The Mighty Odin's indoor oasis-The Build

Odin's Gma

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Everything's coming up roses in the greenhouse!
(see any ideas @Anyfoot ?)
006.JPG 007.JPG 008.JPG 009.JPG 010.JPG
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I know it still looks pretty sad to the untrained eye, but there is hope budding all over the place, despite "someones" constant destructive stomping and biting!

"Are you talking about me?"
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"I don't think I like your tone, human."
 

Anyfoot

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Everything's coming up roses in the greenhouse!
(see any ideas @Anyfoot ?)
View attachment 155650 View attachment 155651 View attachment 155652 View attachment 155653 View attachment 155654
View attachment 155655 View attachment 155656

I know it still looks pretty sad to the untrained eye, but there is hope budding all over the place, despite "someones" constant destructive stomping and biting!

"Are you talking about me?"
View attachment 155657

"I don't think I like your tone, human."
Yep. That's exactly what I'm looking for. What is that in the 7th photo?
 

Odin's Gma

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Yep. That's exactly what I'm looking for. What is that in the 7th photo?
That is the opuntia that I put in his "dry" box! Despite him chomping them constantly and trying to push and claw them to the ground, the two remaining plants (he ate the third down to the soil) both have new growth.
I am pleased as punch! I honestly didn't expect them to survive, much less send out new growth! (I have at least 2 dozen more opuntia plants ready to replace them)
 

Odin's Gma

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Still tweaking temps and trying to keep food growing. The temps in the room still dip as low as 75 on occasion, but in the enclosure all areas are up by about 2 degrees on average. I added a CHE to the greenhouse which is on a thermostat, and in that area it is holding a pretty steady 84-88 degrees with 70-90% humidity
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and his new burrow (behind the hibiscus) stays a couple degrees warmer because it is the closest to the oil heater.
Basking areas are a balmy 98-104 when those lights are on, and in the low 90's when the lights are off (they are both dual fixtures with CHEs and lights) but at least one of the lights is on at a time between 6:30am and 7pm, with the light in the greenhouse on from 6am-8pm.
We are considering options for enclosing his self dug burrow behind the hibiscus somewhat so he feels more hidden, and he has abandoned the cooler areas under the ramp and in his old hide. I think it's is partly because he is just getting too darn big! He still fits in the concrete igloo, (but just barely) and even having dug out underneath the ramp, his shell was scraping on the underside when he was coming in and out. It's hinged, so it wasn't doing any damage, but it was pretty funny watching him lift it as he did his digging.
Well, I thought it was funny, but apparently he does not agree.
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I think today I will put in a couple more opuntia, as we are now down to one in the enclosure, and it is riddled with beak and claw marks.
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Oh! And with his new super-sized body, he is also having super sized poop! When he was tiny I would just bury them and let them compost naturally to feed the plants, but that no longer seemed to be enough to keep the joint clean, so we are trying DIY in home composting :eek:

Just a simple empty cat litter bin with few holes drilled around the top and bottom
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We are adding any uneaten food, poo, plant bits that I have to pull or trim around the house or enclosure (only Odin-safe ones), some dirt and torn bits of paper towels that I use to clean things up around his place and old newspapers and paper bags that are biodegradable. I set the bin in one of the gardening trays for the inevitable leakage of moisture or dirt. I will toss it every few days or whatever is necessary and I guess we will see what happens. I have never done bin style composting, always just a pile in the corner of the yard, but if I can get a little tort-only compost for his enclosure it will be pretty cool.
(BTW, The sprayer in the above pic is absolutely GLORIOUS for misting his enclosure!- highly recommend!)033.JPG 034.JPG

Another fun thing; I got him a pumpkin a while back that I occasionally give a chunk of for tasty beak sharpening, and of course include the seeds, well>>>
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:D

Of course as soon as he sees one he nibbles it down to the ground, but they are popping up all over!

And I certainly can't argue the results of this endeavor. Look at that growth!
I swear he just gets prettier and smoother every day.

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Odin's Happy Land!
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Anyfoot

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Still tweaking temps and trying to keep food growing. The temps in the room still dip as low as 75 on occasion, but in the enclosure all areas are up by about 2 degrees on average. I added a CHE to the greenhouse which is on a thermostat, and in that area it is holding a pretty steady 84-88 degrees with 70-90% humidity
View attachment 157823 View attachment 157834
and his new burrow (behind the hibiscus) stays a couple degrees warmer because it is the closest to the oil heater.
Basking areas are a balmy 98-104 when those lights are on, and in the low 90's when the lights are off (they are both dual fixtures with CHEs and lights) but at least one of the lights is on at a time between 6:30am and 7pm, with the light in the greenhouse on from 6am-8pm.
We are considering options for enclosing his self dug burrow behind the hibiscus somewhat so he feels more hidden, and he has abandoned the cooler areas under the ramp and in his old hide. I think it's is partly because he is just getting too darn big! He still fits in the concrete igloo, (but just barely) and even having dug out underneath the ramp, his shell was scraping on the underside when he was coming in and out. It's hinged, so it wasn't doing any damage, but it was pretty funny watching him lift it as he did his digging.
Well, I thought it was funny, but apparently he does not agree.
View attachment 157828

I think today I will put in a couple more opuntia, as we are now down to one in the enclosure, and it is riddled with beak and claw marks.
View attachment 157832

Oh! And with his new super-sized body, he is also having super sized poop! When he was tiny I would just bury them and let them compost naturally to feed the plants, but that no longer seemed to be enough to keep the joint clean, so we are trying DIY in home composting :eek:

Just a simple empty cat litter bin with few holes drilled around the top and bottom
View attachment 157829

We are adding any uneaten food, poo, plant bits that I have to pull or trim around the house or enclosure (only Odin-safe ones), some dirt and torn bits of paper towels that I use to clean things up around his place and old newspapers and paper bags that are biodegradable. I set the bin in one of the gardening trays for the inevitable leakage of moisture or dirt. I will toss it every few days or whatever is necessary and I guess we will see what happens. I have never done bin style composting, always just a pile in the corner of the yard, but if I can get a little tort-only compost for his enclosure it will be pretty cool.
(BTW, The sprayer in the above pic is absolutely GLORIOUS for misting his enclosure!- highly recommend!)View attachment 157830 View attachment 157831

Another fun thing; I got him a pumpkin a while back that I occasionally give a chunk of for tasty beak sharpening, and of course include the seeds, well>>>
View attachment 157836 View attachment 157835

:D

Of course as soon as he sees one he nibbles it down to the ground, but they are popping up all over!

And I certainly can't argue the results of this endeavor. Look at that growth!
I swear he just gets prettier and smoother every day.

View attachment 157833

Odin's Happy Land!
View attachment 157824
Just fantastic. Love it. :D
 

Odin's Gma

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Just fantastic. Love it. :D
Thanks! So does the pooper! Er...I mean Odin. :D

And, back to the earlier conversation with @Tom . I call his feeding box the dry box, but I also mentioned that dry is a relative term. It is misted daily and underneath the bark it is moist enough for the pumpkin seeds (and any other errant seeds that find their way there) to sprout. Also moist enough for the base of the opuntia to rot after a time, which is why the 2nd of the three was removed (after he chewed the life out of it, knocked it down and ate all but the bottom.)
It is also why I only put in the smaller opuntia. They are not only more tender and therefore preferred by the beast, but by keeping that larger ones safe from him, they remain "breeding stock" and back-up food for when he destroys everything in his enclosure and I have to whip up daily salads.
 

Odin's Gma

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Toying with options to enclose his self dug burrow:
One of my planting trays was broken, so I cut off a corner:
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And wedged it in behind the hibiscus, over his burrow, or should I say, big hole:


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Just two staples and it was done. I am hoping the hibiscus rebounds and leafs out a bit more to give him more shade, but if not I will either plant more in front of it , or maybe add some black plastic strips from the top, like a curtain, to give him the dark, humid, top-secret lair he desires.
 

Odin's Gma

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I decided to just go for it!
Took a piece of the same black plastic we used to line the greenhouse, cut it into strips about 3/4 of the way up
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Rolled the uncut portion over a couple of times to give it more strength and stapled it into the piece I added in earlier.012.JPG

Then, I went to the other side, leaned WAY over the small 3 foot section, crammed my camera into the doorway of the greenhouse (not an easy feat with my shorter stature and tiny "T-rex" arms) and snapped a couple of photos of the Mighty Odin guarding his secret lair.017.JPG 018.JPG

It ain't pretty, but it will keep it darker and slightly more warm and humid than it already was. I angled up the strips on the side he enters and exits from (where he is standing in the above pics) just to make it a more obvious opening for him in case he doesn't really understand the strips yet.
For now it is easily removable in case he doesn't like it, just two heavy duty staples for the box piece and two household staples for the curtain. If he likes it I can make modifications to make it sturdier, and if he doesn't it can come right back out.
Now, we wait.
 

Odin's Gma

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So far so good for Odin's lair. He has spent a good portion of the day either hiding in there or guarding the opening and every time he comes out he sits at the opening for a bit, stretches his leg, lets out a big yawn, and then wanders around looking for food.
The temp low and high are 83 and 88 degrees with 85-90% humidity, roughly the same as the greenhouse but with less variation. The greenhouse can drop as low as 80-81 degrees and down to 75% humidity, although I think that is when I have it open for longer periods of time to seed it or do clean-up.
I am going to leave the temp probe in there for a couple of days and see if there is really a noticeable difference. Even if there isn't, it is still darker and more private, which I think he will appreciate.
 

Odin's Gma

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Since Odin has been in a mood since yesterday morning and refusing to come out of his new burrow to eat unless I dig him out and place him in front of his food, I have been obsessing more than usual. So, I made a few adjustments to temps. I now have all three CHEs on two separate thermostats to hopefully ensure more even heat, and so far it seems to be working!
The top one is the greenhouse temp, middle is room temp, bottom is humidity in the greenhouse. :)
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We are also finally getting some green! Tons of grasses and clover sprouting all over, hopefully we will be able to discontinue the daily salads in a week or so. *fingers crossed*002.JPG

I also finally cut the plexi cover to mostly enclose the small, connector box. I did a pretty crappy job, but it's slightly better than it was before.
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Odin also got a roommate again! His old buddy, Wolverine decided he wanted to get in on all of that warm, humid goodness:

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Unfortunately, Odin refused to come out of his burrow to say hi.
He is just a grumpy little booger this weekend!
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FLGirl41

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I just now saw this thread but read all 10 pages in one sitting. Your devotion to Odin is admirable-- I wish all torts could be so loved! He is a really gorgeous tortoise, and his shell growth is amazingly smooth. That's clearly a reflection of your mindful care. Please keep posting pictures and updates-- great job!
 

Odin's Gma

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Thanks! How could you not love that grumpy face? :<3:

S, I am not thrilled with the growth in the greenhouse. For weeks I have chalked it up to him being a hungry and destructive little grouch, I am slowly beginning to think I have either lighting or humidity issues. Everything sprouts well but nothing seems to get too far beyond that point. It does not appear to be damping off, but could it be that much of what I am growing cannot handle the extreme humidity?
Frankly, I think the lights are more likely, and I would rather adjust the lighting than mess with the humidity, so I am now shopping for actual grow lights (the red/blue ones) to augment the daylight spectrum fluorescents I have.

Odin did not appreciate me talking about making changes
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And politely told me to kiss his rear shell004.JPG

But this is what I am looking at. At a glance there seems to be a lot of green, but that is almost all new growth from regular seeding, most everything else has died or is dying (the hibiscus is completely Odin's fault and he has no problem admitting it)006.JPG

And in the small box the spider plant and aloe vera are still growing very well, but they are darn near impossible to kill. The grass in that box has been reseeded multiple times.011.JPG

So, back to the drawing board as soon as I find lights that will work with what I have. Wish me luck!
 

Anyfoot

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Thanks! How could you not love that grumpy face? :<3:

S, I am not thrilled with the growth in the greenhouse. For weeks I have chalked it up to him being a hungry and destructive little grouch, I am slowly beginning to think I have either lighting or humidity issues. Everything sprouts well but nothing seems to get too far beyond that point. It does not appear to be damping off, but could it be that much of what I am growing cannot handle the extreme humidity?
Frankly, I think the lights are more likely, and I would rather adjust the lighting than mess with the humidity, so I am now shopping for actual grow lights (the red/blue ones) to augment the daylight spectrum fluorescents I have.

Odin did not appreciate me talking about making changes
View attachment 159165


And politely told me to kiss his rear shellView attachment 159166

But this is what I am looking at. At a glance there seems to be a lot of green, but that is almost all new growth from regular seeding, most everything else has died or is dying (the hibiscus is completely Odin's fault and he has no problem admitting it)View attachment 159167

And in the small box the spider plant and aloe vera are still growing very well, but they are darn near impossible to kill. The grass in that box has been reseeded multiple times.View attachment 159168

So, back to the drawing board as soon as I find lights that will work with what I have. Wish me luck!
Made me laugh again, your posts are just such good reading
You said all the plants are not growing in the greenhouse part, do you open that zip cover daily to allow air circulation?
Your spider plant is getting air circulation through the gaps near the lights.
Would a spider plant grow healthy in the greenhouse part? If not it would suggest to me air circulation.
 

Odin's Gma

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Made me laugh again, your posts are just such good reading
You said all the plants are not growing in the greenhouse part, do you open that zip cover daily to allow air circulation?
Your spider plant is getting air circulation through the gaps near the lights.
Would a spider plant grow healthy in the greenhouse part? If not it would suggest to me air circulation.
Maybe Odin just brings out my cheeky side? ;)

I have a fan installed in the greenhouse for circulation, but I could turn it up a bit for additional air movement. I turned it down a while back when I was trying to get the temps up, but I don't see that being a problem anymore with the addition of the CHE.
I was thinking about putting a spider plant in the greenhouse to see how it does and I have a few of the spider-babies starting to root in a water dish , so when that happens I am trying it!
Other than that, I am just kind of excited to try the red/blue grow lights, then I can rename the place Odin's Disco!
 

Odin's Gma

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After turning up the fan a bit late yesterday I awoke to humidity of 69%. It hopped right back up to 77% after I refreshed his water bowl and misted and i'm sure it will climb higher now that it is closed up again, but I can live with lows of 69% as long as the temps remain in the mid 80's, which they are (86 right now). I still have a bit more range on the fan to increase airflow, but once again, it's a waiting game. I will give it a week or so to see if it helps the plants perk up any, but I believe I already found a workable red/blue LED light set-up to order and have some ideas for installation.
I just wish I had brought my camera down for his wake-up and breakfast! His first stop this morning was his water dish. He put his foot and his face in the water and drank deeply for nearly a minute! Not something I usually get to see unless he is in the bath, and it is ADORABLE!
I also added a bit of grated pumpkin (with guts and seeds) to his salad, and he was pretty fired up about that. He hasn't had any in over a week and he loves it. :)

Pro-tip: Now that fresh pumpkin is no longer readily available I keep big chunks of it in the freezer. It grates up beautifully even when frozen solid, and so does opuntia fruit.
 

Anyfoot

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After turning up the fan a bit late yesterday I awoke to humidity of 69%. It hopped right back up to 77% after I refreshed his water bowl and misted and i'm sure it will climb higher now that it is closed up again, but I can live with lows of 69% as long as the temps remain in the mid 80's, which they are (86 right now). I still have a bit more range on the fan to increase airflow, but once again, it's a waiting game. I will give it a week or so to see if it helps the plants perk up any, but I believe I already found a workable red/blue LED light set-up to order and have some ideas for installation.
I just wish I had brought my camera down for his wake-up and breakfast! His first stop this morning was his water dish. He put his foot and his face in the water and drank deeply for nearly a minute! Not something I usually get to see unless he is in the bath, and it is ADORABLE!
I also added a bit of grated pumpkin (with guts and seeds) to his salad, and he was pretty fired up about that. He hasn't had any in over a week and he loves it. :)

Pro-tip: Now that fresh pumpkin is no longer readily available I keep big chunks of it in the freezer. It grates up beautifully even when frozen solid, and so does opuntia fruit.
Blue/red lights sound a good idea and should improve plant growth vastly. The faster you circulate the air flow the more it dries everything up, then humidity drops. Essentially this is what wind is doing, drying the land.
If you have no success and humidity drops too low, try turning fan off but some how have a small air hole at each end of your greenhouse so you get a slower air flow.
Just thoughts.
 

Odin's Gma

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Blue/red lights sound a good idea and should improve plant growth vastly. The faster you circulate the air flow the more it dries everything up, then humidity drops. Essentially this is what wind is doing, drying the land.
If you have no success and humidity drops too low, try turning fan off but some how have a small air hole at each end of your greenhouse so you get a slower air flow.
Just thoughts.
The good thing about the fan I ordered is that it has an adjustable dial. It can be set all the way down to barely moving or high enough that I can see the hibiscus leaves moving ever so slightly in the breeze. I have it mounted on top of the light frame and angled up towards the peak for a convection current, moving the rising hotter air down and around the greenhouse lengthwise. Hopefully it's just a matter of getting the right setting on the fan, the room temps can drop as low as 76 degrees so I would prefer to keep the greenhouse closed.
Where there is a will there is a way! I just have to find it.:confused:
 

Odin's Gma

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We have had a pretty brutal cold snap this last week (below zero most every day) and generally our lower level gets pretty chilly when that happen, but I am pleased to say that although the temps in the room have dropped as low as 70 at floor level, the temps in the enclosure temps have held steady at 78 and up. Considering that January is historically our coldest month and we are halfway through it, I am finally confident that having him downstairs is going to work!
Odin, on the other hand, has spent the week being a complete and utter wanker. Completely refusing to exit his burrow, even to eat. Which means I have had to dig him out (or attempt to) twice a day, every day while he digs his claws in and "hisses".
He is exasperating.
He seems to be getting over it finally, but it was a long week.
The plus side of his anti-social behaviour is, of course, GREEN!
There is even grass sprouting in the dry box. :)
That is the area nearest the shelves of seeds. I hold the dish I use over it while I pour different seeds in and mix them up before tossing them about the enclosure. I knew that seeds fall as I do it (which is why I do it, so they don't fall in the carpet) but I never expected growth since under and around the ramp is one of his regular trampling areas.002.JPG

The middle box is also brilliant green!003.JPG

Some of the seedlings are large enough that I can even tell what they are! I spy dandelion, clover and at least three different grasses! I know there is more but heck if I can tell what they are yet.004.JPG

This is the grump, irritated that I was digging around in this greenhouse. I took about a dozen assorted squash seeds and planted them around the place, it'll be a wonderful treasure hunt for him when they sprout!008.JPG 010.JPG

And in the greenhouse we have grass upwards of 6 inches high with piles of other plants and weeds sneaking in around them011.JPG

Including the remains of one pumpkin plant that he hasn't destroyed yet. It is a whopping 4 inches tall and actually has a real leaf! He never lets them get this big, so this is a real feat! :rolleyes:012.JPG

And his morning salad awaits! Lots of banana leaf, hibiscus, timothy hay and grasses along with some spring mix and mazuri LS, with a side of opuntia fruit, if he doesn't come out in the next couple hours I will have to dig him out, so he better get on it!014.JPG

The goal today is to increase the size of the burrow overhang and move the hibiscus. I have been dreading it because of how angry he will get (hence the opuntia fruit) and what a pain it's going to be, but with his recent growth spurt he has been steadily increasing the size of the hole and the overhang is no longer completely covering it.
Not sure of the details yet, but I am working on it. Wish me luck!
 
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