i just acquired my first tortoise. i helped my son (when he was young) raise some red eared sliders, but this is my first tortoise. i'm excited to own him, but will certainly confess that i hadn't done enough research before buying him. but, i'm up for raising him as he grows. my husband will help me build houses and enclosures for him as he grows. we love animals and used to have horses, donkeys, turkeys, geese, peacocks, dogs, cats, a bearded dragon, red eared sliders, rabbits, chickens, etc., etc. we moved overseas for the past 4 years, but are back in the states now. i miss all of our animals, and love turtles, so i wanted a turtle to raise.
i'm still working on getting louis' first home all set up, it's coming along each day little by little.
the store i got my tort from just had him on that white calcium substrate that looks like sand. so, to keep things like he was used to, i went ahead and got some for now. i plan to gradually change him over to something different. i had some bedding that was made for reptiles that reminds me of cedar chips (although they aren't). i didn't have the original bag so don't know the name of it, but i soaked some it and put it in the corner of his "home" and he really likes it. i am reading through the forum and seeing many things i'm starting to implement in his housing.
one thing i noticed when i bought him is that the humidity level probably wasn't very high in his cage at the store, although the pet store was very humid to begin with, as they have a huge open fish "pond" in the store with 3 small sharks in it. so, my biggest project now is trying to get the humidity level up in his home.
the worker in the store told me that we didn't need a uvb light at all, and he only needed the "sand" and to be fed red leaf lettuce and carrots. in my research on the internet, i see that he needs a lot more than that. after raising a bearded dragon (who died last year of old age - we'd had since he was a baby), i immediately came home and ordered a uvb light for my tort, even though the shop worker told me i didn't need one.
i was also told that the store had the tort for at least 5 months. i was told that the tort was probably a little small for his age and breed.
i am also reading up on pyramiding and am concerned that i get enough humidity in his habitat to prevent that. i think his shell looks good right now, what do you think? and when can i get to the point where it's not so necessary to be concerned about pyramiding?
i open to any suggestions to help me out with my new tort.
i'm still working on getting louis' first home all set up, it's coming along each day little by little.
the store i got my tort from just had him on that white calcium substrate that looks like sand. so, to keep things like he was used to, i went ahead and got some for now. i plan to gradually change him over to something different. i had some bedding that was made for reptiles that reminds me of cedar chips (although they aren't). i didn't have the original bag so don't know the name of it, but i soaked some it and put it in the corner of his "home" and he really likes it. i am reading through the forum and seeing many things i'm starting to implement in his housing.
one thing i noticed when i bought him is that the humidity level probably wasn't very high in his cage at the store, although the pet store was very humid to begin with, as they have a huge open fish "pond" in the store with 3 small sharks in it. so, my biggest project now is trying to get the humidity level up in his home.
the worker in the store told me that we didn't need a uvb light at all, and he only needed the "sand" and to be fed red leaf lettuce and carrots. in my research on the internet, i see that he needs a lot more than that. after raising a bearded dragon (who died last year of old age - we'd had since he was a baby), i immediately came home and ordered a uvb light for my tort, even though the shop worker told me i didn't need one.
i was also told that the store had the tort for at least 5 months. i was told that the tort was probably a little small for his age and breed.
i am also reading up on pyramiding and am concerned that i get enough humidity in his habitat to prevent that. i think his shell looks good right now, what do you think? and when can i get to the point where it's not so necessary to be concerned about pyramiding?
i open to any suggestions to help me out with my new tort.
did the pet store tell you what species of tortoise you have there? 
