New Enclousre pics

[Seiryu]

Whew took about 3 hours today but I got it done. Well not quite yet but just about.

I still have about half the fake plant left and plan to add a little more. He has tried to nibble on the fake plants but hasn't been able to get anything. Hasn't tried for a while now. Still adjusting lights and am currently in the process of designing a way to get the UVB and Heat lamp inside.

I can do that because this new one is an extra 6-8" tall than the last.

Here's a full shot of it. It's 48" by 20". It has 2 hides. One near his food on cool side and one near the heat on warmer side. The 2 fake plants I raised the substrate some to make sure it stayed. The hill is slightly sloping, but not much, so we'll see how he does with that.

Here's a shot from one side to the other, lot's of site blocks with the new plants and extra hide. You can barely see the other hide behind the plant on the left.

Warmer hide.

Cooler hide next to food.

Thor eating on top of his greens/grass. I gave him 2 smaller pieces of spring mix and sprinkled a lot of grass pieces on top that are very small. He basically ate around them and probably got a few pieces. He didn't seem too pleased though lol. The food pile is the same now as it was in the picture (about 20minutes ago).

And Thor sleeping. Cracks me up the way they look when sleeping.

And lastly, Thor trying to climb wall in the Old enclosure.

And he decided to take a break during this attempt...

 

[Crazy1]

Rob, the new enclosure looks much better. I would still put a site barrier up so Thor can not see out of the tank at all. (pasture is always greener on the other side) So set it up so he can not see out with paper ot something. JMO

 

[Seiryu]

Rob, the new enclosure looks much better. I would still put a site barrier up so Thor can not see out of the tank at all. (pasture is always greener on the other side) So set it up so he can not see out with paper ot something. JMO

Yep will do. Those were taken right as I finished it. I've been keeping an eye on him to make sure he does not get any pieces of fake plant off.

And on that subject. Since he was probably a bit hungry (since he didn't want to eat his grass and little bit of greens), he kept trying to eat the fake ones.

He actually got a very tiny piece of it off ugh. So I have removed the plants for now. It was the size of like a tip of a pen (the ink side).
It will pass through right?

Should I soak him? He just pooped maybe an hour before this. Doesn't seem to have any breathing problems, he's moving around and I gave him some actual food for now until I get the plants situated. Seems to be fine.

 

[Seiryu]

Anyone on what to do if he got a tiny tiny piece of the fake plant? He seems to still be doing fine with an appetite.

Now I have to figure out what I want to do with the plants. I may get some real plants like Marigolds or something from Home Depot, but I'm not sure those would be tall enough, or enough of them to hide under.

Any recommendations on plants that don't need deep soil that get more than like 5" tall I could grow in a flatter container?

 

[tortoisenerd]

It should pass right through. I suspect it wasn't sharp if it's plastic leaf. That's the only thing I would worry about. I have heard of most torts (including my own) only being interested in eating the plants at first until they realize it isn't food. My tort tries to nibble when first introduced to one, but has never bitten off a piece, and stops by the second day. I would have just kept the plants in and watch to make sure the bites were limited to two. Who knows if he would even try to bite them now after that first taste? I also "show" my tort the plant vs. the food on his plats. He seems to get the difference.

Be careful with real plants. You need to buy organic (nearly impossible) or let them sit for 6 months or so for the pesticides to leech out. Sorry but I don't have experience with those due to availability of organic near me and not having a green thumb.

I agree on the site barrier and that it could be more rain forest ish.

Pet stores (and online) sell lamp stands for lighting and heating. Then you can adjust the bulbs in height and depth as well as translation. Are you just placing them on a screen or similar? I recommend the stand so the bulb faces are parallel to the substrate and you can adjust the height based on changing ambient temperatures throughout the year. I need to adjust my heat drastically in summer vs. winter by raising and lowering the bulb).

Especially since he likes digging I'd recommend the substrate at least 2-3 times as deep as you have it.

Looking great!

 

[Seiryu]

It should pass right through. I suspect it wasn't sharp if it's plastic leaf. That's the only thing I would worry about. I have heard of most torts (including my own) only being interested in eating the plants at first until they realize it isn't food. My tort tries to nibble when first introduced to one, but has never bitten off a piece, and stops by the second day. I would have just kept the plants in and watch to make sure the bites were limited to two. Who knows if he would even try to bite them now after that first taste? I also "show" my tort the plant vs. the food on his plats. He seems to get the difference.

Be careful with real plants. You need to buy organic (nearly impossible) or let them sit for 6 months or so for the pesticides to leech out. Sorry but I don't have experience with those due to availability of organic near me and not having a green thumb.

I agree on the site barrier and that it could be more rain forest ish.

Pet stores (and online) sell lamp stands for lighting and heating. Then you can adjust the bulbs in height and depth as well as translation. Are you just placing them on a screen or similar? I recommend the stand so the bulb faces are parallel to the substrate and you can adjust the height based on changing ambient temperatures throughout the year. I need to adjust my heat drastically in summer vs. winter by raising and lowering the bulb).

Especially since he likes digging I'd recommend the substrate at least 2-3 times as deep as you have it.

Looking great!

Thanks. Remember though I keep my temperatures the same year round it doesn't change, so I can put the lights on top. Room temp is always 70-80. Usually 73-77. Which varies the basking spot by 1-2 degrees. So if it's around 80, basking is 94-96. If it's around 70, basking is 91-93.

However I do plan to stick them on the inside since the cage is so tall. My basilisk cage has a bad lamp fixture where it basically kills the heat bulbs in a week. So I have to replace that. I got a nice zoomed fixture for Thor I'm going to use.

In terms of digging he doesn't dig. He more burrows half his body (about 1"). The soil now is 5" deep. And he's only 2" high.

The fake plants. He was REALLY going at them. Probably tried each leaf 4-5 times. When he actually got the tiny piece off, it was on the stem of the fake plant. He went back to both plants multiple times in a 2-3 hour period and kept trying and trying. Even after eating his greens.

I may raise and tape them to the wall, so the plants hang down for shade, but so he can't actually walk on or touch them for now. How did you "show" Trevor which ones were his food and which were fake? If you mean place him near his food, I do that, most of the time, especially today since he looked really hungry.

And ya, I realized, even if I got live plants I wouldn't be able to use them for a while .

 

[Greg T]

I'd take the fake plants out for now if he keeps trying to eat them. There's plenty of other stuff in there to occupy his time. It looks really good. He sounds like he is doing fine. Keep up the good work!

 

[tortoisenerd]

When Trevor took a bite of the plant without getting any off I then placed him on the food dish with food which he could eat. He then ate the food. Haven't see him go for the plants again after the first day so I guess he's easy. I didn't realize your little guy was going at it so much, so I agree with you now. Thanks for the temperature clarification.

Instead of fake plants (or you can try different types and return them if he tries to eat them), you can try other objects to block the line of sight and provide ground cover. I have a pile of timothy hay for example. It's safe to eat. With your moist substrate you may replace it more often so it doesn't get damp, but it's great for hiding in, especially the more fine/soft salad type of hays.

 

[Seiryu]

When Trevor took a bite of the plant without getting any off I then placed him on the food dish with food which he could eat. He then ate the food. Haven't see him go for the plants again after the first day so I guess he's easy. I didn't realize your little guy was going at it so much, so I agree with you now. Thanks for the temperature clarification.

Instead of fake plants (or you can try different types and return them if he tries to eat them), you can try other objects to block the line of sight and provide ground cover. I have a pile of timothy hay for example. It's safe to eat. With your moist substrate you may replace it more often so it doesn't get damp, but it's great for hiding in, especially the more fine/soft salad type of hays.

Ya, I have some timothy hay. I got him some ping pong balls too. So going to try that. Plants were a nice fix for sight barriers. But i'm not sure I could put rocks, as he might flip himself there.

I did slope the sides of the enclosure so if he tries to walk along side the wall, he's walking at a slight slope. Should make it very difficult for him to stand him and actually flip. So far so good on that. Hasn't tried to walk on the walls after I did that.

I also got a plant saucer for water. So we'll see how that works. Has more of a lip than I want, but I think it will work. Worth a shot anyways.

Took him outside yesterday for about 30minutes too. Temps at around 80 and he loved it. He already figured out how to get into the neighbors yard through the fence and would go to the same spot everytime after I moved him lol. He tried eating some grass, but just couldn't get anything up. Was more interested in exploring though.

 

[tortoisenerd]

When introducing a tortoise to the outdoors when they are used to their indoor enclosure my suggestion would be to have a moveable outdoor enclosure that they can feel safe in, not too much larger than the indoor enclosure. They also need a hide. Sometimes when introduced to a large area they will run and try to find a safe hiding spot they feel comfortable in. That is why they seem to run around quite a bit. Just an idea so you don't have to watch so closely.

 

[Seiryu]

When introducing a tortoise to the outdoors when they are used to their indoor enclosure my suggestion would be to have a moveable outdoor enclosure that they can feel safe in, not too much larger than the indoor enclosure. They also need a hide. Sometimes when introduced to a large area they will run and try to find a safe hiding spot they feel comfortable in. That is why they seem to run around quite a bit. Just an idea so you don't have to watch so closely.

Oh I don't think he's scared. I brought out his hides from his enclosure and he wanted nothing to do with those. He was biting at weeds and grass as he walked around. In total yesterday he was out for about 3 hours and I think he loved it. He was pooped. Went to bed at like 6:30 which is really early for him.

He's also used to being outside from the breeder that had him. He had all his tortoises outside at least for summertime.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Good to hear!