A Long Forsten Tale of Woe, but with a silver lining...?

[Sara G.]

Thank you!
I wish I had more room for a larger indoor enclosure. The pics don't really show it but my room is quite literally cramped from trying to fit an enclosure even this size in there. But believe me, I was all for shoving my bed into the closet to make enough room for her .
But it should only be one more winter of this smaller enclosure (with outdoor summer time here) and then it'll be Florida with a wonderfully large (and secure) outdoor enclosure--weather permitting of course.

 

[Sara G.]

I think I read on the forum somewhere that Forsten's like a drop down temp at night? Typically her enclosure stays about 81*-82*F but under her hut it's about 76*-78*. I have a CHE on a thermostat so the temps in her tank stay pretty even, except for when there's a basking spot during the day of 90*F. So should the temps in her tank lower even more at night? I'm not really sure how much of a decrease in night time temps there should be.
Thanks in advance.

 

[tortadise]

That temperature drop is ok. Could go a little lower at night though. They can handle it indeed lower. One thing to consider though is the moisture. If it is too damp, moist, or wet and it dips cool that could be a recipe for bacterial, shell rot, and even an upper respiratory infection.

 

[Sara G.]

Should it go lower?
The whole tank has pretty high humidity but I don't want any issues with lower night temps and health problems like you mentioned.
I'd be okay setting the thermostat to bring the temp of the tank lower at night but if it's not necessary for her comfort/health/happiness then maybe I'll just leave it alone.

 

[tortadise]

Should it go lower?
The whole tank has pretty high humidity but I don't want any issues with lower night temps and health problems like you mentioned.
I'd be okay setting the thermostat to bring the temp of the tank lower at night but if it's not necessary for her comfort/health/happiness then maybe I'll just leave it alone.

If all is well and she's active, eating, and appears to be thriving then no need to change it. It can be quite stressful and hard for species like this to acclimate then be re adjusted. If that makes sense. It's also very very difficult to mimic a wild perfect temperature, moisture, pressure, and overall mini ecosystem. Those temps are just fine if she's doing fine. They're on the equator almost naturally so go through dry and wet seasons. Cool evenings during the wet season may be a time when they are not as active and kinda aestivate for a very short period. So many details can play into it. It can also get dangerous in captivity. So is she doing good(or appear to be?)

 

[Sara G.]

For the most part she appears to be doing very well. I'm sure she's stressed with all the tank changes but she's eating and soaking in her water normally. I noticed that the last two days she spent a lot of time under the basking light, which surprised me since she was never prone to basking.
Do you think it's because she hasn't had proper UVB lighting in a while? I know my sliders bask more when their MVB is on vs any other bulb (even though the wattage is the same). I don't know, maybe that seems silly.
But today she used her hut a lot after eating and I think she's starting to settle down.
But I wish she would poop! I'm gonna soak her again tomorrow and see if there's any luck with that. Of course I suppose it could be that she's pooping and then eating it before I find it, but I think she's probably just stressed plus she's going through some dietary changes so.
I gave her some Mazuri a couple days ago in hopes that would help but no such luck yet.

 

[tortadise]

The defecation perhaps is being consumed. Also the basking. Tortoises are very intelligent animals in a very simple sense. If they seek UV they will bask in it to absorb, if they seek probiotics they will consume there own feces. What diet are you feeding? How much UV light do you offer her and what kind? Forstens are a dry forest species on a coastal island in a really weird unique habitat and ecosystem. Where they're found is northern areas on the island where it can be pretty warm and humid. But under layers of forest canopies they can receive dry substrate and filtered light. Being on the equator the sunlight remains the same year around 12 hours up and 12 hours down almost like clockwork. But during the dry season they be a little less active with warm less rainy weather. So they tend to be more active during these times. There rainy season last for about 7-8 months too. So it wouldn't surprise me if they show it naturally even in captivity for a short few months to slow down and or behave a little differently.

 

[Sara G.]

Right now weeds are just starting to show up around here so she's got a decent amount of dandelions in her diet. And I'm growing numerous seeds and transplanted plants from nurseries into good organic potting soil but those won't be ready for a while.
She has a few spider plants in her tank she munches on from time to time but for the most part I've had to rely on store bought greens until I can get my seedlings to a decent size to start feeding her home grown stuff.
She loves endive, and I've been adding butter lettuce and a little bit of red leaf lettuce to her diet (I know lettuces aren't that great though so I'm going to make a run out tomorrow and look for better things). But she's had squash, sweet potato, strawberries and mango as treats for a bit. And lately she's been having plenty of dandelions but I'm on the hunt for more weeds!
We don't use pesticides or anything here thankfully.

 

[Sara G.]

Just realized I ignored the UV question. Whoops!
I have an MVB that I just got for her and its on from 10:30am-9:30pm.
And she has a CHE on the other side of the tank for ambient heat and night heat but that's on a thermostat.

 

[tortadise]

Pretty good variety. They love variety, any chance of finding some mulberry leaves/fruit? Also maybe some snails, or worms every 10 days or so they like.

 

[Sara G.]

I actually ordered two dwarf mulberry trees and they should be arriving any day now. But sadly I don't know of any mulberry trees anywhere on Long Island.
I can definitely get some snails for her and I want to put some earthworms in her tank as well. There was one pill bug that came with some of the plants I purchased but I don't think he made it too long. Or he's still buried in the soil somewhere.

 

[Sara G.]

My broadleaf mix is doing well it seems. I still have plenty of seeds left so I might plant some directly into her tank. It's definitely warm enough. Knowing BamBam she'll likely just stomp all over them before they get to be a decent size though.

 

[tortadise]

Awesome. They're very very curious and active species. They are one species that I constantly rearrange and "decorate" enclosures for. I constantly catch the little ones burying under a divider wall to go hang out with the other group next to them. They like to map out territory a lot. So one way to keep them in a new "territory" in a small environment is by rearranging things like plants, hides, rocks, logs, adding more taking away etc... Maybe try that once the weather is permissible to put her outside. Just be careful they are very good at climbing and digging.

 

[Sara G.]

I plan on building a pretty decent sized enclosure outside for the summer.
If the weather around here would cooperate at least!
I had heard that they were pretty decent climbers, so I'll make sure to cap the corners and have high walls. I wasn't planning on leaving her outside at night so I don't think I'll put a top over it. Especially because my yard has a pretty high chain link fence so we don't really have any predators that can get in.
As long as my little yorkie can't get in she should be fine. Though sometimes I worry about the cats going in there. Hmm. Maybe I should enclose it! O_O
Unfortunately her indoors enclosure simply isn't large enough for her (this was the biggest size I could manage and it just isn't enough) but she'll get more space over the summer and in a year she'll have a sweet outdoor enclosure in Florida.
But I'll definitely try to rearrange her enclosure too. It'll give her something to do plus I enjoy it!

 

[Sara G.]

For whatever reason, New York decided to be 70*+ the other day. So BamBam got some much needed outside time. So she spent a good two hours wandering the yard (With me watching the whole time of course as her outdoor enclosure isn't built yet).
My cat really seemed to take a liking to her though so I managed to get a couple super cute pictures of them together.

 

[Sara G.]

How I spent World Turtle Day:

The weather was delightful today and I'd planned on building the outdoor enclosure today anyway, without even checking the weather. By hook or by crook this thing was getting built!
So off to Home Depot I went (dragging mom and dad along. Dad owns a roofing business and Mom worked along side him for years. So they're carpentry experts!)


Picked up some fencing. Two sheets actually. Had to change the size of the enclosure but it's roughly 8 feet by 14 feet, maybe a little longer.



Jezebel wanted to help.



Bear was less inclined to do so.



After I put Bear back in the house (torts and dogs don't mix, even little dogs and slightly larger torts) BamBam got to come out and enjoy the sunshine for a bit. All supervised, of course.



The fencing is dug into the ground about 4 inches. We used an existing fence (reinforced with another long 2x4 along the bottom so there's no chance of digging out) as the back. This area of the yard gets a lot of sun during the day but a good half of it is shady once afternoon rolls around. We might have to cut back a few tree branches.




That little cut out section is so I can step in. I'm pretty short and wasn't blessed with long legs.



Popped in her large hibiscus and threw in some hides for her.
I didn't bury the pot in the left corner yet, and there's another clear hide that I want to bury in so its more burrow like.
And tomorrow will be plant buying and planting time. I wanna get loads of hostas and put them in. I have a nursery that is 100% chemical and pesticide free so I'll be giving them a call.




She got the chance to explore for about a half hour before it started getting too chilly and I had to bring her in.
But I think once it's planted and all prettied up she'll have a fun time destroying all our hard work!

 

[Yvonne G]

That's really nice. Looks great!!

 

[Sara G.]

Thank you! As long as BamBam's happy, I'm happy.
It'll look much nicer once I plant the heck out of it.

 

[Sara G.]

Planted some more plants today, and gave her a second water dish. And buried in one of her huts to create a cave/burrow type thing which she seems to like.
I think she's still a little confused about being out but she's still fairly active instead of hiding the whole time.
I might set something up so she has even more shade. Turns out it gets more sun than I thought!

 

[Rue]

It looks really nice!