The Book of Om: Or, Adventures in Tortoise Keeping, New Zealand edition

Neil fuller

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Messages
63
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland, New Zealand
See you mentioning sprouts and it did make me giggle. I bought a couple of packs of seed a fortnight ago and just randomly spread it across the tortoise paddock, they grey within a week and were being eaten nearly as fast as they were sprouting:D You can see in the photo the seedlings growing, that's as big as they get. She scoffs them before they can develop any further.
I even place some pots with greens that I was growing in the mini greenhouse that's inside the enclosure, she even knocked them over to get at the fresh plants. Nothing is safe!! And the Skinks are moving in to keep her company :<3:20160226_175518.jpg 20160226_175730.jpg
 

Stitchpunk

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
206
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland New Zealand
See you mentioning sprouts and it did make me giggle. I bought a couple of packs of seed a fortnight ago and just randomly spread it across the tortoise paddock, they grey within a week and were being eaten nearly as fast as they were sprouting:D You can see in the photo the seedlings growing, that's as big as they get. She scoffs them before they can develop any further.
I even place some pots with greens that I was growing in the mini greenhouse that's inside the enclosure, she even knocked them over to get at the fresh plants. Nothing is safe!! And the Skinks are moving in to keep her company :<3:View attachment 167171 View attachment 167172
awwwww what a cutie! And a beautiful carapace :<3: I haven't taken photos yet but I rearranged my plants some over the weekend. Several are now in a very heavy ceramic planter, I figure they will grow down over the sides a bit and give s/he something to reach up for (and it'll protect them from being destroyed entirely.) The plants that are freestanding have been repotted into organic soil and bigger pots, with river rocks in the bottom to make them harder to knock over (I hope!)

should be picking up the baby over Easter, all going well. I don't drive so the Bloke has to drive me down and he wants to go away on his boat over the break...so I'm being secretly horrible and praying for non-sailing weather on the easter Saturday and Sunday! Then I've taken the following week as leave so I can get the Om settled in. It's all getting very close very fast!
 

Oxalis

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Messages
3,040
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan

Oxalis

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Messages
3,040
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
awwwww what a cutie! And a beautiful carapace :<3: I haven't taken photos yet but I rearranged my plants some over the weekend. Several are now in a very heavy ceramic planter, I figure they will grow down over the sides a bit and give s/he something to reach up for (and it'll protect them from being destroyed entirely.) The plants that are freestanding have been repotted into organic soil and bigger pots, with river rocks in the bottom to make them harder to knock over (I hope!)

should be picking up the baby over Easter, all going well. I don't drive so the Bloke has to drive me down and he wants to go away on his boat over the break...so I'm being secretly horrible and praying for non-sailing weather on the easter Saturday and Sunday! Then I've taken the following week as leave so I can get the Om settled in. It's all getting very close very fast!
Sounds like some great progress! Can't wait for more photos when this all comes together! :)
 

Stitchpunk

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
206
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland New Zealand
I just realised it's probably 3 weeks at the most till I get Om! EEEEK! I feel like there is so much I still don't know.
I'm still playing around with the enclosure layout and plants. The tiny forget-me-not seedlings seems to have been too small to survive transplanting, so I shall have to get some more seeds. The thyme isn't looking great, so I may pull that out and bring in some wandering jew from the garden. I probably ought to take the standalone pots out for a few months to let any pesticides work their way out, I guess. Is there actual documented evidence of adverse effects from feeding direct-from-the-garden-centre plants to torts?

Hoping to get the lighting sorted over the next week or so. Now I'm wondering about hides. At the moment I have a plastic plant pot cut in half to make 2 hides. I do NOT have a humid hide set up, the reason being that the problem in our climate is too MUCH humidity rather than too little. (I haven't wetted the coco coir down at all since I put it in several weeks ago and humidity has only just started to get down to around the 80% mark.) But should I be looking at making a hot DRY hide?

The breeder says she is feeding the babies only once a day to prevent them from growing too fast. I want some kind of guide as to the ideal speed of weight gain and growth so I can keep an eye on it. This forum is quite big and sometimes it's hard to find answers to specific questions like these...
 

Oxalis

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Messages
3,040
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
I just realised it's probably 3 weeks at the most till I get Om! EEEEK! I feel like there is so much I still don't know.
I'm still playing around with the enclosure layout and plants. The tiny forget-me-not seedlings seems to have been too small to survive transplanting, so I shall have to get some more seeds. The thyme isn't looking great, so I may pull that out and bring in some wandering jew from the garden. I probably ought to take the standalone pots out for a few months to let any pesticides work their way out, I guess. Is there actual documented evidence of adverse effects from feeding direct-from-the-garden-centre plants to torts?

Hoping to get the lighting sorted over the next week or so. Now I'm wondering about hides. At the moment I have a plastic plant pot cut in half to make 2 hides. I do NOT have a humid hide set up, the reason being that the problem in our climate is too MUCH humidity rather than too little. (I haven't wetted the coco coir down at all since I put it in several weeks ago and humidity has only just started to get down to around the 80% mark.) But should I be looking at making a hot DRY hide?

The breeder says she is feeding the babies only once a day to prevent them from growing too fast. I want some kind of guide as to the ideal speed of weight gain and growth so I can keep an eye on it. This forum is quite big and sometimes it's hard to find answers to specific questions like these...
Some other people on the forum have mentioned the fertilizers and such that garden centers use to really get the plant growing and in bloom so that it sells. The chemicals aren't really all that great to feed to tortoises. The same goes for cut flowers you find at a florist. @Tom can provide you with lots more info about that. I'm not sure about documented evidence though, but I'd love to read about it if there is some!

As for the hide, a terra cotta pot might work too. I'll probably get one when we expand the tortoise table. I'm so hesitant to use plastic in my tortoise enclosure, but I've never seen him nibble anything more than his cactus block. The humidity you have will be good for a younger tortoise or redfoot though.

@franz_see made a Tortoise Growth Chart thread, which is pretty neat. I remember reading on there some rather detailed observations from keepers with a lot of experience! I can't really speak to growth since I've only had my adult male for about 7 years. Someone on that thread should be able to give you some good growth tips. :)
 

Stitchpunk

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
206
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland New Zealand
*sigh* discovered coco coir all over the floor, suspicious ginger fur on the oregano and 2 of the coleus plants squashed flat. Note to self: keep the door to that room CLOSED at night unless you want a certain super fluffy Maine Coon to adopt the tortoise table as her personal indoor bed...
 

Stitchpunk

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
206
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland New Zealand
We are ALMOST THERE! wooooo!

lighting:

That's an Exo Terra 10.0 UVB tube (4 feet long), mounted at the correct maximum height. It doesn't heat up the plastic tubs at all (phew). I got the fitting from Bunnings which seems to be the only place that sells them with a plug rather than a cable that needs to be wired in.
The basking bulb I'm still working on, and possibly it will have to be mounted separately and higher. Right now I'm testing a 75 watt household bulb. We bought a 60 watt spot initially but that was waaaaaay too hot. This one seems better but without a shade on it it might overheat the plastic. I've got it in a ceramic fitting for reptile bulbs because that was all I could find that would plug straight in, and you can't really fit a shade to it, but I might be able to bodge something.

image.jpeg image.jpeg

Under the basking bulb is a concrete slab, and there's a half log from one of my old aquariums as a hide for tn warm end of the table. The sad shrivelled plants are weeds from the garden but they aren't looking at all happy about being transplanted!

image.jpeg

In the middle tub we have food and water bowls and a mini garden. At the moment this works to keep the possible-pesticide-residue garden centre plants out of tortoise reach, while hopefully allowing the "safe" plants to grow and trail over the edge. The currently unsafe ones are spider plants, oregano and coleus. I've added cuttings from Wandering Jew and Christmas cactus, and sprinkled forget-me-not seeds as well.

image.jpeg

Down at the cool end we have a coleus (out of tortoise reach), another shrivelled weed and a hide, and a plastic log and leaves aquarium decoration, plus a piece of volcanic rock for something different to walk on. I'm not sure if the plastic leaves are a good idea or not, so shall watch closely to make sure they don't get nibbled at.

I think the only other thing I need to get still is calcium/vitamins.....as I'm picking the tort up from the pet shop I can get those there, and I also have a cuttlefish I can use.
It's all coming together! Kinda. Not long to wait now, though I still don't know what day we'll be driving down.
 

Neil fuller

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Messages
63
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland, New Zealand
Why put unsafe plants in at all?? Other than that it all seems rosey to me :)
I would definately be looking for a shade for the basking lamp, i used a cheap clip lamp from the warehouse with a 75w spotlight bulb. Just tie wrap the clip lamp so it cannot shift or fall.
 

Stitchpunk

Active Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2015
Messages
206
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland New Zealand
Why put unsafe plants in at all?? Other than that it all seems rosey to me :)
I would definately be looking for a shade for the basking lamp, i used a cheap clip lamp from the warehouse with a 75w spotlight bulb. Just tie wrap the clip lamp so it cannot shift or fall.

Mostly so that I remember to water them and keep them alive till they are safe! I've got too many house plants already and no room for any more in the rest of the house!
By the time I switched the 75watt bulb off it was up over 100F....I'm going to have to find a way to fasten it higher up I think.

Are those cheap clip lamps rated for a bulb that high? I was looking at table lamps in Bunnings and they seemed to be rated for no more than 40 watts.
 

Neil fuller

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Messages
63
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland, New Zealand
Mostly so that I remember to water them and keep them alive till they are safe! I've got too many house plants already and no room for any more in the rest of the house!
By the time I switched the 75watt bulb off it was up over 100F....I'm going to have to find a way to fasten it higher up I think.

Are those cheap clip lamps rated for a bulb that high? I was looking at table lamps in Bunnings and they seemed to be rated for no more than 40 watts.
That was why i mention the clip lights.. You can move them to suit and then just zip tie em up to prevent them moving.
 

Neil fuller

Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Messages
63
Location (City and/or State)
Auckland, New Zealand
That's what my littlun started with, but i had no idea about substrate etc. The lamp worked fine though :)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20120923_192130.jpg
    IMG_20120923_192130.jpg
    535.7 KB · Views: 16
  • IMG_20120923_192205.jpg
    IMG_20120923_192205.jpg
    410.8 KB · Views: 17
  • IMG_20120923_192215.jpg
    IMG_20120923_192215.jpg
    342.3 KB · Views: 14
Top