New Owner Show-and-Tell!

Jess84

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Sep 22, 2015
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Thank you Gillian!

Michelle I bet your daughter is having a blast. Spike definitely looks like she has a lot of personality. What a happy little tortoise! I would love to see her house if you have any enclosure shots :D
 

Michelle D

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Oct 9, 2015
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My to-do list for Millie today:

Bake more moss!
Figure out what to do about those weird little gnat things that popped up yesterday, bleh.
Install the new light that came today (very excited about that)
Sink a tray of testudo mix for her majesty's grazing pleasure.

And somehow figure in a bath and an application of creme to her tummy.

...and learn how to spell the correct word for a tortoise tummy...

LOL! :) ..her majesty...
What is baking moss?
Where do you get testudo mix?
 

Rutibegga

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I would love love love to see pics of your enclosure!! The double decker ones are so awesome and such a great idea to increase roaming space. I am gathering all sorts of ideas in my head for Millie's future home(s), and this sounds great!

Also great to know about the testudo mix...I have some planted but she's cutting through it and leaving trails that look like tiny tortoise crop circles. I wasn't sure if I should reseed those spots or wait to see if anything pops up after. I will reseed ;)

It's SO hard to get good shots. But front, side, level one, then level two (don't mind the dirty plexiglass.) it's on cool hairpin legs and looks sort of like a TV from the '70s.
 

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Rutibegga

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Michelle D

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Thank you Gillian!

Michelle I bet your daughter is having a blast. Spike definitely looks like she has a lot of personality. What a happy little tortoise! I would love to see her house if you have any enclosure shots :D

My daughter is in LOVE with Spike! Her favorite pet! We have three fuzzy dogs and a cat, but she is crazy for Spike!
I'm actually like you and searching for enclosures too. We just have poor Spike in a Tupperware for sleeping time right now! :( And outside for the daytime. I loved the enclosure that is earlier in this thread by the owner of Trogdor the Burninator!
 

Michelle D

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Oct 9, 2015
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Spike's enthusiasm for noms is making my heart go pitter-patter!
Hehe so funny! Me too! :)
I loved all the pics of your little one, so precious!! So little too! I'm obsessed with the enclosure you have. I'm trying to come up with a plan for Spike's new place. She is in desperate need! Do you have a plan of yours or a wide shot to show the whole thing. What is the stone-like material on the wall? I'm looking for any help! :)
 

Rutibegga

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Michelle D

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View attachment 152122

BO, Aldabran tortoise

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Jesse - male desert tortoise with his gular filed off

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Duc - Manouria emys emys

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Magumba, Manouria emys emys

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SO - male Aldabran tortoise

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Female YF tortoise

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OOPS!!! HOW'D THAT GET IN THERE?
WOW amazing torts! (And beautiful birds :) ) what is your biggest tort and how many inches is it? My kids are in LOVE with them! And they asked how much do they eat? Lol! :)
 

Michelle D

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Oct 9, 2015
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My other half posted the entire build here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Building-an-Enclosure-for-a-Baby-Redfoot.124422/

It was a lot of work, but well worth it. We're planning an outdoor enclosure for warm weather, and will have to double this one in the next year or two. It's crazy what we do for these guys--but Troggy is the culmination of years of tortoise obsession for me.

Wonderful! Thanks! Yes a lot of work - totally worth it!! I'm glad your getting to enjoy life with a wonderful tort after all that time! :)
 

Michelle D

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Oct 9, 2015
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Noms and helping me with my reading.

Troggy is my favorite ever dinosaur. I love him to bits.
Those pics are so cute! Love the one with the book! Looks like the making of a lap tort! :)
Thank you so much for the link above for enclosure! I would not have found it! The pics are so helpful! Lemmybites did an amazing job! I'm so happy for you! Keep enjoying your little one!
 

Nephelle

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LOL! :) ..her majesty...
What is baking moss?
Where do you get testudo mix?

I have been baking the dry sphagnum moss I buy from Home Depot in an effort to kill off any creepy crawlies before I soak it. I did it for 30ish minutes at 200F. I still have these weird little gnats that popped up, though, so I might need to bake the substrate, too. @Grandpa Turtle 144 said it was stinky to do, though hahaha, so I was trying to avoid it!!

Testudo Mix is here:

http://www.tortoisesupply.com/TestudoMix

Millie loooooves it. It started sprouting within 48 hours and by the end of the week the plants in my tray were taller than her! @ZEROPILOT told me that it had things like carrots and radishes in it I think, but the way she's going through it I'll probably never get to find out LOL.

It's also what @Rutibegga had in their amazing enclosure! I am going to seed my substrate, too...sooo excited for that! I bought a new light to try and encourage plant growth on the non-basking end, but now I have to figure out how to mount it :confused:
 

Nephelle

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My other half posted the entire build here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Building-an-Enclosure-for-a-Baby-Redfoot.124422/

It was a lot of work, but well worth it. We're planning an outdoor enclosure for warm weather, and will have to double this one in the next year or two. It's crazy what we do for these guys--but Troggy is the culmination of years of tortoise obsession for me.

THIS WAS SO COOL!!! Omg. I loved everything. The WALLS holy wow, seriously. And how awesome is it that you guys posted the step by step!! The details you put in right down to the little log wall were just amazing.

Love love love :D

I saw mention in there of the Mist King system. I've been reading about it a bit! Did you get the starter system or one of the others? I'm wondering if it's hard to operate and set up, or not too bad for a newbie to this concept?
 

Nephelle

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I'm trying to come up with a plan for Spike's new place.

I'm doing the same thing :) Are you all handy with building?

I am...not, but I'm going to try to build one, I think! A friend of mine sent me a text a little while ago that said he'd cut the wood for me...but I don't know what to make LOL

We will have to find cool pictures to share for ideas!!

:<3::<3:
 

Michelle D

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Oct 9, 2015
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I'm doing the same thing :) Are you all handy with building?

I am...not, but I'm going to try to build one, I think! A friend of mine sent me a text a little while ago that said he'd cut the wood for me...but I don't know what to make LOL

We will have to find cool pictures to share for ideas!!

:<3::<3:
This thread has me geeking out! I'm getting so excited to get started! With the ideas you've shared and lemmybites enclosure I'm wanting to get started this week! My husband does the building in this house, I do the painting or detail stuff. But a lot of times a home improvement place will cut what you need esp if it's straight cuts. We've had them do it for us for plexiglass before. I would figure out your deminsions first then check with a place near you. Or of course a friend could be helpful. :) I want to take lemmybites amazing ideas and fit it to my space. I think an L shape enclosure would fit our room better and give some extra interest for Spike. That would only work if I can make it wide enough go for Spike to turn around. I don't know yet if it will work yet or not, so we'll see... I love the plexiglass "windows " idea so my daughter can enjoy and keep an eye on Spike without having to grab her out too much. I want to plant that mix stuff you were talking about... So much to do... :)
 

Nephelle

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This thread has me geeking out! I'm getting so excited to get started! With the ideas you've shared and lemmybites enclosure I'm wanting to get started this week! My husband does the building in this house, I do the painting or detail stuff. But a lot of times a home improvement place will cut what you need esp if it's straight cuts. We've had them do it for us for plexiglass before. I would figure out your deminsions first then check with a place near you. Or of course a friend could be helpful. :) I want to take lemmybites amazing ideas and fit it to my space. I think an L shape enclosure would fit our room better and give some extra interest for Spike. That would only work if I can make it wide enough go for Spike to turn around. I don't know yet if it will work yet or not, so we'll see... I love the plexiglass "windows " idea so my daughter can enjoy and keep an eye on Spike without having to grab her out too much. I want to plant that mix stuff you were talking about... So much to do... :)

I am going to call Home Depot tomorrow and ask them if they will cut it! My friend that offered is a contractor, and when I asked him he said they wouldn't do the cuts. I can't see him chomping at the bit to cut wood for my tortoise enclosure LOL, but I am wondering if it's just never occurred to him since he does his own work. I will ask about the plexiglass, too!! I have a sheet just waiting to be cut, but I haven't yet because I'm afraid of breaking it!

An L shape would be awesome! There is this insanely cool enclosure that @Odin's Gma posted to a thread--it's for a Sulcata, but he's young so the humidity concerns are still there (vs an open topped table)

Here's her link! I've been following for awhile now, she's awesome! http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-mighty-odins-indoor-oasis-the-build.128248/ It's also a step-by-step and she's even put in a greenhouse! Plus Odin is sooooo cute!
 

Michelle D

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I am going to call Home Depot tomorrow and ask them if they will cut it! My friend that offered is a contractor, and when I asked him he said they wouldn't do the cuts. I can't see him chomping at the bit to cut wood for my tortoise enclosure LOL, but I am wondering if it's just never occurred to him since he does his own work. I will ask about the plexiglass, too!! I have a sheet just waiting to be cut, but I haven't yet because I'm afraid of breaking it!

An L shape would be awesome! There is this insanely cool enclosure that @Odin's Gma posted to a thread--it's for a Sulcata, but he's young so the humidity concerns are still there (vs an open topped table)

Here's her link! I've been following for awhile now, she's awesome! http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/the-mighty-odins-indoor-oasis-the-build.128248/ It's also a step-by-step and she's even put in a greenhouse! Plus Odin is sooooo cute!

Thanks for the link! I'll definitely will check it out!! I don't know if you have seen this yet in another thread, but a guy named alaskamike details nicely an idea for enclosure and option if you're not a builder, so check it out. It's actually in a thread about a rescue tort, real sweet story! I hope I can give the link correctly... Let's see... http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/bubbles-galore.125234/ if that didn't work I can try again... It's called bubbles galore. It's at the end of the thread.
 
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Gillian M

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My daughter is in LOVE with Spike! Her favorite pet! We have three fuzzy dogs and a cat, but she is crazy for Spike!
I'm actually like you and searching for enclosures too. We just have poor Spike in a Tupperware for sleeping time right now! :( And outside for the daytime. I loved the enclosure that is earlier in this thread by the owner of Trogdor the Burninator!
I'll be obliged to have an enclosure made. I'm afraid there is little or NO care for animals here, particularly tortoises that live in the wild, and are considered 'toys' for the very young children, as Adam put it. :(
 
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