Banana water

Shally

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Agree ^ why not just plain water?
Hi
Thanks for the reply.....I'm just trying to grow the best possible food for my lil one without fertilizers etc and was looking at homemade 'potions' to give the plants a boost and be nutrious for her to eat. I won't be using the bug attracting banana water now though lol

🙂
 

MenagerieGrl

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OK thanks for that .....I will soak her longer e/o day 👍
Basking is around 90
Cooler side is around 75-80
Humidity is around 50-55
I had real trouble at the beginning with the temps only getting to 84 max ....bought a new thermostat (even though previous one was new) and now it gets much warmer. I have a spray bottle that I spritz with every day and there is always fresh water daily in her water dish.

Any other tips tricks hints or info is greatly welcomed I'm a new torti momma so want to do the right thing.

🙂
Shally, so as mentioned above, it would be best to get some Coir, or Orchid bark as a substrate, and several inches deep. Periodically I will dump a quart or two of water into the substrate every week, this help's to get the humidity up. How old is your tort?
Is he/she in a closed chamber enclosure, or open top?
 

TaylorTortoise

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Hi
Thanks for the reply.....I'm just trying to grow the best possible food for my lil one without fertilizers etc and was looking at homemade 'potions' to give the plants a boost and be nutrious for her to eat. I won't be using the bug attracting banana water now though lol

🙂
There is not fertilizer in natural water. As far as I know..
 

Shally

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There is not fertilizer in natural water. As far as I know..
Your absolutely right well done ......but as I'm not using soil with any fertilizers I was looking at organic ways of putting some nutrion into the plants/maybe speed up growth by adding something to the water.
 

Shally

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Shally, so as mentioned above, it would be best to get some Coir, or Orchid bark as a substrate, and several inches deep. Periodically I will dump a quart or two of water into the substrate every week, this help's to get the humidity up. How old is your tort?
Is he/she in a closed chamber enclosure, or open top?
Yes I'm going to use the orchid bark. My partner got Turbo for me (for my birthday) from a reptile pet shop and was told he/she was 2 years old, but when another guy who runs a reptile shop saw he reckoned she/he was only about a year ....her shell measures 3 inches at the moment so not sure if that would have any relevance. My partner said he chose her because she was the smallest but don't know if they were all hatch mates. The enclosure is a closed unit with glass sliding doors.
Thanks again
 

Tom

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Your absolutely right well done ......but as I'm not using soil with any fertilizers I was looking at organic ways of putting some nutrion into the plants/maybe speed up growth by adding something to the water.
All plants need fertilization to grow. Fertilizers are okay for growing tortoise food, as long as their are no weed killers or pesticides in them. The tortoise should not have direct access to the actual fertilizer product, but you can cut off leaves and feed them to your tortoise.

Look up "compost tea". This may be along the lines of what you are looking for.
 

Shally

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All plants need fertilization to grow. Fertilizers are okay for growing tortoise food, as long as their are no weed killers or pesticides in them. The tortoise should not have direct access to the actual fertilizer product, but you can cut off leaves and feed them to your tortoise.

Look up "compost tea". This may be along the lines of what you are looking for.
Great thanks for that it's clarified a bit for me regarding fertilizer and pesticides etc .....I have got some organic soil for my tomatoes and strawberries so I could use that? ......and I will definitely look into compost tea ....if that involves teabags I've got hundreds that I use to stain paper when making books so bonus!
 

MenagerieGrl

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Great thanks for that it's clarified a bit for me regarding fertilizer and pesticides etc .....I have got some organic soil for my tomatoes and strawberries so I could use that? ......and I will definitely look into compost tea ....if that involves teabags I've got hundreds that I use to stain paper when making books so bonus!
Compost tea is made from soaking compost in a bucket and draining the dark nutrient rich water from it and watering your plants with that....I suppose you could throw some tea bags in there too...😉
 

Shally

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Compost tea is made from soaking compost in a bucket and draining the dark nutrient rich water from it and watering your plants with that....I suppose you could throw some tea bags in there too...😉
Oooooh nothing to do with teabags then 🤣 ......wondering what (if any) benefits it might have .....🤔 hmmmm
 

biochemnerd808

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Hi
Me again
I forgot to ask on my previous reply.....you mentioned putting Lime on plants ....I would be interested in trying this but would I still need to give the calcium on food each day or just the EarthPro supplement?
Thanks 🙂
You are asking good questions.
Lime: after weeds have grown in calcium enriched soil I don't think you need to ve sprinkling calcium on tortoise food more than maybe once every two or so weeks. Do still always have a cuttlefish bone available in the habitat though. My tortoises will ignore it, and then suddenly eat a bunch, and then have a growth spurt. Make sure it's calcium carbonate. :)
For soaking: if your tortoise is scrambling, it could be too deep, too warm, too slippery, too transparent.... I use a black or white opaque plastic dish bin. It has a little texture in the bottom. Haven't had any issue with tortoises doing more than the very normal tortoise corner walk.

The hissing is not a 'mad' hiss. Tortoises have to express a little air to make space in their shell to pull their head in. If you move suddenly or tortoise is having a shy moment, they will pull in, causing a hissing sound as they express air.

Your tortoise will get used to you, and recognize you as the food bringer. I soak my tortoises daily until they reach 400g, the slowly scale back to weekly IF I see that they sre helping themselves to water. My 3 year olds all self soak, every morning, going with the daily routine I established from day 1, soaking during my breakfast.
 
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