Ready for Mr. Pickles to go in his new enclosure full time, advice..........

[jmhoesch]

Hi there! Mr. Pickles has been going in his new enclosure all day and he's loving it. He stomps around, finding new places to dig himself a little hole and he sits and snoozes, he stomps around some more exploring. We've put a mixture of soil/bark in his main burrow and we've got the protective bird netting up. He's safe and secure.

Question: Will he come out of his burrow to eat? I mean, I've been so used to feeding him twice a day and giving him baths and it's freaking me out a bit to just put him out there on his own, ya know? What if we don't see him for a day cause he's been in his burrow? It still gets chilly here at night, will he be ok out there? I know his natural instincts will take over but I'm still a paranoid torti mommy worried about her reptile kid. lol

Do we still put some spring mix on a tile out there for a bit? Do we just forgo the spring mix altogether? He's got a lot of different weeds, grasses and flowers out there but he's used to the spring mix. I'm sure he's been munching on different things in his new enclosure but I can't be sure. I'm used to knowing what exactly he's eating and now I won't know.................it's nerve wracking. thanks...........

 

[jmhoesch]

Any advice?

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I feed all my tortoises even when they are outside. That includes a 150 pound Sulcata who has grass and weeds in his pen. Most tort keepers do. I believe they need a varied diet to be really healthy, that includes hay, grass, weeds and store bought food. There's lots more but I was just trying to give you an idea.
I am a cat person and laugh every time I have read your cats names. A Persian named Booger, please...lol ( not as dignified as Persians are...) but funny

 

[jmhoesch]

Trust me when I say that Booger is the perfect name for him. His face is so smooshed his nose and eyes are in a straight line w/ each other and he always sounds like he has a cold and he snorts so Booger was the ONLY name for him. lol

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I'll set out piles of food for my outdoor torts. No harm in that. There is no schedule...some days I do, some days I don't. It just adds to their variety. Today they all got a pile of red leaf lettuce, romaine, spring mix, Mazuri, grassland pellets and herbal hay! And they still graze just fine.