Recent content by incognet

ID I'm more inclined to question the hatch date. Maybe your little guy/girl was actually hatched this year, but someone goofed on the paperwork?

I'm also curious about this. Olive was ~9 months old and 800g when she arrived. This probably means a growth rate of 2-3 grams/day, which is consistent with sources that I can find online.

At present, we have a ridiculous number/variety of wildflowers to choose from. Heavy rainfall is the most plausible explanation... One particular honeysuckle vine and our tulip magnolia rebloomed, which is a pleasant surprise for everyone... Bergamot and Echinacea have run their course...

UPDATE: Our custom frame is here! It arrived in one piece thanks to an expert truck driver and large trailer (which barely fit through gate). I'm glad that we didn't opt for a 12' wide frame... I vacillate between calling it a "greenhouse" or "enclosure". The latter is probably more...

Same here. We mostly harvest from land which belongs to my family, but wild roses and bergamot are adjacent to an old highway. Passing motorists always give me strange looks while I forage.

The plated salad goes to my rabbit. She's unimpressed with bouquets. 🐰

UPDATE: It has been a great season for wildflowers and many cultivated plants. Thanks to this abundance of fresh tortoise browse, we haven't used any dried flower mix since early March. Last month was primarily tea rose, Coreopsis (aka "tickseed") and honeysuckle... This month is wild rose...

UPDATE: Hi everyone! Sorry for not checking in more frequently... the past few months blur together. I'm currently training for my new job, tending a sick rabbit and making tortoise-related decisions. Olive now weighs ~2.4 kg, which is more than double her weight on arrival (7/19/24). I expect...

UPDATE: Spring has sprung, launching Arkansas into what feels like summertime. At least Olive has more food options. She happily devoured blossoms from trumpet vine, honeysuckle, wild violet and magnolia (her favorite). One particular magnolia tree by our patio has flowered continuously for more...

UPDATE: We removed the lone spider plant. It already had mild sunscald (from close proximity to LumenIZE fixtures) and grazing damage (from a certain tortoise), so there isn't much flexibility with planter height. Olive has grown a lot in 6 months, and can now reach objects that were previously...

Belated Happy New Year from Olive & friends. She's pretty stoked about 2025... Her basking pose is relaxed, even when humans are present. Olive doesn't seem too concerned... Funny, childish voices intrigue her. Hopefully nobody will ever record my embarrassing falsetto pidgin... Her...

We arrived at the same conclusion. 40' one-trip containers are easy to find. They're also more durable than a mobile home shell. Either design could work, however. I see bargains every week through Facebook Marketplace.

Olive is known to splay/sploot in ways that look uncomfortable or just asymmetrical. I had semi-rational fears about this for a long time, but she isn't lame... just weird. In all likelihood, your tortoise is fine. Just watch their gait on flat/level surface, and possibly consult a vetrinarian...

Thanks for this guide! Your conservatory puts many zoos to shame. My juvenile Aldabra will graduate from her present enclosure (3 m²) to a polycarbonate greenhouse (20 m²) in August. The planned structure will be inside our heated garage, and serve as transitional habitat for indeterminate...

You're welcome. The first 2 pages of my "Aldabra enclosures" thread are where most planning occurred. There's a related thread for 8*4 enclosure lighting/heat. You'll have access to different brands of thermostat (Habistat and Microclimate) and radiant heat panel in the UK, but Arcadia brand...