Recent content by Mrgeez

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    Brumating in an enclosure

    I have decided to see if i can get my 3 Hermanns to brumate in my enclosure inside my outdoor barn. I live in southern pa and nightly temps in the enclosure are in the mid 50’s. Since i turned off the heaters the start of october, they have all but stopped eating they have not yet gone under the...
  2. M

    Keep it Simple

    Good day! I built what I believed to be the best enclosure i could, ascetically speaking. BUT, after 3 months, my 3 adult hermanns have destroyed everything. Thats ok with me as they are all very healthy. First, they flipped over every potted plant and, totally steamrolled the planted plants. 1...
  3. M

    Mgeez enclosure update 3/1/25. Good and bad!

    I run my fans 24/7 to assure uniform temp throughout my enclosure
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    Mgeez enclosure update 3/1/25. Good and bad!

    Yes.I added another tstat and a $6 usb desk fan. The slanted section is now controlling good with very good temp distribution.
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    Mgeez enclosure update 3/1/25. Good and bad!

    This should explain my fan setup:
  6. M

    Need some help with hermanns breeding!

    Do you know if tortoises come into “heat” like animals such as horses and dogs do? I know my horses are on like a 4 week cycle, but when a stallion is introduced, no matter where they are in their monthly cycle, they come into heat in as soon as a day.
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    Mgeez enclosure update 3/1/25. Good and bad!

    Still fine tuning. I will have to order a cheapo fan to circulate the air. Like i said, temp fluctuations when i open it up just for several seconds. At top 90 deg. At soil surface 75 deg.
  8. M

    Need some help with hermanns breeding!

    Agreed. I am watching their behavior closely. Where do people get one’s experience in this area of tort keeping? I can separate them now, but when i attempt breeding later, i will still have the same questions. I guess i can scour youtube for some vids on torts aggressive behaviors during mating.
  9. M

    Need some help with hermanns breeding!

    I surely agree with your comments. I just completed an additional semi attached area to my enclosure to separate the male from the 2 females when needed. My question is how long should i let this mating activity proceed before separation?.
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    Mrgeez additional update - Plumbing!

    Lol. I absolutely despise plumbing, but should have known better regarding drain sizing. Oh well!
  11. M

    Mrgeez additional update - Plumbing!

    I have plans for an indoor soaking tray also. I will manually turn a pump on from a heated water source, probably a 10 gal aquarium with aquarium heaters. Fill tray up with 90 deg water. Place tort in. Hopefully tort will stay soaking for awhile. Then a 12v normally closed solenoid will...
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    Mrgeez additional update - Plumbing!

    My design is simply to save me time. My tort room is in my barn basement, not my house. Any automations help. A larger drain line will definitely fix my problems. I have the filtration set up to filter out whatever needs filtered. With larger drains, i might be able to go on a 100% self...
  13. M

    Need some help with hermanns breeding!

    Long post- sorry, but i am in a self inflicted quandary suddenly. I purchased 2 beautiful healthy adult female hermanns last Saturday. I added a very healthy male yesterday. These are my 1st tortoises. I spent months researching the best practices for keeping them. I struggled thru the...
  14. M

    Mrgeez additional update - Plumbing!

    My second drinking fountain attempt developed yet another design flaw. After my 1st design had numerous leaking problems, i have since attained a system with no leaks. BUT, after i added a male to the family, activities really ramped up, if you know what I mean. Lol. They pretty much destroyed...
  15. M

    Mgeez enclosure update 3/1/25. Good and bad!

    Here is a pic of my latest update Good: looks nice. Bad: another design flaw! 1. As soon as I open a plexiglass slanted door, all the heat rushes out. Slanted design is appears to present difficult uniform heat. I will add another circulation fan to circulate the heat from top to bottom. 2...
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