- Joined
- Jul 12, 2012
- Messages
- 1
Hi, I am a new member to this site, although I have been reading the forums for over a year now. I own what I was told is a greek tortoise, and purchased him in May 2011. I live on campus of the university I am currently attending and he is a great pet to have! For the most part I am certain I take good care of him..we live in Utah and my dad has built him a wooden large cage with a built in hidebox..he has 12hr sun light and constant heat lamp, and i keep the humidity to 20-30%. I have a few questions that i cant seem to find the answers to so if anyone has the time and knowledge I would love to hear it.
1. Patrick (patty) eats mixed greens and can eat multiple times a day, but when I take him outside he is constantly picking at the dirt. Is that a sign he is missing something in his diet?
2. We stay on campus but my parents love when we drive down to see them, it is only a 45min drive and they have a huge yard and garden for him to play in. I am just concerned that car rides are scary for him, i keep him in a large plastic basket with grass food and a blanket but he gets ancy and tries to escape, does anyone know if car rides are not good for them?
3. Overall he seems to be a healthy turtle, but some days when he is breathing he kind of does a toad thing, where you can see his neck moving up and down, and his hands slightly moving in and out. Ive read that that could be RI but his humidity is low, and he has been doing it since ive bought him, i guess i should get him checked out but there are very few reptile vets here.
4. When we are at my parents house, the noise level is significantly higher, and he seems to be awake a lot longer, but when we are in my apt. He will sometimes spend all day sun bathing or sleeping. I do let him wander around the apt. But he seems to climb over the same thing over and over again. I am curious to know if they can get bored? I wouldnt want him to be unhappy :-/
5. At the pet store i believe they told us he was a male, after all i named him patrick, but they didnt seem to know much about tortoises. Does anyone know a few signs of checking and knowing for sure?
Thank you in advance for reading through this.
1. Patrick (patty) eats mixed greens and can eat multiple times a day, but when I take him outside he is constantly picking at the dirt. Is that a sign he is missing something in his diet?
2. We stay on campus but my parents love when we drive down to see them, it is only a 45min drive and they have a huge yard and garden for him to play in. I am just concerned that car rides are scary for him, i keep him in a large plastic basket with grass food and a blanket but he gets ancy and tries to escape, does anyone know if car rides are not good for them?
3. Overall he seems to be a healthy turtle, but some days when he is breathing he kind of does a toad thing, where you can see his neck moving up and down, and his hands slightly moving in and out. Ive read that that could be RI but his humidity is low, and he has been doing it since ive bought him, i guess i should get him checked out but there are very few reptile vets here.
4. When we are at my parents house, the noise level is significantly higher, and he seems to be awake a lot longer, but when we are in my apt. He will sometimes spend all day sun bathing or sleeping. I do let him wander around the apt. But he seems to climb over the same thing over and over again. I am curious to know if they can get bored? I wouldnt want him to be unhappy :-/
5. At the pet store i believe they told us he was a male, after all i named him patrick, but they didnt seem to know much about tortoises. Does anyone know a few signs of checking and knowing for sure?
Thank you in advance for reading through this.