RF Hatchling Enclosure

[Esopha]

This is my new RF hatchling enclosure. It's not done yet. I still have a sedum plant I want to stick in a corner, and a hardy hibiscus I'm going to grow right next to it (if it lives, haha).

I have squash seeds, clover, and violets growing there now, all very small baby plants as of yet. The purslane and strawberries seem to be determined to die. Sigh.

 

[terryo]

Is that a Christmas Tree storage bin? I love those. I planted a package of Spring Mix seeds in mine and they really took off. It's hard to grow inside if you have too much direct heat on the plants. Also if I can make a suggestion, you shouldn't have the light pointing toward the hide, which should be kept dark and humid. Just my way of thinking...not written in stone. I would put some Plexiglas on top to hold in the humidity. I put Creeping Jenny for ground cover, and that seems to be good for indoors also. I also put some Baby Tears in back of the hide, which grows over the hide to add more humidity.

 

[Esopha]

Yup! It's also has wheels, so it's super convenient.

I'll angle the heat lamp differently, and also change the orientation of the hide. Thanks so much for your feedback!

 

[terryo]

I was looking for a picture of the hide with the baby tears...found it. Inside the natural wood hide I have long fiber moss...wet and squeezed out and fluffed up for him to dig into. The baby tears are left in the little pot it came in and I just put it behind the hide and let it grow over. I took this picture a few weeks ago, so now the top of the hide is covered with the baby tears. The picture isn't too good, but you get the idea. The next picture is the other side with some Creeping Jenny, which has grown a lot more now. Your's is coming along and I'm sure it will be great when your plants come in. Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Candy]

It looks very nice, but are your plants organic that you put in there. When I got Ruby and Eddie they were going to eat the plants right away so I had to take them out because they came from Home Depot and I wasn't sure it they had pesticides sprayed on them or not. Terry you always have great ideas and I'm always learning what I can add to their enclosures through your knowledge thanks.

 

[terryo]

Candy...this is why I don't like to give advice. I never use organic, and I just buy from a nursery, and water them for a while until the water drips out and just plant them. I've been doing this for 30 years with my boxies..... way before I ever had a computer to find out differently. This vivarium is for a hatchling I'm getting and just wanted it to get established before he comes. (should be here on Wed. I am so excited) When I get him, I'll take off all the bottom leaves so he can only nibble on the creeping Jenny and not the little trees. I never had a problem with Pio eating any plants in his viv. in three years. Even in his outdoor garden, the only thing I ever saw him eat was the pansies, and then today I went out there and he was eating a leave from the Hosta. It is really over grown out there so who knows....he might be eating things and I don't even know it. I was really surprised. I guess I didn't feed him enough today. Sooooooooo....please don't do what I do, or learn from me....use your own judgement. I do so many things MY way, which may be the wrong way.

 

[Madkins007]

Candy...this is why I don't like to give advice. I never use organic, and I just buy from a nursery, and water them for a while until the water drips out and just plant them. I've been doing this for 30 years with my boxies..... way before I ever had a computer to find out differently.

I hear the 'poisonous plants' (from pesticides) bit a lot here, but I have a hard time finding information about this risk from other sites- pet sites, baby sites, poisoning sites... I cannot find much about real risks chewing typical store-bought plants.

Considering the risks of babies eating stuff, you would think that if there was much of a risk at all, it would be more public than this.

This IS NOT meant as advice or that there is no risk... I just wish I could find something more concrete about the situation.

 

[Esopha]

Any hormone disrupting or neurologically damaging pesticide would be a cause of concern, I think, but other pesticides can probably be washed off. Fertilizers shouldn't be a problem, either. (I'm approaching this from an enivronmental science major's perspective, not necessarily an experienced with torts perspective.) The problem would be that you don't know what's been used.

But even so, the plants I have I've grown myself, and I only use worm poop as fertilizer.

I'm thinking about getting a viney plant to stick behind the hide. Also, do you think I can fill the water tray with gravel? It's a little deep.

 

[terryo]

When I first put Pio outside, the pond was way too deep, so I put some small black river rocks. I try not to use the white ones, because I saw him trying to nibble at them. Maybe he thought they were cuttle bone....I don't know. Now that he's bigger, I just took them out this year. It's still a little deep as it covers most of his shell, but I see him sitting in there a lot, so I guess it's OK.

Mark...For years...since before I was born.....my Dad had his boxies in the yard. They were free in there, and he had every kind of plant growing, because he was a gardener. In the Spring his Azalea's were so beautiful, and a boxie could always be found sitting under one of them. Now I see that Azalea's are on the "bad" list. One side had every kind of vegetable. He never knew about any plant being poisonous, and never worried about it. We never had a sick boxie, or lost one due to being poisoned. As Pio's garden is really filling in, I noticed there are some weeds in there that I didn't plant, and don't even know what they are. I wouldn't deliberately put something that wasn't good for him to eat, but, I somehow feel that if your garden is big enough, and he has plenty of options, he won't go for something that could harm him. In a small enclosure.....like inside....I would never put any kind of Ivy for instance, as his options aren't there. Outside there is some Ivy growing around the waterfall, and I've never seen him go near it. Just my opinion, and thoughts.... Maybe this is a good thread for the debate page.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Its my opinion that the conventional (non organic) greens from the supermarket are pretty ok if you don't want to go organic with your tort, but where I personally would draw the line is the plants from the nurserys...because they are not meant for human consumption. Plants meant to look pretty will be sprayed a lot more and with a lot more harsh chemicals than those meant to be eaten (and inspected by the USDA). I always recommend going 100% organic with a tort, especially a baby tort...my personal reasons for doing this are that they eat 100% of their diet of this stuff vs. a smaller percentage of the diet a human eats of produce, and that their systems can be sensitive to the chemicals. Plus, with one tort its not so much a cost issue. About 50% cost increase to buy organic heads of greens for me (the spring mix I buy in bulk is only available in organic). Pesticides and fertilizers cannot be washed off. They are systemic. Studies have shown that especially in children the pesticides can have a huge affect. I would wait 3-6 months to use nursery plants (despite any washing or repotting), grow from seeds, or find organic.

Great enclosure! If you can get the plants going its going to look like the rain forest floor. I give you a lot of credit for how well they have grown in already, because I didn't even get that far when I tried to grow seeds in trays.

 

[SpazzyArtist]

What are the dimensions of that bin? Because it looks like I might have the same one and I'm thinking about using it...

 

[firework]

I think it's important the lamp is paralelle to the floor. It hurts the eyes if you keep it the way in the picture.

 

[Esopha]

Spazzy - I think it's something like 70 inches by 30 inches?

Firework - Really? Have you seen it happen before? Is it because the bulb is so bright? I can suspend the lamp if it's a problem. Should I do the same for the heat lamp?

 

[tortoisenerd]

Yes torts can get blinded and be very inactive if the light is shining in their eyes. With a Mercury Vapor Bulb, it can actually blind the tort and/or damage the bulb. Always face light bulbs with the face parallel to the substrate. Heat emitters are ok to have at an angle, but make sure they are secure. I use a ZooMed lamp stand with a ceramic hood fixture that hangs from a hook--very secure. You may be good just with just ambient light, so before you invest in stuff, you may want to do more research and consider how much light your room has.

 

[Esopha]

Wow. I've done a lot of reading, but I never heard about the angle of the light. I'll be sure to fix that as soon as possible. Thanks!