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When RTs burrow down into the ground, do they leave an obvious entrance? Is it easy to figure out where they dug in? I went out to my enclosure this morning to put my three back in hibernation, and only two are there. It has been so warm they wouldn't settle down when I put them down a couple...

I am in the Los Angeles area (San Dimas area) and it has been cold and even rainy the last few days. I seem to recall last year that my torts were hibernating by now. I hibernated them last year in my garage, in a nice sturdy plastic storage bin. I tore up bunches of newspaper into long strips...

I posted pictures and explanations about this project in the enclosures section. It is for my three RTs, so I figured I would encourage all of the RT people to go check it out.

Here is the concrete tortoise hide I have been working on for the past couple of weeks. It is actually a mortar hide (concrete wouldn't work), just in case that causes any confusion. I took a couple of weeks to get this completed but that is because I had a bunch of other projects going on at...

It has been over 100 degrees here for the last three days. It seems as though my three RTs are eating very little. Does this level of heat effect them like this? Or is it because the cooler months are coming soon and they may be anticipating hybernation?

Run for your life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddvuCBbFxh0&feature=player_embedded

Incredible creatures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lq0Mx44u7vM&feature=related

My three RTs eat well but I would really like to get them to eat Mazuri tort chow. I am currently soaking the Mazuri pellets and then squishing it into fresh broccoli florets. As they eat the broccoli they are also eating the mazuri. I would like to be able to eventually offer just the mazuri...

I just completed the enclosure for my three RTs. All of the wood is redwood and the footings are 12 inches deep of solid concrete. The walls are eclosed with galvanized wire mesh and the gate even has a self closing hinge along with a secure padlock (so my three year old son can't open...

My three Russian torties are outside and currently have free roam of my backyard. They will soon be confined to a 3 by 12 foot area, as my tort enclosure is almost completed. I will post pictures soon. Honestly, I have only soaked my torts a couple of times. They are very healthy and poop and...

My two female Russians are very healthy and have grown so much this year. I have no idea if they have mated with my male Russian, but if they have, when would baby torts hatch? Is there a particular time of the year for this? Just curious.

I have a one male and two female Russian Torts. The male sort of roams around mostly alone. The two females usually stay pretty close and usually sleep in the same hide box together. Today I walked up and noticed the females sunning themselves right next to each other on the concrete. Both of my...

We live in La Verne, CA. That's around 20 miles east of LA for those of you not familiar with the area. Our home is situated so that it is just a bit higher than the other homes in the area. Because it is a bit higher, it is a major stopping off area for all kinds of birds and we are apparently...

I am building a 3 feet by 10 feet outdoor enclosure. I am going to make the walls out of PVC and 1/2 inch galvanized hardware screen, because it is really strong stuff. I am going to bury it at least 8 inches down into the soil. Will my Russians rub against the screeen as they wander around...

I had to share this link to a site that has some really nice ideas for a do it yourself PVC cage. http://www.justforfuzzies.com/Other_Stuff/Cage/index.html It is designed for sugar gliders (very cute nocturnal squirrel like marsupials) but the ideas are very easily adapted to tort...

I am starting to build the outside pen for my three russians. I will bury a row of concrete block so the torts cant dig out, but more importantly, other critters can't dig in. How deep should I dig down?

In the enclosure section on TFO, I started a thread about an enclosure I will start building soon. In this section on diet and food, I want to ask a question about the foods I want to start growing in the enclosure. If you had to choose only a few tort foods that you have grown in the past...

I am building an outdoor enclosure for my three Russians (one male two females). I need to make it pretty secure, as we are getting dogs soon, and we do have coyotes and other critters in the neighborhood. I will dig down and bury some concrete blocks to act as a digging in or out barrier. I...

TFO Peeps, I know I am being a posting geek lately, but that's what we're all here for right? Anyway, I was just wondering something after sending a private message to another TFO friend. Would parrot pellets be a good supplemental food for torts? Back in the old days of reptile keeping...

Hi All, I have heard it is not a good idea to offer chicken egg shells to our torts. I understand the importance of avoiding salmonella, but that is easily remedied by boiling the shells for minute or so. I assume torts would eat egg shells they would come across in the wild, especially the...