so...I caught my DT munching on dried bamboo leaves in the yard...is this ok? we don't have bamboo, but our neighbor does and the leaves always litter our yard.
i started bringing my tort in at night after finding out that my secure dog house i would lock him at night was not secure enough against raccoons--they are extremely intelligent and dexterous. i have been in this town all my life and had never seen a raccoon until a few months ago...until then...
you are not a bad person. you should definitely set some rules and boundaries with her...if that doesn't work, is there another relative she can move in with?
if you don't mind the drive, you can check out the san diego turtle & tortoise society www.sdturtle.org they have TONS of russians...will only cost you $25 for membership...after that, you can adopt as many as you want for free! but like others said, check your local rescues first!
people put heaters/lights in plastic doghouses quite often...especially in dogloos. as long as they are installed safely, it should be fine.
i do bring my tort in at night...mainly for safety...he sleeps in a rubbermaid box and never seems to complain =)
ok...i've been SO impressed with how sweet Oogie is and how he's seemed to easily adjust here. well, i've noticed something and was wandering if it was common...but...i think he was potty-trained??????
he won't "go" in his dog house or his indoor nighttime box...when he's outside, he ONLY...
thanks =) she is quite spoiled since my hubby only allows me 1 water turtle now. i rescued her from deplorable conditions...she had only ever been in water 2" deep (and was 7"cl when we got her), without a filter/lights/heater. she was fed 3 pellets every 2 days. she did have a rock to sit on...
a 75g is just fine (if you fill it to the top and make an above tank basking area, it will be even better)...i don't know her size, but the usual "rule of thumb" is 10g of actual swimming water per inch of shell-length. the minimum you want to go is 5g per inch of shell length. so, let's say...
My questions are: Do I need to have a completely dry area for her? Does she need to dig? I've heard that some females will lay eggs even if they've not been around a male. What do I need to do, if anything?
1). yes, she needs to be able to completely get out of the water to dry off...if not...
i was told by the society that heat is necessary to keep the humidity out of the burrow in our area...i live by the beach. but he also has 3 other burrows to use if he likes...one he only pees in, one he ignores, and a plastic recycling box upside down that he likes on occasion.
like yvonne...
i've heard that too...but they use the fangs in the back to get it into the system. venom on the skin without penetrating it should not cause anything more than skin irritation at most. but i am no expert on these...just have minimal experience and HAVE been bitten...to compare the experiences...