New From Los Angeles, California Area

[Tortinorm]

Hello all,

My sister is moving to Florida and wanted homes for her two rescued CA desert torts. I built a quick outside pen with five gallon buckets for two opposite facing burrows and walla, a new home is borne. We have raccoons that occasionally visit the yard (I also have a koi pond) hence the need for a removable mesh top.

These are not the first desert torts I've been around. When I was a kid waaaaaaay back in the 70's we had two adults. These are little ones and one isn't growing nearly as fast as the other. I fear it might have an illness but it seems pretty healthy over all, eating pretty well now, though not nearly as much as the big tort.

This place has been a wealth of information thus far! I've mainly been feeding hibiscus, blue and tropical species, rose petals, grape leaves, and a few weeds from the yard, A bit of Zoo Land Grassland food and produce as well.

Anyway, I'm still in my first week of ownership. Here are a few pics of the torts and new home.:shy:

 

[Candy]

Welcome to the forum. Your little guys that you inherited are very cute. You're right the one is quite a bit smaller do they get along with each other good? I was wondering about the enclosure and since I don't know too much about Raccoons I just wanted to know if that would be secure enough to keep one out? Yes there's a lot of information on here and we're glad to have you.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Tortinorm:

Welcome to the forum!! You've done a very eye-pleasing job on your cinder blocks! Usually looking at cinder block habitats offends my sense of symmetry, but yours is so straight and perfect!!!

What do you have planned for vegetation in there? Do you bring the babies in at night?

 

[tortoisenerd]

Welcome to the forum! Beautiful torts.

 

[Tortinorm]

Welcome to the forum. Your little guys that you inherited are very cute. You're right the one is quite a bit smaller do they get along with each other good? I was wondering about the enclosure and since I don't know too much about Raccoons I just wanted to know if that would be secure enough to keep one out? Yes there's a lot of information on here and we're glad to have you.

I'm putting bricks on top to make sure they don't get in. Raccoons are very smart and I'm thinking might be able to lift the top enough to squeeze in without them. Honestly, as long as they stay in their burrows at night, I doubt the raccoons would be that determined to get in there. Must do more googling.... If I had chickens in there, watch out! Actually, we had more raccoons in my old neighborhood with the adults and they never had issues with them in the yard so I could be over thinking things. Still, they are small enough that I don't want to take any chances.

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Hi Tortinorm:

Welcome to the forum!! You've done a very eye-pleasing job on your cinder blocks! Usually looking at cinder block habitats offends my sense of symmetry, but yours is so straight and perfect!!!

What do you have planned for vegetation in there? Do you bring the babies in at night?

Still working on vegetation and I'm thinking of putting a much larger enclosure in the back of the yard before long. I'm thinking chain link with hardware cloth at the bottom of the enclosure so they don't get caught in chain link. I'm not bringing them in at night now because the temp should be fine for the species through our hot summer here I believe. Still learning but going by what I've been reading and what I know the desert temps are in comparison to my area which is basically just over the nearest mountain range!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Hi and welcome to the party.
I have raccoons also and they are very smart, I also have an 80 pound Sulcata who stays in a locked heated shed at night. Mainly for protection against raccoons. I don't mean any disrespect towards you, but I wouldn't leave tortoises that small outside. Raccoons are very strong and if one wanted to they could lift that lid bricks or not. Unless your temps at night are 75 degrees or more that's too cold for babies that small. They need to be inside at night for one or two more years.

 

[Angi]

Welcome You will learn a ton here. I have and seem to learn something new everyday.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. I'm just a little North of you in Santa Clarita. Maggies' right about the cold AND the raccoons. They are too little to be outside at night right now, unless you give them a heated doghouse of some sort and put some sort of latch on those tops. A 50 pound coon is smart and strong enough to push those blocks out of the way and/or just push the top over. We are all just trying to help you avoid a tragedy we've all seen too often.

Congrats on your new torts .

 

[TortieLuver]

Welcome to the forum! Cute pictures!

 

[Tortinorm]

Hello and welcome. I'm just a little North of you in Santa Clarita. Maggies' right about the cold AND the raccoons. They are too little to be outside at night right now, unless you give them a heated doghouse of some sort and put some sort of latch on those tops. A 50 pound coon is smart and strong enough to push those blocks out of the way and/or just push the top over. We are all just trying to help you avoid a tragedy we've all seen too often.

Congrats on your new torts .

OK, well, shoot, gotta rethink things I guess. I can certainly bring them in at night but figured 60F+ and a nice burrow would be fine. I mean shoot, in the wild they make it through winter in the desert and night temps there are generally cooler than here now (and certainly in spring/fall when they are still active) so I figured they would be just fine. I know your all trying to help and do appreciate it!

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum

Danny

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Hello and welcome aboard!