Missus got her tank! :)

[Klyde O'Scope]

He's been climbing his rock pile,which he seems to love, since it's no big deal to take a godzillion other routes. Every time he climbs to a new level, we add another layer. He likes sliding down them on his plastron (tortoise tummy).

 

[redhorse]

Great shots!
Crazy how they can climb so well.. He is getting so big too-- Good job

 

[PlanetRemulak]

He's been climbing his rock pile,which he seems to love, since it's no big deal to take a godzillion other routes. Every time he climbs to a new level, we add another layer. He likes sliding down them on his plastron (tortoise tummy).

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He is so ridiculously cute. Wish we had the floor space for a tortoise table!

Edit: Just read that these dudes can live up to 90 years.. so does this qualify him as a generational pet? Like this guy?

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...an-becomes-worlds-oldest-tortoise-ever-688683

 

[Lindasjackson]

He’s so handsome! I’ve heard that climbing like that is great for their legs!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Great shots!
Crazy how they can climb so well.. He is getting so big too-- Good job

Thanks, I'll pass that along.

He is so ridiculously cute. Wish we had the floor space for a tortoise table!

Edit: Just read that these dudes can live up to 90 years.. so does this qualify him as a generational pet? Like this guy?

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...an-becomes-worlds-oldest-tortoise-ever-688683

With this species, the table has the same footprint as the chameleon's enclosure (2' x 4'), which should last him at least 5 years. I built it so we could build another the same size and link the two together.

Yup, we know we'll have to make arrangements for him.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Checking out the secondary (cool side) hide. He's only slept in it a couple times, but Missus always keeps it fresh & ready for him.

And back on the rockpile.

He was making such a racket this morning, Missus thought he got tipped over and was trying to right himself, but he was just tearing butt around the enclosure...

He can almost make it out of the bath...

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

So strange.

The little guy has spent every night (except the two in his secondary hide) sleeping in his primary hide (the half-log). Today/night (he goes to sleep at noon) he's sleeping "under the stars".

...AND WHERE'D HIS LI'L NOGGIN GO ‽‽‽ ​

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Sometime between bedding down for the night (above) and this morning, the headless tortoise moved to his secondary (cold) hide.

AND WE STILL CAN'T FIND HIS NOGGIN'! ​

 

[bbyoda]

He's so cute!!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Won't blame anyone who doesn't believe this—we're still incredulous ourselves...

Missus just called in from the other room, "Ya gotta see this," which happens several times a day around here....

No idea why or how he got up there, cuz we didn't see it.

Ol' Mitch is now 2½" long (half grown).

---

As I was typing above, I heard another, "Ya gotta see this!" He climbed off the spider plant—this time she did see it—just in time for his daily soak, and achieved another milestone...

HE CLIMBED OUT OF HIS BATHTUB!!!​

Not only that, he balanced on the rims a moment before water-sliding into the second (rinse) tub.

Now that he's done it (and it's been a loooong time coming...) he did it 5 more times in a row.
HE LIKES IT!

We can't stop laughting...

Who'da thunk walking rocks could be so much fun?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

He's so cute!!

...Until you can actually see his little face parts. Bleah!

Sheesh, talk about a face only a mother could love—no wonder they bury their eggs then walk away and forget about them! Eeeeeee....

 

[SueAndHerZoo]

Awwwww, this thread is causing me to really miss my boxies! I had newly hatched ones, raised them to adulthood, and then moved them to an outdoor habitat. I've also had water turtles but tortoises are my favorite. And yes, walking rocks are awesome!
Sue

 

[redhorse]

Awesome photos--- He is doing his magic plus he has some nice decor to work with. *****

 

[MissSkittles]

I have told you this before regarding Ol’ Stinkeye’s antics…we need video. NEED!

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Awesome photos--- He is doing his magic plus he has some nice decor to work with. *****

Thank you! We had to think about the whole project for a long time. Tortoises need a real (not tile or stone) substrate and humidity (misting) but Missus wasn't enthusiastic about bioactive, so we made some compromises.

She mixed up 2 or 3 batches of custom substrate that (theoretically) gets changed every 6 months, but it's been that and we're still good. He doesn't defecate in there—he saves it for his daily soaks (which are good for shell development and to help prevent pyramiding).

Plants are all double potted—originally because they're all safely edible and we thought we might have to change/rotate them often. That'd be a real PITA if we had to deal with developed root systems. He has devoured a couple—most notably the first inchplant. Since we knew he's need access to nibble, we put the outer pots on the enclosure floor, and 'landscaped' around them for access, enrichment (they like to slide on their plastrons), and visual barriers so the enclosure looks bigger from his perspective. If/when something happens with a plant, we just pull the inner pot and replace with what we have in reserve. Like our other enclosures, we had to research all the plants individually—not just for edible safety, but plant needs as well.

The rockpile was my idea (for enrichment). It's working out far better than I'd hoped! The grazing garden (currently regrowing, but goes next to the rockpile) is Missus' idea, and he chows down as fast as she can sprout & replace new ones.

The only feature he hasn't checked out thoroughly is his pool area. We think the stainless steel might be spooking him or something, so we're working on replacing it with something different—maybe another take-out container.

 

[kinyonga]

Do you know for sure its a male yet?

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

Do you know for sure its a male yet?

As sure as we can be. Breeder said he's been breeding this way (incubating by temp) for years, and hasn't had any exceptions since he's been doing it.

Why, are you seeing something?

 

[kinyonga]

No...just looking at the length of the tail...but he's young so it's hard to tell.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

No...just looking at the length of the tail...but he's young so it's hard to tell.

Yeah, he also keeps it pretty well tucked in, and nothing to compare to yet.

 

[Klyde O'Scope]

I have told you this before regarding Ol’ Stinkeye’s antics…we need video. NEED!

Why, are you really into SLO-MO?




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