I collected some seeds in the fall from rose of sharon plants and milkweed and plantain and of course dandelion. So I'm going shopping for lights today!
Juvie Sulcata (basketball size) indoor pen photo
- Thread starter Morla_theancientone
- Start date
Morla_theancientone
Member
Just wanted to post an update on this. Morla's respiratory infection seems to have cleared completely! She no longer wheezes and the bubbles and watery eyes have gone away entirely. She has two basking bulbs that are focused on one spot so the temps get over 100* directly underneath. She usually lays just to the side of them so she's basking in the 90's*. Her hide box stays constant at about 85* now. I bought some sulcata grass seeds online and have been planting tray after tray (we're up to 6 now!) and rotating them inside her pen. She LOVES them! I have also planted some seeds directly into the pen but they never get larger than 2" as she mows them down constantly.
I have been feeding her a mix of various hays, "weeds" such as dandelion and clover from outside, which we've been propogating religiously for her, and high-calcium greens such as turnip greens, various lettuces, spring mixes, carrot tops, etc. We also give her various vegetables like ppper and broccoli on occasion and have several hibiscus plants that we take flowers from for treats. She LOVES those. We have an aloe and cacti garden going and she regularly gets cactus pads and aloe shoots, which she gobbles up almost without chewing. I give her a fresh cuttlebone every two weeks, which is about how long it takes her to destroy them. She's very good about eating her calcium. And we dust her veggies with vitamin and mineral supplements roughly once per week.
Here's her latest picture. This was taken VERY early in the morning so the pen was still at 70* after a cold night. Her hide box was still a solid 85* though.
We spoiled her this day with hibiscus and some radish pieces because a friend asked for a pretty picture of her.
I have been feeding her a mix of various hays, "weeds" such as dandelion and clover from outside, which we've been propogating religiously for her, and high-calcium greens such as turnip greens, various lettuces, spring mixes, carrot tops, etc. We also give her various vegetables like ppper and broccoli on occasion and have several hibiscus plants that we take flowers from for treats. She LOVES those. We have an aloe and cacti garden going and she regularly gets cactus pads and aloe shoots, which she gobbles up almost without chewing. I give her a fresh cuttlebone every two weeks, which is about how long it takes her to destroy them. She's very good about eating her calcium. And we dust her veggies with vitamin and mineral supplements roughly once per week.
Here's her latest picture. This was taken VERY early in the morning so the pen was still at 70* after a cold night. Her hide box was still a solid 85* though.
We spoiled her this day with hibiscus and some radish pieces because a friend asked for a pretty picture of her.
Morla_theancientone
Member
I have a question, though. Since she already has pyramiding, how can I tell if I'm giving her adequate nutrition and care? What signs should I be looking for to show that she is healthy or otherwise? Because her respiratory infection has cleared, I assume I'm doing SOMETHING right. It would be nice to see visible signs in her shell, skin, or perhaps the eyes (?) that all is well.
She has trained us to take her for baths when she wants them. Very rarely does she try to climb out of her pen, but when she does I always take her straight to a warm bath. She usually relaxes for a bit (sometimes falls asleep! -lol-) and then will defecate when she's ready to get out. I bathe her roughly once per week. On occasion, when I take her out of the bath, I buff her shell with a tiny bit of organic coconut oil and a soft rag. She tolerates it but doesn't like to sit still for too long. It has sealed up the few "peelings"/chips/cracks (not a real "crack" per se, but just rough spots) in her shell and she's never looked better. I only do this treatment about once per month. Has anyone else used coconut oil on their torts' shell?
It would be nice to see visible signs in her shell, skin, or perhaps the eyes (?) that all is well.She has trained us to take her for baths when she wants them. Very rarely does she try to climb out of her pen, but when she does I always take her straight to a warm bath. She usually relaxes for a bit (sometimes falls asleep! -lol-) and then will defecate when she's ready to get out. I bathe her roughly once per week. On occasion, when I take her out of the bath, I buff her shell with a tiny bit of organic coconut oil and a soft rag. She tolerates it but doesn't like to sit still for too long. It has sealed up the few "peelings"/chips/cracks (not a real "crack" per se, but just rough spots) in her shell and she's never looked better. I only do this treatment about once per month. Has anyone else used coconut oil on their torts' shell?
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Great indoor enclosure. Very nice! ! ! !
Member it takes tortoises along time to heal. So improvement will be slow. You seeing her every day won't see it. Fast. Take a pic and the in a week and then another week. Look at pics and measure and weight. All will tell you. Great work. Do you do any soaking?
Prairie Mom
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WOW! I love to see everything you are doing!! Love the enclosure progress and photo with all the plants growing in vases etc was awesome! I have a rescue as well and just like you, I am continually expanding my supplies. I still need to get myself a good scale. As far as how to tell if she is improving...YOU WILL KNOW. Suddenly she will begin to get much heaver, be livelier, and under the right (humid) conditions you will see improvement in her shell over time. I agree with @Robertchrisroph. You will see changes in photos you take of her. In about 4 or 5 months, you'll be able to compare photos and be shocked at the happy differences.
p.s. We have a garden chat thread on this forum in the off topic chit chat section. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/garden-chat-photos-for-torts-and-people-♫-♫.104546/ I grow everything under grow lights and then transplant what I can outside. You should join in the discussion sometime and share what you're doing
p.s. We have a garden chat thread on this forum in the off topic chit chat section. http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/garden-chat-photos-for-torts-and-people-♫-♫.104546/ I grow everything under grow lights and then transplant what I can outside. You should join in the discussion sometime and share what you're doing
Wow I think she looks much better from the last time I saw pictures!! Great job!!
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