- Joined
- Aug 4, 2012
- Messages
- 296
Was wondering if I could see pictures of all of your guys indoor enclosures.
terryo said:Thank you very much. Yes, Scott, that was Nora, my Ornate. She must have been about 33 years old. I had her since she was a baby.
terryo said:Thank you very much. Yes, Scott, that was Nora, my Ornate. She must have been about 33 years old. I had her since she was a baby.
Moozilion said:terryo, your setups are so beautiful. For me, they are the models of the type things we should strive for to keep our animals happy and healthy. Heck, it makes ME happy and serene to just look them!
And I love, Love, LOVE the pics of them going for a swim!
Moozilion said:terryo, your setups are so beautiful. For me, they are the models of the type things we should strive for to keep our animals happy and healthy. Heck, it makes ME happy and serene to just look them!
And I love, Love, LOVE the pics of them going for a swim!
terryo said:Thank you. I don't want to hijack this thread, but here is the article from the Tortoise Library, that I wrote. The last picture was put in by mistake. There should be a 40 gal breeder there.
https://sites.google.com/site/tortoiselibrary/Indoor-Housing/planting-an-interesting-habitat
terryo said:Great looking outdoor pen Terry! Do you have any problems with raccoons? I didn't see any screen covering them.
Thank you. For plants, I love this site: http://www.africantortoise.com/edible_landscaping.htm It has every plant telling you everything about each one. For the hatchlings, up until they are three years old, I keep them in a 40 gal. breeder tank. I use soil, mixed with coco coir. I put the plants right in the substrate in their little pots, right up to the rim. I don't use a hide. Under the plants I put some long fiber moss and on top of that some leaf litter. A nice size water dish so they can soak, and a flat piece of slate for them to eat on. Around the slate and water bowl I have frog moss to keep it clean. I have a little meal worm bowl for them too. I mist the plants in the morning which entices them to come out to eat. I water them right in their little pots once a week. On the top I have a long 5.0 UVB for a ten gal. tank in the middle and also a 100 wt. heat emitter, which is on 24/7. There is a screen top which I cover the parts without the tube light and CHE, with clear wrapping tape to hold in the humidity. After they are three years of age, they go out in the turtle garden for good. Even though I've been doing this for over thirty years, my copy of Tess's book is in shreads from reading it. I think it's the best box turtle book out there.
When the warm weather comes I make a little garden in a plastic Christmas Tree storage bin, and put it in filtered sun, under a tree with a screen top, and they stay there during the day until Winter comes, and then they come in again, until they're three.
This is the garden last Summer.