The Tortoise Table

Thank you Nina - you confirmed what I was thinking. I do love the Latin names! So helpful when one needs to be specific about a given plant. My favorite example is "plantain" vs. "plantain" - genus "Plantago" vs. genus "Musa" - little round-leafed plant with a...

Very nice, Summerills! All the other tortoises will be jealous! A quick question on your comment Nina "It's good you dug the bluebells out, as they are poisonous". Which bluebell are we talking about? I spent some time this morning looking for plants that grow in the shade, are deer resist...

That is adorable BeeL! I got images of it turning from black to white and sending out beeping sounds when he "puts it in reverse"!

Nina wrote: > At the moment I'm struggling with > mealy bug (do you have that in the USA?) on a lot of the succulents that I > grow indoors. I absolutely hate them! > Oh yes - mealy bugs and I are old adversaries! The most effective solution I've used is a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. The ...

Thank you, Nina. I'm glad I'm not alone! I didn't think of putting the trays outside. Every time I ever put houseplants outside in the past, they've come back with bugs that they didn't have when I put them out there! But, maybe I should give Mother Nature a whack at these (better than bringing lady...

Egad! I planted some "testudo mix" in preparation for my baby Hermann's arrival in a month or so. Doting (as I do) on anything growing on my plant table (sometimes I over-dote and kill one now and then! :shock: ), I was taking some pictures as the seedlings in the mix grew (mostly, I want ...

Nina wrote: > Sometimes if you put the Latin name + 'toxic' into Google (so 'Gynura > aurantica, toxic') you will see published scientific articles where they > have assessed the chemical properties of plants and this can be very useful > in doing research. I also find that putting in the name of th...

I'm getting plants ready to put in the indoor enclosure for my Hermann's hatchling. I'd like to include a Purple Passion, but can't find a for-sure answer on whether that would be OK. Ideally, I'd like to give him the flowers (there are always lots) and let him munch on the leaves if he wants to. No...

Hello fraze1974! I too am setting up an enclosure for a new Mediterranean hatchling arriving next month - I feel in good company! Building upon your question, I'm wondering about the placement of the Basking Light in relation to the UVB and plant lights. We took great care to set up our chameleon's ...

Hi everyone, Because one of our critters is a Bearded Dragon, I have accumulated quite a few houseplants from the Crassulaceae (stonecrop) Family including Crassula ovata (jade plant), some varieties of sedum, and a bunch of Echeveria. Turns out this guy is way too rough on these poor plants and I h...

Hello all! I was doing some research on plants to put in my Hermann's Tortoise enclosure. From the "For What It's Worth" department ;) , I came across this gem and just had to post it here. It's titled "The Cactus and Succulent Journal of Great Britain", published in 1962. While ...

Nina wrote: >If you are going to have a second > level then don't make it too big though (if I could do mine over again I would make the upper level smaller). This is because the space under the > second level is sort of dead space. It's dark and so good for sleeping in, but tortoises don't actually...

Nina wrote: > ... you should make the table as large as you can in whatever space you have > we say 'as big as your space will allow'. Thank you! Finally, an answer that makes sense to me! :D Answers I've gotten from other sources told me (paraphrasing) "a *minimum* of 4' x 8' or maybe you shou...

Jumping in on this discussion as we are in the process of designing an indoor enclosure for a single male Western Hermann's. I've been reading a *lot* :shock: about enclosures and I have a pretty good understanding of how to set one up (substrate, lights, humidity, plants, etc.), but I still don't h...

Nina wrote: > > Speaking of adopting a tortoise, you could try this group if they are close enough to you: https://jerseyshoretortrescue.com/ > And this is a really excellent group, headed by Julie McGuire: https://www.turtlerescues.com/ > Good luck, and let us know how you get on! > > Nina Thank yo...

>>Just out of curiosity -- is there a reason why you prefer a male tortoise (just wondered). :D >> I just don't want to have to deal with the eggs! That probably sounds selfish, but there you have it! Sounds like I will be looking at an adult Hermann's, which is OK. Someone suggested adopting one wh...

Nina wrote: > clearly showing the cloaca (the opening through which they wee and poo)? In female tortoises is is sort of the shape of an asterisk, midway down the > tail, and in males it is more like a slit, and more towards the end of the tail. > > Nina I had never heard of this way to identify mal...