Taylor and her many pets!

caity_tay

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
22
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
Hey Y'all!

I am Taylor. I am a 21 one year old college student from the great state of Texas! I have a passion for animals, and I have a variety of pets to prove it!

I currently have 3 cats. Elphie is a 4 year old silver tabby, Bella is a 3 year old long haired blue with bright orange eyes, and Mungo is a 1 year old HUGE orange and white tom cat. I have a 3 year old ferret named Stitch, who is the boss of everything! I have 2 beta fish and 9 neon tetras. I also foster cats! I currently have six fosters, Phoenix, Dolly, Elsa, Ron, Fred, and George. But most importantly, at least for this forum, is my hatchling Sulcata tortoise named Neville.

I have had Neville for a little over a month. My husband and I have always wanted a large tortoise, and when my husband saw him at Wet Pets and Critters, he brought him home as a surprise for me. I was thrilled.

I love turtles. When I was very little, we has a large turtle that lived in our backyard in a large circular enclosure built around a huge tree. In high school, I had box turtles. I even hatched 4 little cuties! Having a tortoise is ALOT different, and I have done a ton of research on how to care for Neville. I am excited to be a part of this group that can help me with giving him the best life and connecting me to people who love turtles and torts!

Currently, Neville lives inside. He is WAY too little to be outside all the time. He does get frequent supervised playtimes outside in the sun and grass, but he will live inside until he is a little bit bigger. He has a 50 gallon tank because we already had that when we bought him. We are moving six hours away next month, and when we get to our new place, we plan on building him a tortoise table. We just wanted to wait until we moved instead of having to move it.

At one end, he has a UVB light and a heat lamp. He also has a hide on that side. It is a sideways terra-cotta flower pot, and it is his favorite place. In the middle, he has a food bowl where we keep timothy hay and a shallow water bowl surrounded by flat pebbles to help keep the substrate out. He also has cuttle bone here. On the cool end, we have another hide, a half log, and several different types on plants. All of these plants were listed as safe on The Tortoise Table website. He really loves one of them, but I don't remember the name of it. His substrate is a mixture of organic potting soil and coconut husk.

I soak him a few times a week in lukewarm water for about 15 minutes. I usually set him in the window when I do this. He really seems to like that. Occasionally, I will give him a tiny little bite of strawberry, romaine lettuce, or broccoli as a little treat. He also likes dandelion in the yard. He has quite a healthy appetite, and loves to sit in his plants and nibble. He doesn't like his timothy hay nearly as much as he likes fresh plants, so I try to give him a variety of fresh grass, plants, and weeds to eat. I am growing a little garden of plants and grasses specifically for him.

I usually handle him once or twice a day. He likes to sit in my hand and I rub his shell. He really likes that. I am trying to work towards petting him on the head. All my box turtles loved that. Neville is still a little shy, and we aren't there yet! One day though!

Any advice would be appreciated!

IMG_0803.jpg Neville!

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The "cool" side of his aquarium with plants, a hide, and his shallow water dish.

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The "warm" side of his tank, with a hide. Food and water dishes in the middle.

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Playtime outside!

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Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
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Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,389
Location (City and/or State)
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Hi Taylor, and welcome to the Forum!

747117wei24kafiu.gif
 

caity_tay

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
22
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
We planted new plants last night, because Neville has demolished the ones from the above pictures! Here are pictures on his updated home. IMG_0958.jpg
 

IBeenEasy

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Messages
297
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
welcome! your in the right place, lot of great people, info , and pics to find here! good luck with you new little guy, he wont be little for long!
 

tmh

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5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2013
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
turah, montana
Nice live in state where sulcatas thrive. I have wanted one but have to stzy with box turtles here in montana. But he sure is a cutie.
 

caity_tay

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
22
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
Welcome. What kind of lights are those in the fixture?
He has a heat lamp and a UVB lamp. My husband did the research on lighting, and fixed that up. He's kept reptiles and amphibians most of his life.
He also goes outside, supervised of course, pretty much daily to soak up the sun and to graze on grass and weeds.
 

tortadise

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Mar 2, 2012
Messages
9,560
Location (City and/or State)
Tropical South Texas
He has a heat lamp and a UVB lamp. My husband did the research on lighting, and fixed that up. He's kept reptiles and amphibians most of his life.
He also goes outside, supervised of course, pretty much daily to soak up the sun and to graze on grass and weeds.
The only reason I asked is because it appears to be a coil UVB bulb. Either the 13 watt or 26 watt one. I have not used them but many have used them here on the forum, and they have a very user non friendly rating of damaging the tortoises eyes and causing blindness. I know they're cheaper than a tube or mercury vapor bulb. But those are the ones that are needed to be used. Especially with a Sulcata.
 

caity_tay

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2014
Messages
22
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
The only reason I asked is because it appears to be a coil UVB bulb. Either the 13 watt or 26 watt one. I have not used them but many have used them here on the forum, and they have a very user non friendly rating of damaging the tortoises eyes and causing blindness. I know they're cheaper than a tube or mercury vapor bulb. But those are the ones that are needed to be used. Especially with a Sulcata.
I'm not sure what kind it is. I can ask my husband and find out for sure. I definitely don't want to be using one that is dangerous! If it is the coil kind, we will replace it with a better one as soon as we can get to the pet store (nearest one is about 45 minutes away), which would probably be this weekend.
 

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