Is this OK?

[Seiryu]

So this is now day 3 of having Thor. He's been doing great. He LOVES clover, both leaves and petals and dandelion as well.

So I sprinkle his food with calcium carbonate from "NOW". Well, of course since he walks on his food, not all of it stays on the greens and falls onto his ceramic tile. Well the little bugger is weird. I caught him eating/licking the calcium off of the tile...

Not the best picture, but you can see the white morsels of calcium on the tile and his face pointing down at the tile eating it. That red leaf was all that was left from his feeding, he doesn't seem to like red colored things.

I also for the first time, caught him burrowing some under his basking spot. I checked the spot while he was in there and it registered 93 degrees.

Basically his body is fully covered except his shell. He left a little hole for his head to go through.

And

Is him eating the calcium off the tile OK? I imagine so.

And I didn't know leopards buried themselves this much, or is this normal?

 

[Itort]

I think he is eating the calcium off the tile. Have tried a light misting of the greens and then dusting with calcium ? You could also try giving him a cuttlebone which he may enjoy. All my torts stars included will bury themselves to some extent, I think it is just another thermoregulation behaviour.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Yes it is fine. I also agree he might enjoy a cuttlebone in addition to the daily supplement. At his age he has a very high calcium requirement. Burrowing is great! Do you have a hide in a warm area? My little guy did this a lot until I put two hides in warm areas and now he spends most of his waking hours there.

 

[Seiryu]

Yes it is fine. I also agree he might enjoy a cuttlebone in addition to the daily supplement. At his age he has a very high calcium requirement. Burrowing is great! Do you have a hide in a warm area? My little guy did this a lot until I put two hides in warm areas and now he spends most of his waking hours there.

Ok thanks guys, was just making sure. His current hide is at about 85-88 degrees. So basically middle temp when room is 77-80 and basking 92-95.

He's actually sleeping at this point burrowed lol. Must be nice and comfy.

Currently in the works of moving him to the 48"x22" enclosure I just got back today.

So he'll have 2 hides, 1 in cooler area, 1 closer to the warmer area. Looking to find one of the plant saucers for his water dish, but not finding any that dont have too big of lips. No go on Home Depot and Lowes. Going to check some of the garden shops to see tomorrow.

And I will lightly mist his greens and hopefully the calcium will stick a little better. He goes all over the place when he eats. A little of this, a little of that and doesn't usually eat 1 green at a time.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Yes it is fine. I also agree he might enjoy a cuttlebone in addition to the daily supplement. At his age he has a very high calcium requirement. Burrowing is great! Do you have a hide in a warm area? My little guy did this a lot until I put two hides in warm areas and now he spends most of his waking hours there.

Ok thanks guys, was just making sure. His current hide is at about 85-88 degrees. So basically middle temp when room is 77-80 and basking 92-95.

He's actually sleeping at this point burrowed lol. Must be nice and comfy.

Currently in the works of moving him to the 48"x22" enclosure I just got back today.

So he'll have 2 hides, 1 in cooler area, 1 closer to the warmer area. Looking to find one of the plant saucers for his water dish, but not finding any that dont have too big of lips. No go on Home Depot and Lowes. Going to check some of the garden shops to see tomorrow.

And I will lightly mist his greens and hopefully the calcium will stick a little better. He goes all over the place when he eats. A little of this, a little of that and doesn't usually eat 1 green at a time.

Rob, that's how they eat in the wild, a bite here, walk some, bite that, walk some, bite this, walk some more. They will walk miles as they graze, that's one reason it's so hard on them to be contained...
Sulcata will walk hundreds of miles just taking a bite here and there...I'm sure Leo's do too

 

[tortoisenerd]

Rob-I really like the dish with steps, the Groovy Jacuzzi. I got the XL size and my less than 3 inch tort loves it! He spends so much time in there now. It was $25 but the best $25 I ever spent on him as we went through about 6 dishes before that, including ramp bowls, that he couldn't use. I also like misting the greens because it helps them intake water. They can also last a little while longer on the plate without wilting.