Re: some advice (the other folks will give you more)...

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Posted by Paul on May 20, 2002 at 19:46:29:

In Reply to: some advice (the other folks will give you more)... posted by Niki on May 20, 2002 at 17:08:08:

We have a 6 X 6 tortoise pen kept in my son's bedroom (that I proudly built myself!) and the basking light is about 2ft from the floor. I used to have a 150 and 100 watt going at the same time, but I disconnected the 100 as I thought that they may be getting too hot. The documentation that I have states that they should be kept in the upper 80's, but it sounds like this may be incorrect. I also provide a dark place with at least 3 sides for each of them to go as and when they need privacy, also we use dry rabbit pellets as the substrate (as per the pet shops advice).

We are feeding them; mustard greens, collard greens, alfafa, parsley and allow them to graze outside when the weather permits.

Chester (the one with the leaky nose) seems to be feeding well, although neither of them seem to drink while in the tank, despite our constant provision of fresh water. They seem to drink when we bathe them every other day. Chester is around 12 ins long and weighs in at 4kG. He outgrew his owner and I couldn't resist buying him after numerous visits to the pet store and seeing the terrible conditions that they were keeping him in.

Well....I gave you a ton of information, please let me know if there is anything that I can do better as we really love these guys and treat them as part of our family.

BTW, Rocco (the younger one) is around 3 years old and is approx. 8ins long. His shell is 'peaked' and we found out that the pet store may have been feeding him the incorrect foods, after we had purchased him. Hopfully this will subside as he gets older and bigger.

I have plans to build a huge outdoor enclosure with access to the inside some time next year. Any ideas that you have would be greatly appreciated.

The issue that I have with the vet is that this is the only one that will see exotic pets and I really do not trust his advice.

Sorry for the long note! :-)

Follow Ups:

Paul... Niki 05/20/02 (5)
- Re: Paul... Paul 05/20/02 (2)
  - see Terry's link on substrates... Niki 05/20/02 (1)
    - Re: see Terry's link on substrates... Paul 05/20/02 (0)
- Link to "Sulcata Station" Niki 05/20/02 (1)
  - Exotic animal food "Mazuri"...Link... Niki 05/20/02 (0)

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: We have a 6 X 6 tortoise pen kept in my son's bedroom (that I proudly built myself!) and the basking light is about 2ft from the floor. I used to have a 150 and 100 watt going at the same time, but I disconnected the 100 as I thought that they may be getting too hot. The documentation that I have states that they should be kept in the upper 80's, but it sounds like this may be incorrect. I also provide a dark place with at least 3 sides for each of them to go as and when they need privacy, also we use dry rabbit pellets as the substrate (as per the pet shops advice). : We are feeding them; mustard greens, collard greens, alfafa, parsley and allow them to graze outside when the weather permits. : Chester (the one with the leaky nose) seems to be feeding well, although neither of them seem to drink while in the tank, despite our constant provision of fresh water. They seem to drink when we bathe them every other day. Chester is around 12 ins long and weighs in at 4kG. He outgrew his owner and I couldn't resist buying him after numerous visits to the pet store and seeing the terrible conditions that they were keeping him in. : Well....I gave you a ton of information, please let me know if there is anything that I can do better as we really love these guys and treat them as part of our family. : BTW, Rocco (the younger one) is around 3 years old and is approx. 8ins long. His shell is 'peaked' and we found out that the pet store may have been feeding him the incorrect foods, after we had purchased him. Hopfully this will subside as he gets older and bigger. : I have plans to build a huge outdoor enclosure with access to the inside some time next year. Any ideas that you have would be greatly appreciated. : The issue that I have with the vet is that this is the only one that will see exotic pets and I really do not trust his advice. : Sorry for the long note! :-)

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