Tortoise Nursery Room

[theguy67]

I added an irrigation system yesterday! Works very well. I just need to hook it up to my electric valve. Right now it’s just on the faucet. After I have the valve wired to the controller, I’ll be-able to have it spray the enclosure down everyday. I’m not always there (due to school) so my father takes care of them. This means the enclosure dries out some between watering, although the babies always have water available. I will be very curious to see how the grass responds.


Grass growth after a few weeks.

 

[Oxalis]

View attachment 224838

View attachment 224839
I added an irrigation system yesterday! Works very well. I just need to hook it up to my electric valve. Right now it’s just on the faucet. After I have the valve wired to the controller, I’ll be-able to have it spray the enclosure down everyday. I’m not always there (due to school) so my father takes care of them. This means the enclosure dries out some between watering, although the babies always have water available. I will be very curious to see how the grass responds.
View attachment 224840

Grass growth after a few weeks.

Can't wait to see!

 

[theguy67]

Well It has been a while. I have not made much progress on the "nursery room", as I have been occupied with the outdoor pen, and related things. Now that it is summer, I've turned my focus back on renovating the room.

As far as the "grass experiment" goes...I Lost most of my Bermuda over the winter. I honestly do not know what happened, but this time I have tried transplanting from the yard. Seems to be working much better this time.

 

[NorCal tortoise guy]

Enjoyed reading you progress I'm going to be starting on my own tortoise nursery room soon!

 

[theguy67]

Enjoyed reading you progress I'm going to be starting on my own tortoise nursery room soon!

Thanks. Hopefully I will be moving on to the "room" part of the tortoise nursery room. I'm going to be making doors for cabinets and floating shelves. Once that is done I can organize everything (code for hiding the junk) and start on the enclosure above this one.

 

[theguy67]

So it has been a while since I have updated the nursery room. Quick summary....

The grass experiment finally failed. Both attempts lead to the grass eventually turning brown and dying. I’m not sure if it’s too much water, or not enough nutrients. Either way, grass is much more demanding than I had originally thought. I’m taking a different approach. As I did in the beginning, I’m going to constantly seed the bottom enclosure from my tortoise plant mix. Larger juveniles will decimate the plants but my hatchlings are small enough to allow the vegetation to grow. This will give them something to graze on.

On another note. I FINALLY finished the top enclosure. I also filled and sanded the fronts of the unit to give it a cleaner look. There are currently 4 hatchlings in the bottom and 2 juveniles in the top. Please excuse my messy wiring.

I also added a counter top and shelves to the room. I’m currently working on staining the floors, so there's still much more to come. As I progress further, I will take some better shots of the cages and the room.

 

[Oxalis]

View attachment 261927

View attachment 261928

So it has been a while since I have updated the nursery room. Quick summary....

The grass experiment finally failed. Both attempts lead to the grass eventually turning brown and dying. I’m not sure if it’s too much water, or not enough nutrients. Either way, grass is much more demanding than I had originally thought. I’m taking a different approach. As I did in the beginning, I’m going to constantly seed the bottom enclosure from my tortoise plant mix. Larger juveniles will decimate the plants but my hatchlings are small enough to allow the vegetation to grow. This will give them something to graze on.

On another note. I FINALLY finished the top enclosure. I also filled and sanded the fronts of the unit to give it a cleaner look. There are currently 4 hatchlings in the bottom and 2 juveniles in the top. Please excuse my messy wiring.

I also added a counter top and shelves to the room. I’m currently working on staining the floors, so there's still much more to come. As I progress further, I will take some better shots of the cages and the room.

I too am having trouble growing tortoise plants indoors. The grass is likely full-sun; maybe it's not getting enough light? This seems to be the issue for my indoor plants but I'm also looking into some nutrient options for them.

 

[theguy67]

I too am having trouble growing tortoise plants indoors. The grass is likely full-sun; maybe it's not getting enough light? This seems to be the issue for my indoor plants but I'm also looking into some nutrient options for them.

I don't think it is a light issue because the plants DID grow...from seed even. It was a high to moderate light plant, but the plants took off. I never inspected the roots fully, and the grass didn't turn yellow, BUT it may have been over-watering or under-watering.

Either way, it is some what-irrelevant at this point. Hatchlings have low demands for food, and are not very destructive, so it is easy enough to transplant a few clumps from the yard.

 

[Oxalis]

I don't think it is a light issue because the plants DID grow...from seed even. It was a high to moderate light plant, but the plants took off. I never inspected the roots fully, and the grass didn't turn yellow, BUT it may have been over-watering or under-watering.

Either way, it is some what-irrelevant at this point. Hatchlings have low demands for food, and are not very destructive, so it is easy enough to transplant a few clumps from the yard.

Interesting. I will have to check out your lighting fixtures then. Perhaps that will help my plants! Good luck with your future gardening. The enclosures look pretty sweet and the torts look happy!