Substrate questions

[Siren Nora]

I changed the substrate to the coconut type stuff mixed in a little bit of her old type bark substrate. At first Nommie seemed as though she enjoyed it, rubbing in it and such. My humidity issue is now stable at 80%, everything seems great and then- I notice she doesn't really explore as much as she used to. She eats, gets soaks, goes outside, etc. Now she just huddles on the outside of her Lil cave. Just laying there. I've made massive changes to her enclosure. In my opinion they have been slow changes as I learn to improve.

 

[LeopardTortLover]

She's probably just getting used to her new surroundings and basking. Is this spot the hottest area? if so she's probably basking. The only issue I can see if the size of the enclosure, she'll grow out of that pretty quickly, but other than that everything looks fab. Cute tort too.

 

[Greg T]

Some torts get into a definitely routine and are slow to embrace change. One of mine has her spot in the yard and that's it. No matter where I put her in the yard, she makes a beeline straight for her area. My male however likes to explore and goes everywhere. I usually have to hunt for him at night. They are all different. I'm sure yours will start exploring again shortly.

 

[Siren Nora]

I'm building a torti table and making changes to her current home as I go along. I've learned a lot from this forum.

Her spot is between the heat and her cave. She just sticks her face in the corner of the cave and stays there. :-/ maybe she can finally rest now that things aren't so dry and awful in there. I really messed up when I first got her, I listened to the stupid pet store guys

 

[LeopardTortLover]

Same here with mine. Mine would be like the egyptian pyramids now if it wasn't for this forum. Think I'm going to double my enclosure soon. And good work

 

[wellington]

You said she gets outside. If it is warm now where you are, you need to build an outdoor enclosure and get her out there every day, all day. You can bring her in at night or just before dark. However, getting her out when it's warm and sunny is much better the keeping them in.
Now, my leopards will explore like crazy when I change his stuff up and around. Then it's back to routine.

 

[Siren Nora]

I live in Tucson Arizona. Today's high was 80, so I let her explore the front yard for about an hour while I raked and stuff. That's what we do on warm days- hang outside before it gets too hot.

Also when is it the right time for a soak? I really hate changing her temps from her enclosure to outside to a soak to back in the enclosure.

Wellington, I'm nervous to leave Nommie outside alone. She's the size of my palm. I get freaked out when birds fly over her, what if there is a cat just waiting for the right moment? Leaving her out freaks me out, that's why we have hang out together.

 

[gieseygirly]

I live in Tucson Arizona. Today's high was 80, so I let her explore the front yard for about an hour while I raked and stuff. That's what we do on warm days- hang outside before it gets too hot.

Also when is it the right time for a soak? I really hate changing her temps from her enclosure to outside to a soak to back in the enclosure.

Wellington, I'm nervous to leave Nommie outside alone. She's the size of my palm. I get freaked out when birds fly over her, what if there is a cat just waiting for the right moment? Leaving her out freaks me out, that's why we have hang out together.

I can understand you being freaked out - I live in Ohio, but even in the warmest summer months here I can't imagine leaving my torts outside 24/7. What if there's a cat? What if they dig out? What if a possum gets in at them? Too many "what if's" to be comfortable. My leopard is only 2 3/8" and so precious; I would never risk anything happening to either my Leopard or my Russian.
On that note, I can't wait until the weather here gets better and I can let my two torts explore my huge yard, totally supervised

 

[DesertGrandma]

Look at the "Outside Enclosure" threads. You shouldn't be leaving your tortoise outside unless it is well protected.
You will need to put together some sort of outdoor enclosure that is secure from predators and also well shaded for the summer months in Tucson. If your tort is very small it should be brought in when the very hot heat sets in, just like you would with a very young one in cold months.

 

[Siren Nora]

I'm not ready to let her adventure outside without me yet, even after I build an outdoor enclosure. She's too small and the critters out here can be crafty when it comes to getting their next meal. I'm going to continue taking her outside and staying with her. She was cute yesterday, I placed her out on the lawn, then laid on her belly and stretched her feet out to enjoy the warm earth. I'm going to wait until she's at least a year old before I build her outdoor enclosure so if something may come her way she can defend herself.