The Book of Om: Or, Adventures in Tortoise Keeping, New Zealand edition
- Thread starter Stitchpunk
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Stitchpunk
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ALWAYS! Wish we could afford a cleaner. Hoping we might be able to get a dishwasher soon though, I've never had a dishwasher before. Reorganising my room was quite satisfying but now I've got a big pile of stuff in the basement that I need to put away somewhere. *sigh* we only moved here a couple of years ago and when we left the old place we filled 2 huge skips with rubbish....and we've filled another 2 since we got here. But at least I have the beginning of a tortoise table now!
Way to go! Progress slowly. I've learned that (at least) once every year, take a day to go through the things that have been sitting around. You may trash or donate more than you'd expect! The space you've cleared after that is always rewarding.
Stitchpunk
Active Member
Right, so yesterday thanks to @Tom I learned something important about substrates. Orchid bark is often recommended here as a good choice. However, the orchid bark sold in the US is made from fir, whereas in NZ it is all (as far as I can tell) made from pine. I gather that pine anything is not a great idea for tortoises. So I had to rethink. My breeder uses peat, which you can get from the garden centre with no additives in it. I've elected to go for coco coir, which I found on TradeMe sold in compressed bricks, as this seems to be the number 1 favourite substrate choice. You can easily find videos or instructions online about how to rehydrate it....but maybe don't look it up at work! Seems like most of the sites with instructions are dedicated to cannabis cultivation! Mine is hopefully getting delivered today - it cost me about $22 including shipping for what will amount to 10kg worth.
This weekend I plan to cut holes in the sides of my tubs and install tunnels between them (I'm thinking PVC pipe or similar) and sort out a pole and brackets to suspend the lighting from. I'll also get the coco coir hydrated and into the tubs so I can see what that does to the humidity.
This weekend I plan to cut holes in the sides of my tubs and install tunnels between them (I'm thinking PVC pipe or similar) and sort out a pole and brackets to suspend the lighting from. I'll also get the coco coir hydrated and into the tubs so I can see what that does to the humidity.
Stitchpunk
Active Member
Yay compressed coco coir!
(Beer bottle for scale and because it's bloody hot)
Even my biggest tub wasn't quite big enough for just half of it!
I'll leave it to drain overnight.
HarrietJonesPrimeMinister did her best "magician's assistant" pose
(Beer bottle for scale and because it's bloody hot)
Even my biggest tub wasn't quite big enough for just half of it!
I'll leave it to drain overnight.
HarrietJonesPrimeMinister did her best "magician's assistant" pose
Stitchpunk
Active Member
Apologies for the craptacular photos, I'm too tired and hot!
This is what we got done today. It's a bit of an experiment. The 3 tubs have had holes put in the sides and connecting tunnels made from kitchen containers with the ends cut off. The tunnels are at ground level.
My thinking is essentially 3 connected rooms. One will be the basking/hot room, one a cool room and one in between. Because I have 3 lids I can use them as I choose to help to control temp/humidity in each room. Also the tort will not be able to see his/her entire territory in one glance, which I hope will encourage exploration and provide a bit of environmental enrichment.
I also bought a cheap garment rack today. We're going to make it longer so that it will fit around the table and provide a height-adjustable mounting for the lights. Phew!
ETA: I also got some curtains put back on the window after some drastic surgery with scissors and double sided tape. Just as well - 6.30pm and it's still 88F in there. MAYBE tortoise ownership will make me happier about heat and humidity?!
ETA2: that's the coco coir in there, it turned out the 5kg brick I hydrated yesterday was the perfect amount. There's a good 10cm/4inches of nice soft substrate in each tub.
This is what we got done today. It's a bit of an experiment. The 3 tubs have had holes put in the sides and connecting tunnels made from kitchen containers with the ends cut off. The tunnels are at ground level.
My thinking is essentially 3 connected rooms. One will be the basking/hot room, one a cool room and one in between. Because I have 3 lids I can use them as I choose to help to control temp/humidity in each room. Also the tort will not be able to see his/her entire territory in one glance, which I hope will encourage exploration and provide a bit of environmental enrichment.
I also bought a cheap garment rack today. We're going to make it longer so that it will fit around the table and provide a height-adjustable mounting for the lights. Phew!
ETA: I also got some curtains put back on the window after some drastic surgery with scissors and double sided tape. Just as well - 6.30pm and it's still 88F in there. MAYBE tortoise ownership will make me happier about heat and humidity?!
ETA2: that's the coco coir in there, it turned out the 5kg brick I hydrated yesterday was the perfect amount. There's a good 10cm/4inches of nice soft substrate in each tub.
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Stitchpunk
Active Member
Oh yeah. This is me. In all my red faced and sweaty glory. Gods but I was built for colder climates than this!
Stitchpunk
Active Member
Tubs reading 97% humidity at 6am this morning. Yeaaaaah, I think I will let them dry out a little....
Awesome blue hair!
I don't think my industry will hire me if I dye mine "unnatural" colors, so I have decided I will when my hair turns gray. It's a blank canvas then! 
Prairie Mom
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HarrietJones! Ha
Prairie Mom
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You're so funny. Great hair too
Neil fuller
Member
Lols, Hi, I've been following your posts and am also in Auckland
Just been onto Trademe and scored some Coco Coir cheap as, and just around the corner from work.
Didn't even think to look there before, thanks
I have a 4 year old Hermans that i am rehousing and have been checking out the forum, turns out most what i've been doing is wrong
Fingers crossed there's no permanent damage.
Neil
Stitchpunk
Active Member
Oh yay! Glad I could help. And it's awesome that you're working to improve things for your tortoise, I hope you'll share some photos at some point. Don't beat yourself up. I think that some of the issues (like humidity) that many tort keepers are big on may not be quite so much of an issue here....my coco coir in the tubs is starting to dry out on the surface but humidity is still reading 97%. We should maybe worry about shell rot more than being too dry! There just isn't much info specifically aimed at this climate.Lols, Hi, I've been following your posts and am also in Auckland
Just been onto Trademe and scored some Coco Coir cheap as, and just around the corner from work.
Didn't even think to look there before, thanks
I have a 4 year old Hermans that i am rehousing and have been checking out the forum, turns out most what i've been doing is wrong
Fingers crossed there's no permanent damage.
Neil
does your tort have a name? The breeder says her baby Greeks are doing well but she hasn't shared any photos with me as yet.... April feels so very far away!
Stitchpunk
Active Member
And this is why tortoises are cool. They care not for silly humans.
http://www.themarysue.com/torteyes-wide-shut/
http://www.themarysue.com/torteyes-wide-shut/
Stitchpunk
Active Member
Haven't been around for a couple of weeks, simply because I had nothing to report, but today we put in the modified garment rack to hold the lighting. Now I just need to save up the $ for the actual lights. Won't THAT be fun!
George Coats
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- Dec 1, 2015
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Stitchpunk
Active Member
I went to the garden centre this morning and now my enclosure has baby plants! My plan is to let them settle in and grow as much as possible for a few weeks, and then probably take cuttings to propagate more before Om moves in. I bought spider plants, oregano, thyme, (tort may or not eat the herbs but if he doesn't we can!), baby's tears and coleus, and also some forget-me-not seeds that I have scattered around. (All listed on the Tortoise Table website as suitable for regular consumption.) Terracotta saucers for food and water, and a plant pot cut in half to make hides. I don't know yet if I will do a humid hide or not - as you can see humidity is plenty high right now anyway, so I'll wait and see what it drops to over winter.There will be plenty of rearranging to come I'm sure, but having the plants in at least gives me something I can fuss with while I wait for Om.
Given my 3-tub set up I'm not quite sure which way to go with lighting. I was going to do a MVB, but perhaps I might be better to have tube lights that can cover all 3 tubs rather than my original plan of having one "hot" tub with the basking lamp, a cool tub and an intermediate one. Anyone got any advice/suggestions?
Neil fuller
Member
How far away would the tube light be from the Tort? Will it still be effective from above the tubs? Maybe check out the specs for the bulb before you decide.
Stitchpunk
Active Member
The height is adjustable - the lights will hang from a garment rack that runs the length of the enclosure. For a tube light I'd be looking at using something like this http://reptilez.co.nz/exo-terra-repti-glo-10-0-uvb-105cm-40w/
