I suspect that there is an ant nest hiding somewhere in the substrate in the indoor enclosure for my Hermann's tortoise.
I have been trying to watch to see exactly where they are coming from but haven't been able to track it down yet. All I know for sure is that they are occasionally crawling...
You're welcome! Ever since I (i.e. my wife) decided where the outdoor enclosure was going to be, with a section where the ground has a significant slope, I knew that I wanted to put a "cave" in it. I'm pretty pleased with how it turns out, and Hermes seems to like it as well. He still naps in...
I used three approximately 12 inch by 12 inch by 2 inch thick sandstone paving stones for the roof. I sorted through the stack at Home Depot and found three that almost fit together like a puzzle so they make a nearly solid roof, and with between 4 inches (at the front) and 18+ inches (at the...
I'm not an expert on Marginated Tortoises so it's probably best to wait for someone who is more familiar with their specific needs. But for now I think it looks like a great start for a young one, especially if you add another hide.
As far as cluttering the place with plants, I again don't know...
That wood fence looks good, but after you bury part in the ground to stabilize it, it will still only be about 8 inches high above ground. You really want something significantly taller than that, especially for when Koya grows up and is 10"-14" long and can easily look up and climb up over it...
The plants with green and red leaves are Coleus.
The enclosure looks pretty good. But you really should have at least a couple of places where he can go completely inside to hide from the sun (or perceived predators). It looks like you have one good spot with the log arch, but a second on the...
It's illegal to possess a desert tortoise in California without a special permit. And neither the tortoise or the permit can be transferred to a different person without approval from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. If you want to adopt a desert tortoise, you need to fill out the...
Thanks! I actually used to have a really nice ceramic tortoise "statue" that was about the right size, but it was hollow and became an impossible puzzle when one of my cats decided to knock it off of my desk. :(
I'll look around for something sturdy so he won't break it if he gets too...
For Hermann's tortoises that don't really eat grass, I would go with this seed mix from the same supplier instead of the one that SinLa linked to: https://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=162
It still has some grasses, but not nearly as much as the...
Can you get a close up picture of the tortoise's face without the glass to make it easier to actually see the problem? The reflections from the glass make it hard to see anything more than a light colored spot.
Wait for a sulcata expert for a "final answer", but it looks pretty healthy to me, although it is showing signs of pyramiding on the shell already which could indicate that it isn't receiving proper care and might be an indicator of possible health problems that aren't visible right now.
Also...