Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Apparently I need to get outside & dig up the ground for little Hobo.
I thought he was going to stay under that storage building but for the last few days he's been staying inside a little "turtle house" that DH built a few years ago. It's not good cover for him IMHO because the door is too tall.
I put hay in it but I think I need to dig the earth up for him so he can burrow.
That ground squirrel burrow he used last year vanished once he left it.. it's not there for him this year.
Ahh the tribulations of turtle keeping.
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PHRatz

So I did dig up the ground under the little house where Hobo has been staying, put fresh hay in & next thing I know he's digging his own burrow in the cactus patch!
I think the spot he picked next to a big cactus is much better because it's against the wall that totally blocks the north wind, it also blocks the east wind because it's in a corner & it has hard plastic molded lattice in front of it to keep the tortoise from tearing up her cactus patch. It's a cozy safe spot for him I hope he sticks with that.
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PHRatz

>>So I did dig up the ground under the little house where Hobo has been staying, put fresh hay in & next thing I know he's digging his own burrow in the cactus patch!
>> I think the spot he picked next to a big cactus is much better because it's against the wall that totally blocks the north wind, it also blocks the east wind because it's in a corner & it has hard plastic molded lattice in front of it to keep the tortoise from tearing up her cactus patch. It's a cozy safe spot for him I hope he sticks with that.
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>>PHRatz

Eh. I had the one turtle that occasionally liked to come out of his burrow in Feb. and sit on top of the snow covered hay pile on a bright sunny day LOL. Whatever spot Hobo picks, just dump hay over it for extra insulation and don't worry about him.

BTW.. I have a shrub honeysuckle full of berries now if you want me to pick some and send to you to try and grow as a shade plant for the boxies/tort. It's a drought tolerant plant once it gets started and birds love the berries. Mine is growing more like a mini tree the way I have it pruned lol...it's the one I put in the spot of my old box turtle pen. We left it there after we ripped out the pen.

Actually I have two types of "shrub" honeysuckles.. The one mentioned above, flowers in the summer and berries in the fall. The other flowers in feb/march when there is still snow on the ground and berries in the early summer. For the turtles, the summer bloomer is better as they grow more like a tree with arching branches and don't need much care whereas the spring bloomer spreads like a weed with shoots/stems sticking up everywhere. I only keep the messy weedy one around as I just LOVE the smell of honeysuckle when everything else is dead or dormant. Most times that one will be flowering weeks before the forsythia starts blooming.
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PHWyvern

>>BTW.. I have a shrub honeysuckle full of berries now if you want me to pick some and send to you to try and grow as a shade plant for the boxies/tort. It's a drought tolerant plant once it gets started and birds love the berries. Mine is growing more like a mini tree the way I have it pruned lol...it's the one I put in the spot of my old box turtle pen. We left it there after we ripped out the pen.
>>
>>Actually I have two types of "shrub" honeysuckles.. The one mentioned above, flowers in the summer and berries in the fall. The other flowers in feb/march when there is still snow on the ground and berries in the early summer. For the turtles, the summer bloomer is better as they grow more like a tree with arching branches and don't need much care whereas the spring bloomer spreads like a weed with shoots/stems sticking up everywhere. I only keep the messy weedy one around as I just LOVE the smell of honeysuckle when everything else is dead or dormant. Most times that one will be flowering weeks before the forsythia starts blooming.

Heck yeah.. I'll try either of them. The summer one probably would be better but if the other one grows in cold that could be an extra tortoise food source?
Either way.. with my brown thumb ANY plant is worth trying LOL!
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PHRatz