Orchid bark - should it be pre- soaked?

lymcBoris

Active Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
129
Location (City and/or State)
Scotland
It takes 10 hours just to drive through Texas here, and that's doing 80-90 miles an hour on a wide open highway... :)
You're from Texas! Cool. Well howdy partner. Ride em up roll em up.... ( No offence intended) feel free to post a haggis pic or Highland coo..
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
You're from Texas! Cool. Well howdy partner. Ride em up roll em up.... ( No offence intended) feel free to post a haggis pic or Highland coo..
No, I'm from Southern CA. I have driven through Texas plenty of times though... Its like a whole country by itself. And for the record, I like it there. I'd be happy to live there someday.
 

lymcBoris

Active Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
129
Location (City and/or State)
Scotland
No, I'm from Southern CA. I have driven through Texas plenty of times though... Its like a whole country by itself. And for the record, I like it there. I'd be happy to live there someday.
Well being from southern California is just as cool [emoji41]
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Well being from southern California is just as cool [emoji41]
Getting philosophical now... Your posts were making me think of how a person like you might perceive what it is like in my part of the world, and that made me consider my own perceptions of what it must be like in your part of the world.
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
It takes 8 hours to get to Glasgow from where I am and that’s on the motor way!!!!:D
Motorway? Is that analogous to freeway?
 

Ben02

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Messages
1,830
Location (City and/or State)
Brighton, Southcoast, UK
Getting philosophical now... Your posts were making me think of how a person like you might perceive what it is like in my part of the world, and that made me consider my own perceptions of what it must be like in your part of the world.
Your absolutely right!!! When I was younger the first image that came to my head when someone mentioned America were “American dinners” as we called them and vast deserts and a single road running through it. Stupid, I know:D
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
Your absolutely right!!! When I was younger the first image that came to my head when someone mentioned America were “American dinners” as we called them and vast deserts and a single road running through it. Stupid, I know:D
what are you talkin about? There is only one road, that's why the traffic so bad :)
 

lymcBoris

Active Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
129
Location (City and/or State)
Scotland
Getting philosophical now... Your posts were making me think of how a person like you might perceive what it is like in my part of the world, and that made me consider my own perceptions of what it must be like in your part of the world.
I'm just a bit silly. And I've never ventured to America. Would love to - maybe one day. In my part of the world it's pretty wonderful really. You think of Scottish mountains and rocky coastline and you've got it. I couldn't wish to live in a more beautiful country. Go for a walk where I live and not see another person for the whole time - bliss! The weather could be better, and there's terrible Scottish midges, but you can't have it all. I imagine where you live as really hot, lovely beaches, sharks, palm trees, hurricanes! Flat long dusty roads and palm trees and parakeets for some reason[emoji38]
 

dmmj

The member formerly known as captain awesome
10 Year Member!
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
19,695
Location (City and/or State)
CA
I'm just a bit silly. And I've never ventured to America. Would love to - maybe one day. In my part of the world it's pretty wonderful really. You think of Scottish mountains and rocky coastline and you've got it. I couldn't wish to live in a more beautiful country. Go for a walk where I live and not see another person for the whole time - bliss! The weather could be better, and there's terrible Scottish midges, but you can't have it all. I imagine where you live as really hot, lovely beaches, sharks, palm trees, hurricanes! Flat long dusty roads and palm trees and parakeets for some reason[emoji38]
We got rid of all the parakeets, too noisy. And what's wrong with Scottish midgets?
 

lymcBoris

Active Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
129
Location (City and/or State)
Scotland
We got rid of all the parakeets, too noisy. And what's wrong with Scottish midgets?
[emoji23] I'm assuming you meant the famous biting, itchy, little summer ravenous female Highland midge that completely ruins any chance of a nice summer eve in the garden or a rare nice weather camping trip. Enough to drive you completely insane and tourists running for cover.
 

Reynier Rodriguez

New Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2016
Messages
2
Hi all, so I've added orchid bark to enclosure over Coco coir, just at one end to try and keep humidity up. I am obsessed with humidity and pyramiding since reading everything on site and I have an open table. Should I have soaked orchid bark first? I put in and poured warm water and misted, but humidity went down! Is it the wrong type, as I got the larger pieces.
I've put in a pic of the day I got my Horsfield at 18 months and all other pics are up to date. Do you think pyramiding is bad or getting worse? Thanks, Lynne.
View attachment 271917View attachment 271918View attachment 271919View attachment 271920View attachment 271921View attachment 271923
Hi first of all cute sulcata. I notice a few stuff in your enclosure that could use some improvement 1. The heating bulb I notice is way to close to your tortoise you wanna leave move distance. 2. For me I keep the enclosure dry with pine or your choice of bedding I do that for the reasons you wanna manually soak your tortoise 2-3 times a week for 10-15 mins that's more beneficial for the sulcata than having it on a moist environment. Also your method is good but in my opinion can get a bit better and more beneficial for the sulcata. 3. Keep up the good work I appreciate you taking the time to care for it. One last thing this calcium rock for me works really good for my tortoise.
https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-turtl...utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAjwiN_mBRBBEiwA9N-e_sL7nJKqSL0_ySXmLxo4XkelbdC67dlSpZ04A1NilAwuCnJoH1rHHhoCNt8QAvD_BwE
 
Last edited:

Maro2Bear

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 29, 2014
Messages
14,712
Location (City and/or State)
Glenn Dale, Maryland, USA
Yes it’s the same as a freeway. My parents always said “motorway” but I’m not sure whether that’s the current term for it in Britain anymore.:)

Of course....there’s also the “dual carriage way”

Today’s News: Abergavenny plane crash: Three pulled from burning plane after crash-landing on dual carriageway.
Three people in a light aircraft that crash-landed on to a dual carriageway in Wales have escaped without serious injury.
Daniel Nicholson, who was driving home when the plane "came out of nowhere" and crashed into barriers on the A40, said he and another man helped pull the three - a father and his two older children - out of the wreckage.
 

lymcBoris

Active Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
129
Location (City and/or State)
Scotland
Hi first of all cute sulcata. I notice a few stuff in your enclosure that could use some improvement 1. The heating bulb I notice is way to close to your tortoise you wanna leave move distance. 2. For me I keep the enclosure dry with pine or your choice of bedding I do that for the reasons you wanna manually soak your tortoise 2-3 times a week for 10-15 mins that's more beneficial for the sulcata than having it on a moist environment. Also your method is good but in my opinion can get a bit better and more beneficial for the sulcata. 3. Keep up the good work I appreciate you taking the time to care for it. One last thing this calcium rock for me works really good for my tortoise.
https://www.chewy.com/zoo-med-turtl...utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Zoo Med&utm_term=&gclid=CjwKCAjwiN_mBRBBEiwA9N-e_sL7nJKqSL0_ySXmLxo4XkelbdC67dlSpZ04A1NilAwuCnJoH1rHHhoCNt8QAvD_BwE
Thanks for advice. My tort is a Russian not a Sulcata. The flood basking bulb looks a lot closer in the photo than it actually is. It has a very deep lamp cover and I have the temp under basking in a rheostat to keep it around 33- 35Celcius. The other bulb is a CHE to help keep ambient temperature at 26 Celcius. I was advised by a few other forum members to keep juvenile Russians in a humid warm environment until they reach about 2 to prevent pyramiding. Now I'm confused that you say keep on dry substrate. Is it different for sulcatas? I bath him a few times a week also and only feed weeds. I dust food with nutrobal 2 X a week and calcium powder 3 X weekly. I have a cuttlefish. The tortoise block in photo I got just to see if he liked it, but he never goes near. Thanks.
 

Ben02

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2018
Messages
1,830
Location (City and/or State)
Brighton, Southcoast, UK
Thanks for advice. My tort is a Russian not a Sulcata. The flood basking bulb looks a lot closer in the photo than it actually is. It has a very deep lamp cover and I have the temp under basking in a rheostat to keep it around 33- 35Celcius. The other bulb is a CHE to help keep ambient temperature at 26 Celcius. I was advised by a few other forum members to keep juvenile Russians in a humid warm environment until they reach about 2 to prevent pyramiding. Now I'm confused that you say keep on dry substrate. Is it different for sulcatas? I bath him a few times a week also and only feed weeds. I dust food with nutrobal 2 X a week and calcium powder 3 X weekly. I have a cuttlefish. The tortoise block in photo I got just to see if he liked it, but he never goes near. Thanks.
Don’t worry, youngsters need a humid environment. Even young sulcatas need a warm humid environment to grow smooth.
 

Randdawgg

New Member
Joined
May 13, 2019
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
West Kelowna BC
Hi all, so I've added orchid bark to enclosure over Coco coir, just at one end to try and keep humidity up. I am obsessed with humidity and pyramiding since reading everything on site and I have an open table. Should I have soaked orchid bark first? I put in and poured warm water and misted, but humidity went down! Is it the wrong type, as I got the larger pieces.
I've put in a pic of the day I got my Horsfield at 18 months and all other pics are up to date. Do you think pyramiding is bad or getting worse? Thanks, Lynne.
View attachment 271917View attachment 271918View attachment 271919View attachment 271920View attachment 271921View attachment 271923

Horsfield need to hibernate.They spend half their life in hibernation and with out that time out they grow too quickly.Hibernation this winter will really help!!!!
 

New Posts

Top