Most of the plants belong to the group Colocasia or alocasia which are commonly known as elephant ears and philodendron. These are not recommended plants for most tortoises as they contain high levels of calcium oxalate. However, these are part of the normal diet in the wild for Burmese...
I kept the plants protected from them and they really didn't show any interest in the plants until recently (after 6 months in the ground). They were used to eating what I gave them to eat, but this spring their appetites have taken over and if I don't feed them enough, they will look for low...
I bought some from Home Depot, lowes and a local garden center. I also ordered the banana and fancy colocasia subspecies from online nurseries. This spring I grabbed a bag of generic colocasia bulbs and planted them. I clip leaves from them use these as a food source.
What are you feeding...
Enclosure update. Plants and tortoises made it through the winter fine. Plants have taken off this spring. My miniature Banana that was supposed to max out at 2-3 feet is trying to bust through the roof. A lot more shade now. The tortoises are going to be three in August/September sometime...
Mine happen to be brown mountain tortoises, but the breeder I purchased from sells both. I purchased from Vic Morgan in Florida. He is a very well known breeder and researcher of mountain tortoises.
http://defyingdestiny.org/shipping.htm
I have a garden around the corner of the house that I will likely use to expand the available area as they grow. When they are fully grown, I may have to re-evaluate my setup. I may let them roam the yard during the day. I have designed the enclosure so that I can create a doorway on either...
Our temperatures dip into the thirties with a freeze once or more per year. I thought I would have to bring them into my garage, but this set-up has allowed them to stay in the outdoor enclosure. It appears that they will be able to use the outdoor enclosure year round without being locked in...
Enclosure update: I am 100% satisfied with how this enclosure has worked out. I had a couple of concerns at first including water pooling on top, inability to keep temperature warm enough and inability to keep humidity high enough. None of these concerns have materialized.
I hung a milk...
Sounds to me that you should be fine with the resources you have already. Just give calcium and vitamin D once a week. I usually add it to the Mazuri tortoise diet that they get once a week.
Today when I fed my two Mees, I put a piece of sweet potato on top of some collard greens in two dishes. I usually try to feed them separately to avoid competition for food. After putting their food out, I walked away for a few minutes. Well Delilah ate her collard greens first and decided to...
I personally have never considered getting a UVB for my two browns. Do yours spend much time outside. In their natural habitat, Burmese mountain tortoises live mostly in shaded areas. They do like the warm sun when it is cool outdoors, but I'm more interested in providing shade for them in...
Thank you. They have a nicer yard than I do. It's been one of those projects that seems like it goes on forever but gives a great sense of accomplishment once it's done.
How large are yours? Mine are 2 yrs old and about 7 inches+. I expect they would be more cold tolerant as they get larger. I sealed up some vulnerable areas today and put Velcro on the door area to prevent the plastic from separating. I just got in the enclosure and it feels much warmer and...
The sun hits it between 9:30 and 11:30 and seems to warm it up nicely. Right now at 10:45 it is 74 degrees (F). I did not have a chance yesterday to improve the wind resistance in some areas. It should help to allow them to stay outside on some days, but I need to do some work to see how...
Thank you. This morning the temp is only about three degrees warmer inside. It's windy and one side came loose at the bottom. I'm planning to seal it up a little better today and see how we do with the sun during the day and the temperature drop tonight.
Getting ready for our first cool front. Won't be very cold but should give me an idea of what to expect when it does get cold. I will not be using a heater this time.
I'm monitoring temperature and humidity and will compare to the outdoor temp and humidity.
Thank you. On the wall is a trellis I made from copper pipe about 10 yrs ago. I used flexible copper pipe to look like vine branches that cross enough to make it sturdy. It is supported at the bottom by a ridgid copper pipe. Now it just serves as a backdrop.