Aldabra enclosures

[incognet]

UPDATE: My tortoise has finally arrived! The little one is very rambunctious and shows a healthy appetite (for grass, herbs and Mazuri pellets). She (?) had ~5h to explore the enclosure before nightfall and fell asleep next to sedge clumps. It's fun to watch from our kitchen table. 🍿

We have yet to choose a name. I'm vacillating between "Olive/Oliver" (a reference to eye color) or "Akupara" (the Hindu World Turtle and modern Hindi girl's name).

 

[Tom]

Yeah, I stopped using it and bought another one from a diffrent brand just to make sure. Maybe it wasn't the brand, maybe it was just a "Monday piece" as we a´say here in Finland 😁

I don't get the meaning... A Monday piece?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I don't get the meaning... A Monday piece?

It means a dud, this is what one dictionary has to say: "Defective or low-quality product. It is said that Monday is a traditional hangover day, when the production usually turns out not so good." 😅

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

It means a dud, this is what one dictionary has to say: "Defective or low-quality product. It is said that Monday is a traditional hangover day, when the production usually turns out not so good." 😅

Same as "don't buy a car made on Friday"?

 

[jaizei]

UPDATE: My tortoise has finally arrived! The little one is very rambunctious and shows a healthy appetite (for grass, herbs and Mazuri pellets). She (?) had ~5h to explore the enclosure before nightfall and fell asleep next to sedge clumps. It's fun to watch from our kitchen table. 🍿

We have yet to choose a name. I'm vacillating between "Olive/Oliver" (a reference to eye color) or "Akupara" (the Hindu World Turtle and modern Hindi girl's name).

You got her from Sam?

 

[incognet]

You got her from Sam?

Yes, we did. She arrived in multiple layers of protection... cheesecloth, Styrofoam, straw and cardboard. I was nervous about live shipment via FedEx, given past experiences with home delivery, but employees at their 'Ship Center were more professional. Little tortoise was completely unfazed by her journey and I couldn't be more pleased.

 

[Big Charlie]

UPDATE: My tortoise has finally arrived! The little one is very rambunctious and shows a healthy appetite (for grass, herbs and Mazuri pellets). She (?) had ~5h to explore the enclosure before nightfall and fell asleep next to sedge clumps. It's fun to watch from our kitchen table. 🍿

We have yet to choose a name. I'm vacillating between "Olive/Oliver" (a reference to eye color) or "Akupara" (the Hindu World Turtle and modern Hindi girl's name).

Unless you know for sure she is a girl, pick a unisex name.

 

[TammyJ]

Your little Giant is absolutely beautiful. Make sure you have the humidity level right, l may be seeing slight pyramiding?

 

[incognet]

Your little Giant is absolutely beautiful. Make sure you have the humidity level right, l may be seeing slight pyramiding?

Thanks! I don't believe her shell is pyramiding; the position of LumenIZE bars overhead just makes it appear so in pictures. Under different light conditions, we only see normal growth rings. Either way, I'm watching humidity & temp with Sensorpush app. 📡

 

[incognet]

UPDATE: Hi folks... ~2 weeks have passed since a little Aldabra joined our family. We are going to assume that she's female until proven otherwise, at which point "Olive" will become "Oliver". ♀️ ♂️

Olive seems to enjoy her enclosure... alternately grazing and napping beneath the LED bars. She doesn't use the Petmate shell/hide for some reason (too dark?), but that might change with time.

Her favorite edibles are live mint and basil (from grocery store). She's also very fond of mulberry leaves (from local forest). We haven't tried cactus yet... I'm concerned that wild-type Opuntia may be too thorny for her.

Olive frequently drinks from a terra cotta saucer. I've never seen her take an extended soak, however. Should we do anything to encourage the behavior, or trust her instinct?

We're taking Olive to our herps-vet on Friday. I realize this may be stressful, but going without basic checkup would be negligent (imo). Our vet is also excited to meet/treat Aldabras.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Everything sounds great so far. I would not push tortoise to soak in the enclosure if it doesn't want to - Olive drinks on her own and, probably, soaks for several minutes and it's great. You can pour lukewarm water in the dish and see if she will take a longer bath.

If you are concerned about opuntia spines - you can remove them with knife. Also, cutting a pad in thin slices usually provokes them to eat it (smaller tortoises can't take a bite of older pads).

 

[wellington]

Yeah, I stopped using it and bought another one from a diffrent brand just to make sure. Maybe it wasn't the brand, maybe it was just a "Monday piece" as we a´say here in Finland 😁

Monday and Fridays are not the best work days lol. Said here in the US too.

 

[wellington]

UPDATE: Hi folks... ~2 weeks have passed since a little Aldabra joined our family. We are going to assume that she's female until proven otherwise, at which point "Olive" will become "Oliver". ♀️ ♂️

Olive seems to enjoy her enclosure... alternately grazing and napping beneath the LED bars. She doesn't use the Petmate shell/hide for some reason (too dark?), but that might change with time.

Her favorite edibles are live mint and basil (from grocery store). She's also very fond of mulberry leaves (from local forest). We haven't tried cactus yet... I'm concerned that wild-type Opuntia may be too thorny for her.

Olive frequently drinks from a terra cotta saucer. I've never seen her take an extended soak, however. Should we do anything to encourage the behavior, or trust her instinct?

We're taking Olive to our herps-vet on Friday. I realize this may be stressful, but going without basic checkup would be negligent (imo). Our vet is also excited to meet/treat Aldabras.

Oh wow, be very careful with the vet. So many do more harm then good. They don't know much if anything about tortoises, even herp vets. Mine and many others have never seen a vet. I wouldn't let them give her anything without first researching.
Btw, you can safely assume it's a male as females are not as common as males.

 

[dd33]

Her favorite edibles are live mint and basil (from grocery store). She's also very fond of mulberry leaves (from local forest). We haven't tried cactus yet... I'm concerned that wild-type Opuntia may be too thorny for her.

I wouldn't feed cactus pads with visible spines but the tiny little glochid spines that irritate humans are fine for them to eat. Be careful chopping up the cactus too small, they need to bite off mouth sized chunks. Cutting it into long thin strips can be a choking hazard.

Olive frequently drinks from a terra cotta saucer. I've never seen her take an extended soak, however. Should we do anything to encourage the behavior, or trust her instinct?

I wouldn't do anything to encourage her to soak in the enclosure, she will just wind up pooping in it more often. Soak her outside of the enclosure as often as you can, even daily if possible. They will probably drink some extra water and it is convenient to have them poop in the soak instead of having to clean it out of the enclosure.

We're taking Olive to our herps-vet on Friday. I realize this may be stressful, but going without basic checkup would be negligent (imo). Our vet is also excited to meet/treat Aldabras.

The vet visit is a necessary evil. The day may come when you need a vet you won't have time to figure out which one to use. Sorting it out now while the tortoise is healthy is good practice. That being said, there are few vets that know much about tortoises and a bad or inexperienced vet can do more harm than good.

 

[dd33]

Btw, you can safely assume it's a male as females are not as common as males.

I am not sure if this is the case for Aldabras (or Galapagos). I have been told that the farms in the Seychelles/Mauritius produce mostly females. Not sure if this is intentional from a competitive perspective or just that it is much faster to incubate at a higher temperature for females.
I believe that all three of our imports will turn out to be female.

 

[Tom]

Olive seems to enjoy her enclosure... alternately grazing and napping beneath the LED bars. She doesn't use the Petmate shell/hide for some reason (too dark?), but that might change with time.

Baby sulcatas are terrified of any sort of hole in the ground or cave, presumably because what ever African animal that made the hole would like to eat them. Russians and desert tortoises, will dive into any hole or cave on day one with no hesitation. I don't know where Aldabras fall on this spectrum, but I'd guess that the same techniques would work on them. I put sulcata Babis in their humid hides after dark every night, and after a couple of weeks, they usually realize that it is "their" cave, and there are no sulcata eating monsters in there.

Her favorite edibles are live mint and basil (from grocery store). She's also very fond of mulberry leaves (from local forest). We haven't tried cactus yet... I'm concerned that wild-type Opuntia may be too thorny for her.

I've never had a tortoise that would eat mint. I wonder if its a different type? You need to find "spineless" opuntia pads. They are never 100% free of all spines and glochids, but the little remnants are no problem for any tortoise species of any size. I feed young pads to tiny star hatchings. If you can't find them growing near you or in any stores, you can order them online. This is a very good food for the island giants because of its lubricity. It help keep the GI tract moving along. If you aren't already doing it, it is very important to get lots of fiber into them. There are many ways to do this, but be sure you are doing it. Grazing on real grass is best, but you can add soaked horse hay pellets, chopped and soaked grass hay, ZooMed Grassland Pellets, etc... I grow grass elsewhere, hand chop it with scissors, and mix it in with greens.

Olive frequently drinks from a terra cotta saucer. I've never seen her take an extended soak, however. Should we do anything to encourage the behavior, or trust her instinct?

A tortoise's instincts in a foreign land will often lead to its demise. Do not trust her instincts. Manipulate the environment, and make the right things happen every step of the way. They do NOT know where is the best place to sleep, what to eat or not eat, how to avoid injury or death, etc... This concept frequently espoused about giving them "choices" is asinine and dangerous. Choices are fine if ALL the choices are good options that lead to a good outcome and work within whatever is optimal for the species. For example, letting a tortoise park outside under a bush for sleeping on a night that will be cold, instead of putting it in its heated shelter, is just stupid. They often make the wrong choice if allowed. Don't allow the tortoise to make the wrong choice.

The opportunity to self soak in a shallow dish is great. They may or may not ever make that choice. You need to be regularly and frequently soaking this baby tortoise. Its keeps them hydrated, which is critical for good health and growth, and it keeps the GI tract moving, which is not always necessary, but it is always beneficial, and it is life saving in some circumstances. Soak your tortoise for at least 30-40 minutes every day for at least a couple of weeks in a tall sided opaque tub with warm water. Keep the water warm for the entire soak, and don't worry about it if the tortoise begins walking on the "tortoise treadmill" and trying to get out. This is EXCELLENT exercise and simulation for them, and this is ESPECIALLY important for both of the Island Giant species. This should have been done upon arrival. After that two week period, you can begin skipping a day now and then, and eventually cut it to every other day for a while until the tortoise gets larger.

We're taking Olive to our herps-vet on Friday. I realize this may be stressful, but going without basic checkup would be negligent (imo). Our vet is also excited to meet/treat Aldabras.

This is potentially dangerous and totally unnecessary if there is no problem. Not going to a vet when there is no reason to is not negligent in any way, and there is nothing to be gained from a vet that doesn't even know the species looking at the outside of an animal. Most vets know very little about tortoises and tortoise care, even reptile vets. If your vets wants to meet the tortoise, offer to let them make a house call. This will allow the vet to see the housing and care routine too. It would be a great idea to take in a fecal sample to check for parasitic worm ova, but this species is more sensitive than some others, and a stressful car ride for no good reason will do more harm than good. I'm just sharing my experience and opinion here. I won't be mad at you if you still decide to go, but do be careful. Most vets misdiagnose and mistreat tortoises, I'm sad to say.

 

[wellington]

I am not sure if this is the case for Aldabras (or Galapagos). I have been told that the farms in the Seychelles/Mauritius produce mostly females. Not sure if this is intentional from a competitive perspective or just that it is much faster to incubate at a higher temperature for females.
I believe that all three of our imports will turn out to be female.

Of all the Aldabras that members have had on here over the years, all been males. Excluding Aldabraman of course. However, even with Greg, he had a harder time finding females when he was looking. Not sure if he ever found any more.
I'd be surprised if yours turn out female. Out of three, I'd say your lucky to get one female.
Of course I'm just guessing from what I have seen over the years. Most likely anyone breeding had incubated for female, but just guessing.
Most species I have ever searched, years ago, not recently, males were plentiful while females were not.
But be sure to let me know how right or wrong I am when the time comes.

 

[Tom]

Btw, you can safely assume it's a male as females are not as common as males.

@dd33 already addressed this, but I was going to ask what you were basing this on, as my experience has been the opposite. Many people have females and struggle to find males for both island giant species.

 

[wellington]

@dd33 already addressed this, but I was going to ask what you were basing this on, as my experience has been the opposite. Many people have females and struggle to find males for both island giant species.

Not in Aldabra my friend. Not a few years back anyway. Even Greg wasn't finding them as easy as he found males.