Eazy - the Texas Tortoise intro

[Yvonne G]

@brigcampbell

I keep desert and Texas tortoises in California's central valley. I don't provide heated shelters for either of them. They brumate in insulated shelters that are big enough for them to stay in when they wake up and I don't put them back outside in their yards until the nights are consistently 50° or above. My thinking is they are acclimated to the cold weather having just brumated. They won't become active and won't eat until they can be put out in their yards when the weather warms up. Most of the time they don't start moving around in their brumation areas until it gets above 50° in there. Then once they're put outside if we have a cold or rainy spell I just go around and make sure everyone is in their yard's shelter. No need for heat.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Ah there you go Yvonne has advised you don’t need one after all! All is well, your guy can keep his favourite hide lol

 

[wellington]

Ah there you go Yvonne has advised you don’t need one after all! All is well, your guy can keep his favourite hide lol

Yes, but she did mention they are in a big enough shelter they can move around until she lets them out when temps warm up to above 50. The dog house I doubt is big enough. You still have to have room to provide food and water and to move around.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Yes, but she did mention they are in a big enough shelter they can move around until she lets them out when temps warm up to above 50. The dog house I doubt is big enough. You still have to have room to provide food and water and to move around.

Good point! Sounds like a shelter upgrade is in order then, that’s a nice project😊

 

[brigcampbell]

Eazy is a small tortoise, Texas tortoise are the smallest of the US tortoises. He's "maybe" ten inches long. The dog house is twice his length and width. I could get 4 in there!

Here are some pix

 

[brigcampbell]

Before you ask about the paper... That's his deal. He blocks the door each night with it. In the morning he'll poke his head out then make his way out. Here he is peaking out.

He makes me laugh. Quite the character.

 

[wellington]

Before you ask about the paper... That's his deal. He blocks the door each night with it. In the morning he'll poke his head out then make his way out. Here he is peaking out.

He makes me laugh. Quite the character.

View attachment 372321View attachment 372319

It doesn't look big enough to me, not for moving around, a water dish and food dish and to potty without having to stand/lay in it. Remember, this is for him to stay in after brumating, but still to cold to go outside. Do a trail run with the dishes and see how much room is left over. Even the door looks barely big enough for him. But I only get to see it all in a pic, not real life so use your best judgement.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Eazy is a small tortoise, Texas tortoise are the smallest of the US tortoises. He's "maybe" ten inches long. The dog house is twice his length and width. I could get 4 in there!

Here are some pix

View attachment 372317View attachment 372318

I think Yvonne and wellington mean a shelter that’s big enough for them to be able to plod around it, less the logistics of him fitting in there with a food dish if that makes sense?
I can’t speak to what size is needed because I’m unsure how long they have to spend in their hide according to the climate you’re in, but from the pictures I agree that it needs upgrading, but I’m sure a good enough size can be made in a cost effective way😊
Im picturing something like the photos below, the others can tell me if I’m off the mark lol.

Before you ask about the paper... That's his deal. He blocks the door each night with it. In the morning he'll poke his head out then make his way out. Here he is peaking out.

He makes me laugh. Quite the character.

View attachment 372321View attachment 372319

Either way I’d ditch the paper though and opt to put some appropriate substrate in, and install a door like one of the pictures I’ve attached, I’ve read the flaps take some getting used to for them but they hold in the heat which is what I imagine your guy is trying to do with the paper

 

[brigcampbell]

It doesn't look big enough to me, not for moving around, a water dish and food dish and to potty without having to stand/lay in it.

He doesn't go to the bathroom in the dog house. There's a newspaper sheet folded up on the bottom and that's changed once a month unless it gets dirty or wet for some reason.

He's never been fed in the dog house. He comes out to eat.

 

[wellington]

He doesn't go to the bathroom in the dog house. There's a newspaper sheet folded up on the bottom and that's changed once a month unless it gets dirty or wet for some reason.

He's never been fed in the dog house. He comes out to eat.

Reread Yvonne's post above. You are missing what she said.

 

[wellington]

This is the part that Yvonne said that I think you are not catching onto(They brumate in insulated shelters that are big enough for them to stay in when they wake up and I don't put them back outside in their yards until the nights are consistently 50° or above)
This is where the tortoise would need bigger and insulated, so they would need food and water available inside and they would not be going out to potty.

 

[Tom]

I disagree about the heat. There are just too many day in fall and again in spring that don't cooperate. June gloom, as it were, does't make it as far inland as Yvonne. They certainly don't need 80 degrees like a tropical species, and they can obviously survive with out heat in some situation, but being able to keep the night temp from getting too low when you don't want it to, and being able to offer a basking lamp for cold cloudy spring days after brumation and after they've eaten on previous warm sunny days, is tremendously beneficial. I've done it both ways, and begin able to control the heat and offer basking is better.

@brigcampbell What makes you think this is a Texas tortoise and not a desert tortoise?

The tortoise should be housed on dirt, not rocks.

Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

More here:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[brigcampbell]

@brigcampbell What makes you think this is a Texas tortoise and not a desert tortoise?

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the help.

1. Told by the previous owner, a veterinary surgical nurse he was a Texas.
2. Eazy is smaller than desert tortoise
3. Head shape matches Texas
4. Carapas matches Texas
5. Need to check the underside identifer today
6. He says "y'all" a lot

Differentiating Desert and Texas Tortoises - CTTC

An illustration of the differences between the Texas and the desert tortoise from California Turtle and Tortoise Club's Tortuga Gazette.

www.tortoise.org

 

[brigcampbell]

I disagree about the heat. There are just too many day in fall and again in spring that don't cooperate. June gloom, as it were, does't make it as far inland as Yvonne

Agree, about June Gloom. Good news, it's heating up this weekend.

I'll look at the Kane heat mat you recommend. Are those flexible? Do they bend at all?

Anybody want 1500 lbs of beautiful Mountain Blue 1-1 1/2" rock for landscaping? Ugh

 

[Tom]

Agree, about June Gloom. Good news, it's heating up this weekend.

I'll look at the Kane heat mat you recommend. Are those flexible? Do they bend at all?

Anybody want 1500 lbs of beautiful Mountain Blue 1-1 1/2" rock for landscaping? Ugh

We've had an oddly cool spring this year. A few warm spells, but man... This is why I advocate for the ability to control the temperature and offer basking when it is occasionally needed in spring or fall.

The Kane mats are not flexible. No bending.

I love your good humor, but no, I have no need for landscaping rock. Sorry.

 

[wellington]

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the help.

1. Told by the previous owner, a veterinary surgical nurse he was a Texas.
2. Eazy is smaller than desert tortoise
3. Head shape matches Texas
4. Carapas matches Texas
5. Need to check the underside identifer today
6. He says "y'all" a lot

Differentiating Desert and Texas Tortoises - CTTC

An illustration of the differences between the Texas and the desert tortoise from California Turtle and Tortoise Club's Tortuga Gazette.

www.tortoise.org

Lol, He says y'all a lot, that made me laugh.
As for the rocks, flower beds or fence line edging, outside of tortoise reach? Rock garden to grow cactus and succulents for the tort?

 

[brigcampbell]

As for the rocks, flower beds or fence line edging, outside of tortoise reach? Rock garden to grow cactus and succulents for the tort?

Yes, I can do that.

Bonus, there are tons of prickly pear cactus in my neighborhood. Grab a pad, fruit or flower here and there. Need a better system for collection that involves less blood.

Additionally, lots of rose bushes and Eazy likes rose petals.

 

[SinLA]

Yes, I can do that.

Bonus, there are tons of prickly pear cactus in my neighborhood. Grab a pad, fruit or flower here and there. Need a better system for collection that involves less blood.

Additionally, lots of rose bushes and Eazy likes rose petals.

I have growing pretty easily in my garden: honeysuckle, roses, hibiscus, evening primrose, geraniums, gazanias, hollyhock, nasturtium, clover, dandelions. I'm not an expert gardener by any means so if I can do it, anyone can.

 

[Yvonne G]

Since Ezie is a rock eater maybe we can assume he's lacking something in his system. I have found that adding a PINCH* of Miner-all over the food a couple times a week helps them get the minerals they may be missing.

*Pinch = a tiny amount squeezed up between thumb and forefinger

 

[brigcampbell]

Since Ezie is a rock eater maybe we can assume he's lacking something in his system. I have found that adding a PINCH* of Miner-all over the food a couple times a week helps them get the minerals they may be missing.

*Pinch = a tiny amount squeezed up between thumb and forefinger

His rock eating episode was long ago when he wasn't cared for properly. But I have no interest in exposing him to that again.

I purchased calcium without B3. And Vionate. That's what the previous owner used. I dust his feeding with it every other day.

When he comes out this afternoon I get a picture of his pyramids, they're massive. He looks like a little triceratops. Cool you can count the rings.