Update on My Tortoises

Lifeoftorto

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May 20, 2018
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INA
My brother just got a new yellow foot tort a few days ago. So I have 6 torts now. I had bad enclosures for them but now I have changed the enclosure based on people from this forum’s suggestions. Thanks a lot for the help and suggestions :) Im now using a mixture of coconut coir and chips. I put a few chips so they can climb onto them. They all have their own enclosures because theyre all different species and tend to bully the smaller ones. I also spray the enclosures a few times a day to keep them moist. I was using the exo terra thermometer but people say that theyre not good so i have ordered 6 of the digital thermometer/hygrometer for their enclosures :) they will be arriving real soon. They also have their own water and feeding dish and i took them out whenever they finished having their meal or the water is way too dirty. Im currently using the exo terra uva and uvb and a solar glo. I always keep the enclosure around 88F / 30C. So far they love their new enclosures, but i often caught them eating the coconut coir. Is that bad for them? im a little bit worried. I also soak them daily for around 15 - 20 mins under the basking light or the real sun if its not too hot. Hope I’m doing better for my baby torts. Oh ya, I also have named all of my torts. They’re Stanley and Shelby (sulcata), Cheryl the cherry head, flash the yellow foot, Clayton the leopard, and Hayden the P.Pardalis :)IMG_1656.jpgIMG_1626.jpgIMG_1661.jpgIMG_1657.jpgIMG_1659.jpg
 
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Antoni

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Sep 20, 2016
Messages
110
My brother just got a new yellow foot tort a few days ago. So I have 6 torts now. I had bad enclosures for them but now I have changed the enclosure based on people from this forum’s suggestions. Thanks a lot for the help and suggestions :) Im now using a mixture of coconut coir and chips. I put a few chips so they can climb onto them. They all have their own enclosures because theyre all different species and tend to bully the smaller ones. I also spray the enclosures a few times a day to keep them moist. I was using the exo terra thermometer but people say that theyre not good so i have ordered 6 of the digital thermometer/hygrometer for their enclosures :) they will be arriving real soon. They also have their own water and feeding dish and i took them out whenever they finished having their meal or the water is way too dirty. Im currently using the exo terra uva and uvb and a solar glo. I always keep the enclosure around 88F / 30C. So far they love their new enclosures, but i often caught them eating the coconut coir. Is that bad for them? im a little bit worried. I also soak them daily for around 15 - 20 mins under the basking light or the real sun if its not too hot. Hope I’m doing better for my baby torts. Oh ya, I also have named all of my torts. They’re Stanley and Shelby (sulcata), Cheryl the cherry head, flash the yellow foot, Clayton the leopard, and Hayden the P.Pardalis :)View attachment 240109View attachment 240110View attachment 240106View attachment 240107View attachment 240108
I use coconut cour as well. Ive seen them nibble at it. Not eat, i think they’re trying to get the Water from it. But if u see them actually eat it, i would recommend the orchid bark or reptibark. Them eating the coir could cause impaction.
 

TechnoCheese

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I use coconut cour as well. Ive seen them nibble at it. Not eat, i think they’re trying to get the Water from it. But if u see them actually eat it, i would recommend the orchid bark or reptibark. Them eating the coir could cause impaction.

I doubt it would cause an impaction. With them eating fibrous weeds, I bet it would be digested, or it would harmlessly pass through.
 

CarolM

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Hi There,

Congratulations on all your beautiful babies. One thing comes to mind and I am not sure if it plays a role but you said "i took them out whenever they finished having their meal or the water is way too dirty." Does this mean when they are finished eating you take the food out. Maybe if you put fresh food in, in the morning and then leave it in there, they will eat the food rather than the substrate, if you are not happy leaving the food in for the whole day, then you can always refresh the food halfway through the day. But If you have taken the food out and or if they have finished it all and they are hungry and there is no food available that could possibly be why they are eating the substrate. If I have misunderstood the situation, then my apologies and I am just speculating on the issue as well.
 

Lifeoftorto

Member
Joined
May 20, 2018
Messages
69
Location (City and/or State)
INA
Hi There,

Congratulations on all your beautiful babies. One thing comes to mind and I am not sure if it plays a role but you said "i took them out whenever they finished having their meal or the water is way too dirty." Does this mean when they are finished eating you take the food out. Maybe if you put fresh food in, in the morning and then leave it in there, they will eat the food rather than the substrate, if you are not happy leaving the food in for the whole day, then you can always refresh the food halfway through the day. But If you have taken the food out and or if they have finished it all and they are hungry and there is no food available that could possibly be why they are eating the substrate. If I have misunderstood the situation, then my apologies and I am just speculating on the issue as well.

I usually take them out during the day.. but leave the food at night and they probably have a little feast every night.. i always put fresh food so during the day i always take them out because if i leave them too long the veggie isnt fresh anymore and they dont want them because i think its hard to chew and itd be useless :)
 

Lifeoftorto

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Joined
May 20, 2018
Messages
69
Location (City and/or State)
INA
Hi There,

Congratulations on all your beautiful babies. One thing comes to mind and I am not sure if it plays a role but you said "i took them out whenever they finished having their meal or the water is way too dirty." Does this mean when they are finished eating you take the food out. Maybe if you put fresh food in, in the morning and then leave it in there, they will eat the food rather than the substrate, if you are not happy leaving the food in for the whole day, then you can always refresh the food halfway through the day. But If you have taken the food out and or if they have finished it all and they are hungry and there is no food available that could possibly be why they are eating the substrate. If I have misunderstood the situation, then my apologies and I am just speculating on the issue as well.

I changed the food up to 5 times a day to keep them fresh.. (i dont put much but enough for them and keep changing them) but i dont know why the substrate is that special. Lol
 

CarolM

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I changed the food up to 5 times a day to keep them fresh.. (i dont put much but enough for them and keep changing them) but i dont know why the substrate is that special. Lol
Lol, It must be tasty too then. :D Do you by any chance give them any supplements? Also maybe there is something that they are looking for in thier diet, that they are finding in the substrate. Just throwing some ideas your way, to maybe figure out why they like their substrate so much. I am not by any means an expert. But thought I would try and see if I can give you any ideas to help you. If you have already explored these idea's then my apologies. I also did not see any plants in your pictures, what if you tried putting some edible plants in containers in their enclosures that you can swop every week (the swop is to keep the plant healthy and time to recover), this way they can also nibble on the plants.
 

Lifeoftorto

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Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
INA
Lol, It must be tasty too then. :D Do you by any chance give them any supplements? Also maybe there is something that they are looking for in thier diet, that they are finding in the substrate. Just throwing some ideas your way, to maybe figure out why they like their substrate so much. I am not by any means an expert. But thought I would try and see if I can give you any ideas to help you. If you have already explored these idea's then my apologies. I also did not see any plants in your pictures, what if you tried putting some edible plants in containers in their enclosures that you can swop every week (the swop is to keep the plant healthy and time to recover), this way they can also nibble on the plants.

I put the reptile booster and calcium powder in like once in 2 days. They dont really like them. They eat less than usual whenever i put the supplements. They know theres something in their food!! I put some little lettuce plants on their enclosure 2 days ago. And now theyre all ruined. They stepped on them! I shouldve put them in little plant pots. Lol. I have no idea why my cherry head still likes the substrate. It says the coconut coir is 100% natural.. i hope it causes no harm since he eats them sometimes..
 

CarolM

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Oct 30, 2017
Messages
19,492
Location (City and/or State)
South Africa - Cape Town
I put the reptile booster and calcium powder in like once in 2 days. They dont really like them. They eat less than usual whenever i put the supplements. They know theres something in their food!! I put some little lettuce plants on their enclosure 2 days ago. And now theyre all ruined. They stepped on them! I shouldve put them in little plant pots. Lol. I have no idea why my cherry head still likes the substrate. It says the coconut coir is 100% natural.. i hope it causes no harm since he eats them sometimes..
My torts also tend to not want eat their food when i put the supplement on it. So I cheat and put it in their soak water instead. So when they drink the water they take in the supplements as well. I find that that works better than putting it on their food.
 

Antoni

Active Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2016
Messages
110
I put the reptile booster and calcium powder in like once in 2 days. They dont really like them. They eat less than usual whenever i put the supplements. They know theres something in their food!! I put some little lettuce plants on their enclosure 2 days ago. And now theyre all ruined. They stepped on them! I shouldve put them in little plant pots. Lol. I have no idea why my cherry head still likes the substrate. It says the coconut coir is 100% natural.. i hope it causes no harm since he eats them sometimes..
Try adding timothy hay, soak it in water and add to their diet. Maybe they’re looking for something more fibrous? Mine doesnt touch the coir anymore. After providing a balanced meal.
 

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