Recent content by biochemnerd808

I have a bunch of eggs incubating. Babies due to hatch July, ready to ship in Oct.

Yeah, when my girlsbare gravid, they start to bulldoze each other and open their mouths, sometimes even mount. They they start pacing. Then they dig test holes, and finally lay. My experienced females will lay a day or two after the first test hole. Younger, inexperienced females will sometimes...

I scored another non-functioning wine fridge on Facebook marketplace for $20. The interior lights still work, and it has 2 separate sides. I've used the little square unit (top) for years, but ran out of space this year. I'm using a heat cable with a JumpStart digital thermostat for the top...

That's awesome, I love it!

These flat rocks are shale, and a little softer than real rocks. I can scratch them with my fingernails to give you an idea for hardness. I'll double check for extra pointy ones and scrape down those edges, but the tortoises have been scrambling over this stuff for 6 years in their habitats...

This weekend's build: a shallow pond for my Russian tortoises, made from a cement mixing tub and rocks. Note: I made another pond in one of the other habitats last year by using rubber pond liner and cement. It's super leaky for some reason, so I'm experimenting whether I like this option...

I'm so glad you are thinking about how to keep him safe! I build multiple screened lids for each of my junior tortoise habitats. We have a lot of wildlife here too. They have hinges and a hasp lock with a quick link. Racoon proof, snake proof, coyote proof, rat proof. (For addutional safety, we...

I would NOT sink chicken wire in there. I personally have seen tortoises with missing toes from trying to dig through chicken wire that was sunken into the soil. Best to focus your energy in the wall itself. To dig a trench and set pavers in there vertically. It's a lot of work, but worth it.

Good question! How hard or soft is your soil? More loamy or more clay? I personally like to set the walls into the soil by 12-18" to prevent escapes, and I set a cement paver in each corner about 8" below surface, too. Being able to dig is good for them, they dig for fun or to stay cool. There...

Clarifying question: how do you know your tortoise is not urinating? If it is spending hours daily being soaked, it may be urinating multiple times during that time without you seeing it?

I want to share my winter break project: building a new 25ft x 16.5ft tortoise habitat that shares walls with my other non-rectangular habitat. 🐢 🐢 🐢 🧱 Level foundation ✔️ Multiple elevation changes ✔️ Meshes with the existing other habitat wall ✔️ Muscles from hacking through shale ✔️...

Do you mean he isn't expelling visible urates? Because tortoises with healthy diets don't expel urates that often (that's the white stuff). He may still be peeing in the water, you wouldn't see that necessarily because it is clear. Placing him in a bin and running the washer on spin cycle can...

Yes, an open container of water in the fridge for air humidity is a good way to increase air humidity without making the substrate too wet. Plus the closed water containers help hold the temperature steady. The OP is already doing that part. :)

The initial post brumation soak is baby bath warm. Tepid? Not super warm. I don't measure. I stick my hand under the faucet and when it feels just a little warmer than room temp, I go with it. As far as the humidity inside the fridge, that does sound a little on the dry side. Inside the...

I wouldn't add anything for now, while they are still growing rapidly. Just make sure there is nothing poky in the habitat. The skin could get a fungal infection if plastic is covering it and trapping moisture.