I have tort tables built up on a wall in the Manouria shed and in the leopard shed. They are about 4' long and a little less than 2' wide. There is a tube-type UVB fluorescent bulb hanging above and also a black light. The tube is only on 7a to 7a but the black light is always on.
Babies on hand this winter:
3 desert tortoises (up for adoption)
2 Texas tortoise
1 YF
4 box turtles
2 Manouria
10 leopards (hope to be gone to San Diego week-end after this coming
1 rescued leopard I've decided to keep because of his 'problems'
The desert and Texas babies come in the house for the winter, in Christmas Tree Storage Bins. The rescued leopard will go in the leopard shed in the tort table, and that leaves three species of forest-type babies. Here's where we get to a do-as-I-say-,-not-as-I-do situation. Because I hatched all these babies from eggs here at my home, and the parents are all healthy, I feel it is ok to keep the forest-type together for ease of taking care of them. Ordinarily I don't mix species. All my turtles and tortoises (except the water turtles) live in separate yards. I even have the different subspecies of box turtle separated.
An example of the tort tables:
Because the nights are now too cool to leave the babies outside, and because I'm too lazy to do the "ins and outs" of Autumn (take them out in the a.m. and in at night), I've started setting up the tort tables to receive the babies. I started with the forest-type:
They're not too happy. Tortoises really hate it when you move them around. I won't even see the box turtles for at least two weeks. The Manouria are little pigs, though, and they don't miss a chance at eating. They are the least stressed during a move.
Babies on hand this winter:
3 desert tortoises (up for adoption)
2 Texas tortoise
1 YF
4 box turtles
2 Manouria
10 leopards (hope to be gone to San Diego week-end after this coming
1 rescued leopard I've decided to keep because of his 'problems'
The desert and Texas babies come in the house for the winter, in Christmas Tree Storage Bins. The rescued leopard will go in the leopard shed in the tort table, and that leaves three species of forest-type babies. Here's where we get to a do-as-I-say-,-not-as-I-do situation. Because I hatched all these babies from eggs here at my home, and the parents are all healthy, I feel it is ok to keep the forest-type together for ease of taking care of them. Ordinarily I don't mix species. All my turtles and tortoises (except the water turtles) live in separate yards. I even have the different subspecies of box turtle separated.
An example of the tort tables:
Because the nights are now too cool to leave the babies outside, and because I'm too lazy to do the "ins and outs" of Autumn (take them out in the a.m. and in at night), I've started setting up the tort tables to receive the babies. I started with the forest-type:
They're not too happy. Tortoises really hate it when you move them around. I won't even see the box turtles for at least two weeks. The Manouria are little pigs, though, and they don't miss a chance at eating. They are the least stressed during a move.
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