Search found 43 matches

by CritterMama
02 May 2022, 14:41
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Our Tortoise Table
Replies: 7
Views: 8353

Re: Our Tortoise Table

Thank you terrarium! The more I work with it, the more I like it! :!: I especially like the "towers" that hold the board to which the lights are attached. It makes it an easy, one-person job to raise and lower the lights to get in the box for maintenance. We just installed a misting system...
by CritterMama
04 Apr 2022, 17:48
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: Is a red soaking tub OK?
Replies: 3
Views: 6148

Re: Is a red soaking tub OK?

He doesn't seem to mind the red color at all. He's already plotting his escape, but he's a ways away from being able to do that. :lol: I think he "looks good in red" (quite literally!)
by CritterMama
26 Mar 2022, 15:01
Forum: UK Plant Identification
Topic: Common Groundsel
Replies: 9
Views: 9696

Re: Common Groundsel

Nina - I read just the first few pages of Mabey's book and I already know I'm going to love it! On page 1, his opening sentence is "Plants become weeds when they obstruct out plans, or our tidy maps of the world." Later, he talks about wandering through an area of rubble and trash, but fin...
by CritterMama
25 Mar 2022, 14:54
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: Is a red soaking tub OK?
Replies: 3
Views: 6148

Is a red soaking tub OK?

Had to get a deeper bowl for soaking my baby Hermann's. He's an escape artist to be sure. Anyway, I found these plastic cereal bowls that should work just fine - an added bonus is that they are my favorite color - red! Any problem with Scoot soaking in a red tub? Sounds like a crazy question, but if...
by CritterMama
25 Mar 2022, 14:19
Forum: UK Plant Identification
Topic: More plants for id thanks
Replies: 11
Views: 9647

Re: More plants for id thanks

Hi all! Good discussion on Dandelions vs. Cat's Ear. One of my favorite books is "Edible Wild Plants - Wild Foods from Dirt to Plate" by John Kallas (link below). Beginning on p. 274, he discusses the differences between the leaves of these 2 plants, as well as chicory - I haven't found an...
by CritterMama
02 Mar 2022, 19:11
Forum: Diet and Nutrition
Topic: Calendula Schmendula!
Replies: 1
Views: 4892

Calendula Schmendula!

I planted some Calendula seeds (well, actually, first I planted Tagetes seeds because I didn't know there was a difference!) I doted over them until they sprouted, carefully planted them, put them under grow lights, watched them poke their little heads out of the soil, and gave them the best plant c...
by CritterMama
02 Mar 2022, 18:53
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Background on enclosure
Replies: 10
Views: 13040

Re: Background on enclosure

Nina wrote: > So you can just tack a thin piece of wood onto the top of the walls that make a little lip inside the table and that should be sufficient. > > Nina > m_IMG_9403.jpgm_IMG_9402.jpg PLUS, then you have a little ledge for your cookies or whatever you enjoy while watching your little guy(s)...
by CritterMama
02 Mar 2022, 18:48
Forum: UK Plant Identification
Topic: Common Groundsel
Replies: 9
Views: 9696

Re: Common Groundsel

Thank you Nina! The US title is "Weeds : in defense of nature's most unloved plants" (just ordered a copy on your recommendation!) Of course, another recommended book popped up: "The revolutionary genius of plants: a new understanding of plant intelligence and behavior" (2018) by...
by CritterMama
02 Mar 2022, 13:39
Forum: UK Plant Identification
Topic: Common Groundsel
Replies: 9
Views: 9696

Re: Common Groundsel

Too bad about Common Groundsel - it's everywhere (literally!) This entry from Wikipedia helps explain why! :o "Senecio vulgaris is a frost-resistant deciduous annual plant that grows in disturbed sites, waste places, roadsides, gardens, nurseries, orchards, vineyards, landscaped areas, agricult...
by CritterMama
02 Mar 2022, 13:30
Forum: Guidelines
Topic: sterilising soil
Replies: 2
Views: 14680

Re: sterilising soil

Janeybombaney wrote: My question is about about top soil. I am currently baking it at 180 degrees and wondering how long it should have it in the oven! That said, it is now totally dry so I assume it is ready to go. I will, as per the advice on other threads, be mixing it with some play sand. Any ad...
by CritterMama
18 Feb 2022, 18:32
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Tortoise not eating and has lost weight
Replies: 2
Views: 4852

Re: Tortoise not eating and has lost weight

As always, Nina asked the right questions! One other thing I thought of - is there a favorite food that you know he really likes? Mine (literally) comes running over for hibiscus flowers or succulent leaves. Everything else, he kinda takes his time eating. Good luck! You're a good tort Mom for askin...
by CritterMama
02 Nov 2021, 15:00
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise
Replies: 10
Views: 9299

Re: Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise

Nina wrote: > Don't know if this will help or not. Crittermama lives in the USA so she > linked to the American Amazon site, and TP is in Northern Ireland, so here > is the UK Amazon site with Rojuna hygrometers, but I haven't checked to see > if they are the same ones that Crittermama is recommendi...
by CritterMama
01 Nov 2021, 20:23
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise
Replies: 10
Views: 9299

Re: Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise

TortyPerson wrote: > Hi CritterMama, > > Thanks for your reply! We do have an Exo Terra hygrometer on the wall of > the table but as the hand been stuck at 60 since we got it, I don't trust > it. Can you recommend a brand to go for? We have a thermometer gun for > temperature. > > TP I bought Rojuna...
by CritterMama
01 Nov 2021, 16:47
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise
Replies: 10
Views: 9299

Re: Bumpy-shelled spur-thighed mediterranean tortoise

Hello TortyPerson! So glad your tortoise has someone to take such good care of him now! I'm new at all this myself, but one question come to mind. Do you have a meter to take readings in your enclosure? I measure temperature and humidity regularly (more often when Scoot was new, less often now that ...
by CritterMama
17 Oct 2021, 16:45
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Heating and lighting
Replies: 1
Views: 5958

Re: Heating and lighting

Doris wrote: > Hi, I have a vivexotic deluxe tortoise table approx 4ft x 2ft I currently > have a d3 combined basking lamp. I need an ambient temperature of 80 > degrees how can I get more heat onto the table. There does not appear to > be much light can I use a Arcadia T5 12% reptile lamp as well a...
by CritterMama
17 Oct 2021, 15:39
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Subtrate
Replies: 9
Views: 8564

Re: Subtrate

Nina wrote: > Hi Ladybird, > > Just to point out that the proportions of sand to soil that CritterMama > gave you are fine for the Hermann's that she has, but because you have an > Egyptian (Kleinmanni) tortoise, you should probably use a higher proportion > of sand. > Nina Yes - thank you, Nina! I ...
by CritterMama
16 Oct 2021, 13:57
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Rescued a tortoise, please help
Replies: 4
Views: 6127

Re: Rescued a tortoise, please help

Hello Christina! Thank you for taking Koopa under your proverbial wing! He's one lucky tort for sure. I'll just share a few things I learned along my journey into the world of tortoises (have a baby Western Hermann's named Scoot). Nina mentioned that Koopa is a Horsfield tortoise. I looked at all th...
by CritterMama
16 Oct 2021, 13:31
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Subtrate
Replies: 9
Views: 8564

Re: Subtrate

lin wrote: > Hi Ladybird. > I have it on good authority that if you mix some sand (children’s play sand, or even crunched oyster shell sifting through with a cat litter scoop makes poop finding so much easier. Hope that helps. > Lin I agree. The substrate for my Western Hermann's is 1-to-1-to-1/3 (o...
by CritterMama
01 Oct 2021, 15:24
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Our Tortoise Table
Replies: 7
Views: 8353

Re: Our Tortoise Table

Thank you for your kind words of support lin and nina. For some reason here in the states, I get a lot of grief from the "no open-top, only closed-top boxes", "no sand, only orchid bark substrate", "must be 4'x8' minimum or your shouldn't even own a tortoise" crowd. 😵 I...
by CritterMama
29 Sep 2021, 21:39
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Our Tortoise Table
Replies: 7
Views: 8353

Our Tortoise Table

Hello everyone, I promised to post pictures of the table that my DH designed and the 2 of us built together. I just love it! I'll include some pictures of the progress and the finished product. I only seem to be able to conceptualize in US measurements but I'll convert with the help of my handy-dand...
by CritterMama
29 Sep 2021, 20:53
Forum: Enclosures
Topic: Humid hide
Replies: 5
Views: 9021

Re: Humid hide

Nina wrote: > > Personally I achieve a bit of humidity by having other areas of the table > damp. For example, I have decorative grasses and spider plants that I grow > in the substrate (it's a topsoil/playsand substrate), and they are watered > regularly and so produce some humidity. > I have a sim...
by CritterMama
06 Sep 2021, 15:43
Forum: Questions about Plants
Topic: Portulacaria Afra
Replies: 5
Views: 10718

Re: Portulacaria Afra

Thank you Daniel for introducing me to P. afra! I'm in the northeastern US, so it does not grow wild here, but I'll find it somewhere! I like that it's hardier than Crassula ovata - I have a *lot* of those, but they don't stand up to our Bearded Dragon - at all. I also learned about "xeriscapin...
by CritterMama
04 Sep 2021, 19:47
Forum: Mediterranean Species
Topic: Introducing Scoot!
Replies: 2
Views: 6659

Introducing Scoot!

This is to introduce you to Scoot, my baby Western Hermann's Tortoise. He comes from the Mallorca locale, in the Balearic Islands off the eastern coast of Spain. I got him from Garden State Tortoises (https://www.gardenstatetortoise.com/) here in the States - I can't recommend Chris Leone and his wi...
by CritterMama
04 Sep 2021, 19:24
Forum: General Tortoise Care
Topic: HELP!! IS MY TORTOISE OKAY?
Replies: 9
Views: 10269

Re: HELP!! IS MY TORTOISE OKAY?

Zbutcher wrote: > Hey everyone, I am really worried. I have a baby hermanns tortoise and it > is currently house with another baby. > > I notice on the one he has some flaking of a scale or skin next to his nose > or something. Does anyone know what this is? Should I be worried? > > Any advice is gr...
by CritterMama
03 Aug 2021, 21:02
Forum: Questions about Plants
Topic: Hooked on Botany!
Replies: 0
Views: 7684

Hooked on Botany!

UPDATE: I found this site which goes into excruciating detail :? in describing individual plant species and their component parts: http://www.efloras.org/index.aspx My goal is to be able to describe a plant (that I am trying to identify) in botanical terms (super-nerdy-like! 🤓🤓) so I can then enter ...