Summer has come not a moment too soon.
I have four baby desert tortoises, hatched last September, that are living in a Christmas Tree Storage Bin mfg'd by Iris. They've been in my kitchen with two black lights on all the time, one at either end, and a 100 watt Zoo Med mercury vapor bulb in the middle.
I sprinkle calcium powder over their food and mix it in 2 or 3 times a week, and the bulb was new when I set the habitat up last September (8 or 9 months ago).
Over the winter and through spring, ants had settled in, laying eggs under the plant pots - black ants that aren't harmful to the tortoises, so I left them be. I don't know where they came from because there is no trail outside the enclosure, or on the kitchen floor or table the enclosure sits on.
Then a couple months ago I saw some new bugs. They were light brown, shiny, and had fairly large back legs, sort of like a cricket, but the bugs didn't look like crickets. I left them alone too.
Now, yesterday, I picked up the feeding tile to take it to the sink and clean it, and many little roaches scurried away. I guess the cricket-like bugs were a stage of development of roaches. I really, really don't want roaches in my kitchen. They can't climb the walls of the enclosure, but can they fly?
That's reason #1 I'm very, VERY glad the weather is warm enough to put the babies outside.
Reason #2 - Getting ready to move the Christmas Tree Storage Bin outside and clean it out I picked up the babies and put them into a soaking tub. Oh LORDY! All of them have the softest plastron you ever felt. The light must not have been putting out any UVB for a very long time. Hopefully it's not too late. Where I have the enclosure now, the sun barely touches the outside edge and they will be able to get real sun for the first time in their young lives.
In the house:
And now, outside:
The two babies at the bottom of the second picture are Texas tortoises, a year older than the desert tortoises. Interestingly, they do NOT have soft plastrons, and they've also lived in that bin since last September.
I hate to toss a $50 light - it rubs against the grain, so to speak. So I guess I'll need to invest in a UV meter.
I have four baby desert tortoises, hatched last September, that are living in a Christmas Tree Storage Bin mfg'd by Iris. They've been in my kitchen with two black lights on all the time, one at either end, and a 100 watt Zoo Med mercury vapor bulb in the middle.
I sprinkle calcium powder over their food and mix it in 2 or 3 times a week, and the bulb was new when I set the habitat up last September (8 or 9 months ago).
Over the winter and through spring, ants had settled in, laying eggs under the plant pots - black ants that aren't harmful to the tortoises, so I left them be. I don't know where they came from because there is no trail outside the enclosure, or on the kitchen floor or table the enclosure sits on.
Then a couple months ago I saw some new bugs. They were light brown, shiny, and had fairly large back legs, sort of like a cricket, but the bugs didn't look like crickets. I left them alone too.
Now, yesterday, I picked up the feeding tile to take it to the sink and clean it, and many little roaches scurried away. I guess the cricket-like bugs were a stage of development of roaches. I really, really don't want roaches in my kitchen. They can't climb the walls of the enclosure, but can they fly?
That's reason #1 I'm very, VERY glad the weather is warm enough to put the babies outside.
Reason #2 - Getting ready to move the Christmas Tree Storage Bin outside and clean it out I picked up the babies and put them into a soaking tub. Oh LORDY! All of them have the softest plastron you ever felt. The light must not have been putting out any UVB for a very long time. Hopefully it's not too late. Where I have the enclosure now, the sun barely touches the outside edge and they will be able to get real sun for the first time in their young lives.
In the house:
And now, outside:
The two babies at the bottom of the second picture are Texas tortoises, a year older than the desert tortoises. Interestingly, they do NOT have soft plastrons, and they've also lived in that bin since last September.
I hate to toss a $50 light - it rubs against the grain, so to speak. So I guess I'll need to invest in a UV meter.
