very warm welcome to Tortoise Forum to you and your sweet new charge.
I, also, look forward to seeing his triple decker enclosure.
it's so great that you are taking this so seriously and doing so much for the little tort!!!
Send him/her our love!

 

[keepergale]

well "supposedly" the lady who gave her to my husband and I got her as a hatchling in NY from a breeder and has owned her the hole time (6 Mo) and the breeder said she used incubation control to ensure which were male and female.... not sure how that works but ya know! she is 4.5-5 inches front to back of shell and I don't know what she weighs yet.... I don't even know what the growth chart is for these guys.... thanks for the advise and encouragement!! I am working on the schematics for the enclosure now maybe I will post those... not sure yet.

During incubation if the temperature is kept in the high 80's the eggs tend to produce females. Temperatures in the mid 80's tend to produce males.
The best way to track your tortoises growth is by weight. If you have a kitchen scale that uses grams that will work great. Measuring the shell isn't very useful for monitoring your baby's growth.