Fort Tort Michigan 2022 finally opened for the year.

FortTort68

New Member
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
I'm in a beach town about four blocks from the lake. You know it I'm sure I just like keeping locations secret on semi public forums ha I was born in Chicago and raised a bunch of Reds and Yellows up in Pilsen in the 80's . Was the resident herp nerd of the hood ha
 

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,660
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
I'm in a beach town about four blocks from the lake. You know it I'm sure I just like keeping locations secret on semi public forums ha I was born in Chicago and raised a bunch of Reds and Yellows up in Pilsen in the 80's . Was the resident herp nerd of the hood ha
I bet I know where you are. Many Chicagoans have summer homes there or used to anyway.
Then again there's a few beach places along the Big Lake in southwest Michigan.
 

lovingthelakes

New Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2021
Messages
14
Location (City and/or State)
Mt Pleasant, MI
555 SQFT. Planted Redfoot safe with mulberry , Raspberry, Blueberry, Rose of Sharon, Etc etc etc trust me when I say I planted all edible and tort safe plants ha This was a flat bit of yard with a mulberry bush already there so win win. Dug out ravines and high and low spots everything is up and down so they build those little leg muscles. . Scored a neighbors rotting log a few years back so now I have some nice day time hides. They also have security cameras on the pen from all sides but then again they have padlocked sunk in ground lock boxes for nights. Our local three legged raccoon pretty much has finally given up ... There was a smaller version of this pen on my old account here but that was ten years back. before anyone asks I don't incubate an egg unless the potential owner has read a few suggested books and I feel it's a safe bet it's a great owner . The males aren't mine and not even on property till the person is currently setting up their own indoor and out door pens if able. That being said this not a sales pitch haha I don't have one to spare all spoken for and no plans at all to breed unless the right person comes along..
Matilda - 17 Yrs Venezuela
Milly - 5 Yrs Brazil
Morty( Morticia ;) ) - 13 Yrs Columbia
Beautifully done. I live in the middle of the lower peninsula. We have a significant number of busy squirrels here. It’s my first year with being a tortoise parent & was figuring I would need to do a fully enclosed outdoor enclosure for safety. Do you find squirrels go in the enclosure with the tortoises? If so, do they leave them alone?
 

FortTort68

New Member
Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Michigan
Beautifully done. I live in the middle of the lower peninsula. We have a significant number of busy squirrels here. It’s my first year with being a tortoise parent & was figuring I would need to do a fully enclosed outdoor enclosure for safety. Do you find squirrels go in the enclosure with the tortoises? If so, do they leave them alone?
I have them in and out all year round they bury peanuts, So I get a little peanut plants in the pen courtesy of them. Chipmunks as well. Though I have never seen them ever bother the torts personally, I've heard from other keepers here and there that they worried for vitamin deficiencies or for whatever reason Squirrels, Chipmunks or other rodents might try and chew on shell, but I really haven't seen that. Depending on how big the tort is I dont usually baby sit the pen but let the cameras do the job ( I set sirens/alarms off in the pen via the camera if they detect movement the alarm blares). However when they are under 5 years old I sit out with them while they are out. Rarely unsupervised because I do worry overly for what always turns out to be nothing ha. But the one time is all it takes for a baby to be dragged off by a cat or crow. I want them growing as natural as possible from the get go. So I always recommend an out door pen. Even for our weather having the opportunity to dig down to their preferred micro climate or to just explore under and over logs and rocks helps ( this is my theory anyway) the torts avoid pyramiding along with everything else we all worry about. Every little bit helps. That being said if you worry and the tort is smaller. Use a plastic mesh that can be latched over a smaller pen . We're dropping back down to mid to lower fifties tonight and for the next week. So all the torts are coming back in temporarily. By the way it's 87° currently go figure Michigan ha
 
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