Blkjkoknhrt
Member
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2014
- Messages
- 59
So, I’m skulking through the pet store after finding out they are out of the wood chips I need for Saddleback Brown. A flash of movement catches my eye, and that’s unusual in the reptile displays. I take a closer look and I see this tiny tortoise (aka turtle – a tortoise is a turtle, but a turtle is not necessarily a tortoise) racing (for a tortoise) around its enclosure, which was about 12” square, paper towelled on the bottom, with a water dish and a small plate of chopped greens.
HHMmm, Hermann’s Tortoise, it is $EXPENSIVE, and after a few minutes I was totally captivated. I know what chelonians need, both land and water, and neither are easy or cheap to keep.
Nonetheless, I started skulking with a purpose. I knew I needed the UVB3 lamp to get going, so I picked one up, along with a few other things for fun and maintenance.
The owner, Lance, assisted me and pointed out a few things to watch for and answered my questions. The heat light fixture had a stand included and a dimmer on the power cord, both useful features. I held off on vitamins for today but did buy a cuttlebone to grate onto food and they were selling opuntia pads, so I bought a couple of those.
Then, off we went, tortoise under coat, and supplies in hand.
Once home, I set up the 10 gallon tank (20X10 inches, about 40X25 cm) exactly as at pet store, and put Munster in (Hermann’s tortoise, Munster Hermann, Hermann Munster, get it?) with 2 hiding spots, 2 flat 6-inch logs to climb on and a small water dish.
See pic #635 + 640, day 1, December 14th, 2014 approximately 7:00 pm.
I offered some romaine lettuce, tortoise pellets and opuntia (cactus pads) on a yellow silicone coaster, and he tucked right in. He didn’t eat the pellets, though. The he crawled into the smaller hide and I turned off the lights.
Muster was 16 grams in weight, and just 37 mm long on Dec 14, 2014. This makes him less than 3 months old upon arrival. -
Next - enclosures from the beginning to the present - see ENCLOSURES next
HHMmm, Hermann’s Tortoise, it is $EXPENSIVE, and after a few minutes I was totally captivated. I know what chelonians need, both land and water, and neither are easy or cheap to keep.
Nonetheless, I started skulking with a purpose. I knew I needed the UVB3 lamp to get going, so I picked one up, along with a few other things for fun and maintenance.
The owner, Lance, assisted me and pointed out a few things to watch for and answered my questions. The heat light fixture had a stand included and a dimmer on the power cord, both useful features. I held off on vitamins for today but did buy a cuttlebone to grate onto food and they were selling opuntia pads, so I bought a couple of those.
Then, off we went, tortoise under coat, and supplies in hand.
Once home, I set up the 10 gallon tank (20X10 inches, about 40X25 cm) exactly as at pet store, and put Munster in (Hermann’s tortoise, Munster Hermann, Hermann Munster, get it?) with 2 hiding spots, 2 flat 6-inch logs to climb on and a small water dish.
See pic #635 + 640, day 1, December 14th, 2014 approximately 7:00 pm.
I offered some romaine lettuce, tortoise pellets and opuntia (cactus pads) on a yellow silicone coaster, and he tucked right in. He didn’t eat the pellets, though. The he crawled into the smaller hide and I turned off the lights.
Muster was 16 grams in weight, and just 37 mm long on Dec 14, 2014. This makes him less than 3 months old upon arrival. -
Next - enclosures from the beginning to the present - see ENCLOSURES next
<Chrissy waves from across the internet>
