New Arrival number 2 ( Hercules )

Hello all,
So I have been a bit busy with a few different things but the latest update is that Handsome Bob and Khalessi are getting along really well. There is no issue with them at all now which I am very happy about. They eat together and sleep together in the hide. Also there has been an addition to my little family. I have taken in a baby Sulcata tortoise named Hercules. He is so cute. It’s amazing the difference between the species: the Sulcata is much more active and much stronger in comparison. He runs around bulldozing everything out of this way and is even defiant when you try to pick him up when he is eating. As for substrate and lighting etc, I am using all the same as the Hermann tortoises but I have given him a bit more hay in his hide for him to nibble on. One thing I am trying to do at the moment is get some mazuri but it seems tricky to get outside of the U.S. without it being a 25lb bag which I don't think I will need. So once I find a source, I will put up the link for it. I’ve included some photos of Bob,Khalessi and Hercules. Just a quick note-I don’t and wouldn't put them together. Aside from that when Hercules is about 1 he will probably be bigger than the two Hermanns and there is the possibility of cross species virus transfer or maybe cross species mating which would not be good with these specific breeds.

Tortoise couple

The day has come im finally going to introduce Handsome bob and khalessi needless to say i am quite excited they both have there own tables but ideally they would be housed together. 

They have both been bathed and had over a month quarantine. Khaleesi because she came from a breeder had a shorter quarantine and she is doing really well but is still rather timid. I am hoping Handsome Bob will fix this as he is a bit of a exhibitionist always out never hiding etc.

I started by putting them in a neutral environment together i.e living room floor and low and behold what happens? My sexing appear to be accurate as no sooner do I put them down, Bob is on top of her giving it his all.....after separating them a few times, I thought it was almost hopeless between the attempted mating and trying to nip at legs, I didn't think they would get on. So I began researching it a bit more. After a couple of hours reading, I decided to try again. This time, I cleared out his table and put in all new substrate as it's the much bigger one and I added a divider and a couple of logs and rocks. This time, I put them both in and once again he goes straight to it within a few minutes, though this time he stopped...it's as if he got used to her. So I watched over them for the rest of the day and it appear they have almost developed a relationship. They follow each other around now, eat together and he has never slept in his hide but now she sleeps in there and he does too. I'll update in my next post with how they are getting on.

UVB light 2.0

Looking at my tortoise table the other day, I decided I would make a more permanent light fixture for the uvb light. The original which was done when I started this blog is okay but I wanted something that is much sturdier. So I started by buying a reel of metal aluminium or any other metal you can find with holes
in it.

Once I had it, I cut off enough so that it would go over the ceramic fitting and down either side. Now as it's a ceramic fitting, I stuffed a small bit of cardboard between the metal and the ceramic so as to not break or crack it when I am tightening the screws . I've included a photo of the finished product below so I hope this helps. Also if you are using a similar bulb, it's been said that the correct position for it is horizontal like in the picture, not vertical as this can cause issues with sight for the tortoise. All the best.

Turned Upside Down

The other day, I went in to check on Khaleesi. While she was climbing near the heat lamp area, she fell on her back. I must say it was heart breaking to see her wiggling around like that but I had to restrain myself from helping her. I did this, not to be unkind, and she may not have enjoyed the experience but she needed to learn. She needed to learn where not to climb and also how to right herself up. In the wild, if they can't right themselves up, they will die and the same can be said for your tortoise in your own home. If your tortoise ends up on its back, they need to learn to fix the situation, particularly when under the heat lamp. Thankfully, after about 10 minutes, she managed to get a foot against the wall and kick off turning back up the right way.

One thing I would say about it is to try to have uneven ground not just a big flat surface and put things on slants so they have some kind of leverage to aid them in righting themselves. Hopefully, this will help any people who aren't used to seeing this know not to just turn them back over to help the tortoise.

Settling in for Khaleesi

Ok so it's been about two weeks since Khaleesi has got here. From close inspection, I believe she is female. I read details on forums saying that a small tail like hers indicated her being female. She has gone from a weight of 106g to just over 116g which I think is a good Gain and she is a heavy eater. It's quite interesting to see the differences between her and Handsome Bob. She likes to hide a lot especially when going to sleep whereas Bob doesn't like or use his hide at all. He sleeps out in the open and tends to dig up his hide and throw it around. Towards the end of the month, I shall briefly introduce them to each other but I won't leave them alone as he is still a good bit bigger then her. He has had a massive gain from 197g to 223g since my last post which I am really happy with. He is very active as usual but also is becoming much tamer and settling to his routine. In my next post, I'll hopefully have some pictures of them meeting.

Arrival of Khaleesi

I finally got a scales and measuring tape for Bob I've had him about three months so not really sure if he has grown. He's measuring at about 4" and weighing in at 196 grams so I will keep an eye on that. Also I have some more good news-there is a new addition today. Unsure of the sex and won't be able to tell for at least a month as I will be quarantining her but after that I hope they will get on well. I've decided to call her Khaleesi (after the game of thrones character). She's also a hermann and hopefully a female. For the quarantine period, I have a separate table set up away from Bobs table. From what I have read, this is best. Tortoise Trust says to keep the new tortoise quarantined for a minimum of 3 months. I am going to do it for a month. My reason for this is that she is coming from a breeder rather than a pet shop and has been wormed etc so I don't have to worry about it as much. But I am still doing a month as a precaution. I've given her a warm bath to help her relax and then fresh food and water. I know she will be a bit shy for the first week but I will do an update in a few days with her progress and how she is getting on.

Tortoise Table 2.0

Ok...so the camera while I was on holiday ended up being a bit of a bust. I decided against the laptop coming with me and the day I left, the camera logged off and I had no way of getting it back on. Well now I am back and the camera is working. I have also decided to double the size of this table.

Firstly I thought I might buy another of the same size, cut out a hole on the sides of both with a jigsaw and put them together. But it turns out you can buy one twice the size in Argos as mentioned in one of my previous posts. I turned it into a table again. The handy thing was I could use the same piece of shelf to hold the heat emitter and light on.
I've put up a picture of the new layout to see and Bob seems to be loving the extra space.
I've covered most of the space in reptile bark and in the far corner I've got some big rocks which separate the soil and the reptile bark. In the soil, there is a flower pot for him to use as a hide hole.
I'll be updating in a few days with how he is getting on but for now here's the photo.

Cuttlefish Calcium

I ordered Bob some cuttlefish bones on Amazon which I have added the link to below. There was some info on different powders for calcium which you can add but tortoises wouldn’t have access to these powders in the wild. So I said I would stick with the bones after reading they lick white things a lot thinking its calcium. Not two seconds after I had given him a bit of bone about the size of a postage stamp, he went to town on it. Once you get passed the fact that he is eating bone and the crunching sound his beak makes as he bites and scratches it, it’s not so bad and its giving him the calcium he needs which is good enough for me. I’ve also put a picture of him with it. Till next time, all the best.
 

Soon to be out and about

The last few days have been slightly sunnier than normal so I am hoping that we will have a good hot summer. Ireland isn't ideal tortoise climate but I’m hoping for a nice hot day to take Bob to the park so he can walk around, eat stuff and explore. I’ll put up an update of some more pictures in next few days.

So far Bob has gained a little bit of weight and grown a little bit too. Soon I'll take proper weights and measurements.

Munch for Lunch

Its morning again and I have been pondering on the subject of food for Bob. It seems to be a very mixed subject with a lot of different information online. I've tried a few bits so far- he really likes a mix I get from Tesco. It has spinach, watercress and rocket and I like it as it’s giving him variety. One of the things brought up on the food side of things is wild weeds like dandelions etc. which I think is a nice idea. So I have bought some seeds on eBay which I have planted and they have just started sprouting which will give him a tasty treat. I don’t really agree with some sites saying this is all they should be eating as it’s what they eat in the wild. It’s different in the wild as they have to eat weeds etc. as its all that’s there and from what I have read tortoises are browsers they like to sample small amounts of lots of different things. So I’m providing little bits of lots of different things for him to eat. I think it will satisfy whatever dietary need he may have i.e. rocket, watercress, slice of cucumber, spinach and every so often a little bit of fruit only as a treat. One other thing is try not to give him something too hard especially for a small tortoise like Bob as he would struggle to bite through hard veg like celery.

Hide in the habitat

Ahoy ahoy! So Bob has settled in really well and is getting much tamer to the point he is eating out of my hand. I am currently doing exams so he’s not really helping since I lost about half an hour the other day watching him eat a piece of cucumber….but he’s worth it. He’s mad for climbing all over the place so I got him a flower pot and dug it in a bit. I put it on its side as anything that didn’t have a bottom attached he likes to lift and throw around his table. I bought a big bag of topsoil filtered stuff from b&q which I’ve built up around it so he can move it and it gives him something to climb on which he seems to like. I’m going to do a bit more research on stuff to keep him busy and happy and I’ll up date with that in my next post. 

Bath time Bob

Today is Handsome Bob’s bath day! Kinda excited as I haven’t done it before and he is getting more comfortable with me to the point where he is climbing all over me.
So, I started by buying a very cheap plastic tub and putting just enough water in so his head can’t get submerged. I wouldn’t recommend having it two high as if you aren’t watching him the whole time, he might drown (“tortoises can’t swim or breath underwater just in case you are ever minding Bob”)   

I made sure the water was warm; quarter boiled the kettle and added cold water till it was warm. I also had a nice little towel for him and a new soft tooth brush. I let him soak for a few minutes then gave him a gentle scrub with the tooth brush. Try not to have him upside down too long as they don’t like it very much and squirm a lot to show it.

After he’s had a scrub, I let him soak which he seems to enjoy but be prepared that he may relieve himself in his tub-don’t worry as that is quite normal. After his soak, sit him on his towel and gently dry him off making sure he is dry. If he is making a weird noise while walking it could mean he isn’t dry enough I would give him another dab with the towel as you don’t want to bring on an infection.

So that’s Bobs bath done and he’s having a chomp on some cucumber 

Till my next post see ya!

Eating and Breathing

Hey again,

With a couple of days under his belt, Handsome Bob is doing much better. I was a bit worried by a few things which I will go through. I am about 99% sure they will happen to others but with a bit of looking into it, found there was nothing to worry about. 
Firstly, he kept moving without moving…I know it sounds strange but he was almost bobbing. I assumed he was posturing as he didn’t like me or there was something wrong but  I have actually found out that tortoises don’t have diaphragms-they have to move like that to breath so that was the first worry off my mind.
Secondly was the lack of eating. I hadn’t seem he take a nibble at all which was worrying but again after a little bit of research found that tortoises are creatures of habit and don’t like their routine changed too often. So to speed up the process of him eating, I hand fed him a little apple and after that he was eating fine on his own-two little dishes of leafy veg a day. 

He seems to be delighted with his table. He spends all day climbing around and eating, quite an active little guy. I am just working on getting a routine that works for both of us. He seems to still be waking and sleeping at roughly the time the pet shop opens and closes whereas I tend to get up quite early in the morning so am turning his light on the same time I get up and off around 7pm or 8pm.
That’s all for this post. Next post will be an update on how he is getting on and also will be more on me bathing him.
See ya!

Finishing your Tortoise Starter Kit

Right so we have the table made, the light and heat fittings and the substrate ready.
After a few hours of pondering how I would attach the lights/heat, I managed to come up with something secure as well as easy to do. To start with the heat emitter; it came with a metal hook like thing attached for hanging it so I just drove a long screw into the end of the table leaving about 1/½ sticking out. I then hooked the lamp onto it above the slate and put the thermometer in too to gauge the temp and make sure it was ok for him. Roughly the basking area should be about 35-37C of if you’re from elsewhere 95-100F 

And that should trail off across the table to about 26C during day and dropping to not much lower than 18C during the night (80F for day and 65F at night) 

The UVB light was slightly trickier. I bought some soldering wire as it’s easy to bend and break off. I’ve put in a very crude drawing of how it was done. A brief description is the ceramic fitting is resting on the end of the table, two screws are driven into either side. I have wound the soldering wire around it twice where there is a join in the fitting so it has a little gap that it is stuck in. I then had excess wire each side making a loop out of it and securing it to a screw on either side. 

Finally the table is ready and we have got the little fella. He seems a little scared but I probably would be too if some crazy giant put me in a cardboard box...so I am leaving him alone in his new home for a bit to get used to it. I’ve picked up a bag of mixed leaves from Tesco. It has rocket, spinach etc so we will be sharing dinners as I am quite partial to a veg smoothie. One tip I was given from the pet shop owner was to spray his dinner with a water bottle like below as they don’t drink from their water dishes very often. Therefore, this is a second source of water for them.

Ok that’s enough for today my next post will be on how the little fella is getting on. Until next time see ya!

Tortoise Starter kit

     

So....I finally made the decision to get a tortoise. After months of debating with myself, I made my way to the pet shop (I would have preferred a breeder but can’t find any in Ireland ) to have a look at the little guys and it was a nice surprise to see that the owners seemed to know exactly what they were talking about. I was expecting the hard sell on what I needed but the first thing that was said is we don’t do tables for the tortoise so you need to get one or make one. Having read up on the subject for quite some time and hearing others’ stories of being sold everything bad for a tortoise under the sun, this was a nice, welcome surprise.

On hearing this, I went on a bit of a journey to find a tortoise table in Ireland. This is near impossible; it seems given my mastery of searching the internet. I decided to take the pet shop owner’s advice and to make my own I bought the cheapest bookshelf of a decent size that Argos had. It works out about 100 cms long and about 50/60 cms wide-not bad for first table and for a very small tortoise.

One thing I would say about the kit from Argos is make sure you have your own screws and screw driver. How they expect you to drive home a screw with a blunt end with an L shaped Allen key is beyond me.

So with the table now down, I couldn’t find anything like topsoil or play sand around town. So for now he has a bark bedding that lizards use. I have read this is not preferred but he will have to do for a day or two until I can get to b&q and pick up some topsoil. Apart from that, I bought him a plant for decoration and found an old bit of slate for him to bask on. The lights cost a few bob but they are a must I got a ceramic heat emitter with a 60 watt bulb but I am now thinking of getting a 100w just to raise the temperature. As for the UV bulb, I’ve purchased Terra Exotica Compact Desert 10.0 UVB bulb. I didn’t know if it would affect me having the bright bulb on (as I spend so much time looking at the tortoise) so I fashion a sort of lamp shade out of tin foil which blocks me from the rays as well as sending any residual heat back down.

Ok that’s all I have time for today. My next post will have the finalising of the tortoise table and bringing the little fella home. See ya!