Peter's thread

[peasinapod]

We do not know his age exactly, but he has been in our family since easter 1954. We have seen a huge increase in activity since we built his new enclosure and changed his diet.

The cold frame is specially made for tortoises, or rather the lower part with the door is. It also provides the necessary height to be able to attach a heat lamp on top and still have the required safety distance to the tortoise. The material also lets UV-B pass through, which I thought was a nice addition, although it isn't necessary for Peter as he will never be locked inside, but it would be ncie for hatchlings as well during the early spring and fall.

I got it from here: http://www.chelonium.de/

 

[peasinapod]

Damn you Swiss weather! It's been much colder and rainier than we would have expected. Yesterday it snowed down to 1200 meters above sealevel! (I am at ~600)

Tomorrow should be a bit drier and so we'll use that to install a heat lamp into the cold frame, otherwise Peter will never stay awake until the middle of october. :/

Aww. Just one more month to go until it is time to say goodbye for a while.

 

[lynnedit]

I know! Doesn't the weather understand a tortoise's needs?

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

We do not know his age exactly, but he has been in our family since easter 1954. We have seen a huge increase in activity since we built his new enclosure and changed his diet.

The cold frame is specially made for tortoises, or rather the lower part with the door is. It also provides the necessary height to be able to attach a heat lamp on top and still have the required safety distance to the tortoise. The material also lets UV-B pass through, which I thought was a nice addition, although it isn't necessary for Peter as he will never be locked inside, but it would be ncie for hatchlings as well during the early spring and fall.

I got it from here: http://www.chelonium.de/

Cool website...had to get my daughter's boyfriend to translate it for me, as my knowledge of German doesn't go that far (I knew about 25%, though! )

 

[peasinapod]

AW: Peter's thread

I mean, pfff! Who does the weather think he is? Rain in autumn??

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Cool website...had to get my daughter's boyfriend to translate it for me, as my knowledge of German doesn't go that far (I knew about 25%, though! )

I like that you can also find infos on how to install the heatlamp and everything. The woman who runs it is very nice. I phoned her with a huge load of questions and she answered them all.

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[peasinapod]

Hi everyone!

I was REALLY looking forward to this week-end, as I haven't seen Peter at all the last week. This being due to the fact that fall has turned him into a total couch potato. I have to leave the house at 6:45 and he's still sleeping then, of course. Then I get back in the afternoon and he's asleep again... xD

At the moment he's awake for maybe 3-4 hours, you can really notice that he's winding down and preparing for hibernation! I'm happy that we managed to set up everything in time for the cold weather, now he still has a place where he can warm up a bit and continue eating for a bit longer. Depending on the weather he'll start brumating in the middle of october or november (the later the better!).

It was nice being able to see him stomping around again! My mother told me that on some days he would almost straight up ignore the heat lamp and just be outside the cold frame the whole time, but on some days he would stay inside the whole time.

Next week will be a challenge. My parents aren't at home, they are visiting my aunt in Italy, so I'll have to manage the heat lamp and keep control over wether he's eating or not. I'll manage somehow!

Adding to that, some kind of fungi decided that it would be a very good idea to "infect" Peters food plantation... Soooo it's back to the fields.

I wish everyone a nice sunday!

 

[peasinapod]

I'll try to get some pictures of him "chilling" in his cold frame. He figured out the door pretty quickly too! BUt it was more due to him trying to run everything into the ground! xD

 

[lynnedit]

Love hearing about Peter!
That cold frame has really worked well.

 

[peasinapod]

I'm happy to hear some people enjoy my rambling!

We were so scared that the cold frame wouldn't work or that he wouldn't accept it. But ever thing went better than expected, he only freaked out for a day or two. And he REALLY freaked out. On the second night he was still running around outside at 10 pm in the rain. Now he has accepted it completely.

 

[peasinapod]

Eeew, eeeeeew!!!!

I came home earlier from University as I wasn't feeling too well. Straight away I went to check on Peter (still sleeping, what a lazy man!). As it has rained a lot and it has been really damp in the past few weeks a lot of mushrooms have started popping up in our yard, so I'm always removing them from the tortoise enclosure. So I was checking for mushrooms and I saw that one sprouted from underneath a piece of log. I lift up the log and what do I see?

Two small slugs and about 15 eggs.... Eeek! I don't really like slugs, I have probably set the Swiss record for having stepped on the most slugs (barefoot) in 5 minutes. I like snails, but slugs just weird me out a bit.

Now I'm kind of disgusted but intrigued at the same time. I left them where they were for the time being, as I don't know what to do with them right now. I'll most likely end up removing them. I'd be interested to know how far they have allready developed and when they are going to hatch. Probably next spring?

I know this update wasn't exactly on Peter, but it did happen in his enclosure.
Any ideas on what I could do with the eggs?

 

[lynnedit]

Are you kidding me? Step on them, lol!

 

[z901]

that's amazing.

 

[peasinapod]

But then I'd have snail or slug-mush on my shoe! I'm debating moving one part of the "clutch" into a jar with some dirt and moss and just wait.

 

[lynnedit]

That stuff is hard to get off. Good idea. At least they will be trapped.

 

[ILoveTortoises2]

Hello!

*Insert drumrolls*... There's updates!

Small things first, I bought some need seeds, I really think I might become a seed-shopaholic!
I bough a Centaurea mix, Marshmallow, Cichorium intybus and a Sempervivum mix, now I am really hyped for next spring!

And now to the big update:

The coldframe we ordered arrived! I expected it to arrive in 3 weeks at the earliest, but here it is. It took my dad and I about 3 hours to set up and we are really happy with the results. I am sure you all want to see some pics (and if you don't, I'll still post them )

The door will be closed at night, to prevent critters from entering. Furthermore I will add Plastic-strips (I don't know how to explain it, kinda like they have in some butcher shops?) to prevent the heat from escaping.

An automatic window regulator (?) is installed, I will need to adjust it in the next few days, so that it opens at the correct temperatures.

At the moment it is pretty bare inside, but I will add a half log and maybe a plant or two to provide shade.

We've only had it for a few days, but I am allready really happy with it. This morning there wasn't any sunshine, but still the temperature inside was noticeable warmer than outside.

I'll try to get some temperature readings soon.

WOW... This is an AMAZING enclosure you have... That is what I want to do with the enclosure I'm doing for the outside.I think you did a GREAT job on this enclosure.
How did you make the house you have in the enclosure OR where did you get it? Is it like a greenhouse???

 

[peasinapod]

Yes, it is like a small sized green-house. I got it from here: http://www.chelonium.de
It was expensive, but it should last a long time. Without this I wouldn't be able to keep him outside straight after brumation or shortly before it. It just helps during the cold days in early spring and fall. I was really surprised, even a small amount of sun will heat up the cold frame and it holds the heat quite well!

If you look around online you can also find som tutorials on how to build your own tortoise cold frame (at least I found a lot of german ones, they have the same climate problems as I have).

A small observation I made this afternoon: Normally Peter is pretty fearless, I think I've never seen him hide in his shell completely and you have to really sneak up from behind to make him flinch. Now that the temperatures have gone down I have noticed a huge change in his behaviour and/or his reactions. If you approach him he will retract a bit into his shell and just seem more wary of what you are doing. He probably feels more vulnerable now that he can't move so fast anymore. Once he gets his temperature up though, he's as curious as ever!

He managed to stage an early halloween scare today. I came home from University and wanted to check on him. I went into the yard and there I saw him... Head dangling from his ramp, legs limp, eyes closed. I told myself: "He's just sleeping, he's just sleeping..."

As I went inside his enclosure he still didn't react. I knocked on the ramp a few times, not wanting to scare him by touching him all of a sudden. Still no reaction. At that point I was really starting to freak out. Normally a few knocks on the ramp will make him come charging at you. Gathering up all my courage I touched his leg and.... wooosh! All limbs tucked into his shell. Boy was I relieved! He then proceded to stare at me angrily as if trying to curse me for having disturbed his beauty-sleep.

He got the last hibiscus flower as an apology. I've never seen an animal more capable of playing dead than a tortoise. I think that by the time I'm 25 I'll have grey hair!


Sorry for the long rant!

 

[ILoveTortoises2]

Yes, it is like a small sized green-house. I got it from here: http://www.chelonium.de
It was expensive, but it should last a long time. Without this I wouldn't be able to keep him outside straight after brumation or shortly before it. It just helps during the cold days in early spring and fall. I was really surprised, even a small amount of sun will heat up the cold frame and it holds the heat quite well!

If you look around online you can also find som tutorials on how to build your own tortoise cold frame (at least I found a lot of german ones, they have the same climate problems as I have).

A small observation I made this afternoon: Normally Peter is pretty fearless, I think I've never seen him hide in his shell completely and you have to really sneak up from behind to make him flinch. Now that the temperatures have gone down I have noticed a huge change in his behaviour and/or his reactions. If you approach him he will retract a bit into his shell and just seem more wary of what you are doing. He probably feels more vulnerable now that he can't move so fast anymore. Once he gets his temperature up though, he's as curious as ever!

He managed to stage an early halloween scare today. I came home from University and wanted to check on him. I went into the yard and there I saw him... Head dangling from his ramp, legs limp, eyes closed. I told myself: "He's just sleeping, he's just sleeping..."

As I went inside his enclosure he still didn't react. I knocked on the ramp a few times, not wanting to scare him by touching him all of a sudden. Still no reaction. At that point I was really starting to freak out. Normally a few knocks on the ramp will make him come charging at you. Gathering up all my courage I touched his leg and.... wooosh! All limbs tucked into his shell. Boy was I relieved! He then proceded to stare at me angrily as if trying to curse me for having disturbed his beauty-sleep.

He got the last hibiscus flower as an apology. I've never seen an animal more capable of playing dead than a tortoise. I think that by the time I'm 25 I'll have grey hair!


Sorry for the long rant!

Oh wow. I will have to go get one of these because it looked SOOOO good in your outdoor enclosure. I will have to look some stuff up on outdoor enclosures when I'm ready to do their enclosure. I did do my own indoor enclosure and it came out GREAT. I am VERY proud of myself for doing what I did to the enclosure. I have 2 Cherry Heads & getting my Hypo Redfoot in a few weeks. So I told myself I wanted to make an outdoor enclosure for them for next summer. I will look around and see what I come up with but I really do like this greenhouse you have. Makes it look VERY nice.
By the way Little Peter sounds like a GREAT tort. Would love to see some more photos of him

 

[peasinapod]

I thought the cold frame would stick out a lot in the enclosure, but it is prettier than I would have thought. I'll really have to do a quick photo shoot with Peter this weekend. Let's hope the weather cooperates!

The cold frames from this company are only sold in Germany. I had to cross the border to come get it. There's bound to be similiar stuff in your country. Once you start designing an enclosure you just can't stop can't you? You'll have to post pictures once you start building outside!

 

[peasinapod]

AW: Peter's thread

I have to admit, that hibernating him in the fridge isn't really my first choice. I would love for him to be able to self-hibernate in a secure spot underneath the coldframe, but I would need to prep it which I didn't have time for.

It just seems more natural and stressless to me. Futhermore the chance of a reddening of the plastron seems to be much lower than in a fridge hibernation.

It's a project for the future! (Me working with concrete? This will be fun!) Before starting any digging, I'll have to observe the ground temperatures during a normal winter. The problem is, that our house is heated using the warmth from the ground. This causes the ground to be colder than it would normally be. I have to find out how many degrees the pipes "leech" from the ground. (I don't know if that even has a noticeable effect or not) :s

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[lynnedit]

Yes, ideally they brumate outside. But you are correct in that you need to monitor temps over the winter, frost line, etc. Also, in a heavy rain, a lot of water can percolate under the cold frame. You mentioned your soil has a lot of clay, so does not drain well.
So keep that in mind too as you plan this out.