Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We've had such warm weather I shouldn't be surprised. Since our cold spell that lasted 2 days was over last week it's been too warm here to not wear shorts & Ts again.
This is a weird weather year.
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PHRatz

The 2 hatchlings have suddenly come back to life (we had a short cold rainy/cloudy spell) and are eating everything I throw in. Today it was a slug, wee red worms & 2 skink eggs.

We are now in winter & all my adults are out & sexing & eating & sexing &...I have been finding/feeding huge night crawler like worms & they eat them like crazy.

I think that we must weirdly effect their cycles here in Maui. It is too hot & dry in the summer for them to be out during the day past about 10, even tho it "rains" in their pen. If I want to feed them I need to be out by about 6am.

So your weather seems normal to me.../p
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Patsy

I had several out yesterday and this morning as well. It supposed to be in the 80 again today and it only got to the mid 60's last night. To a turtle thats just another cool summer day.

PHRatz,
Hey on another note. Did you mention in past posts you kept other torts in your yard as well? If so what kind. In the spring I would love to get a tort but I'm not sure what kind would do best in the north Dallas environment.

just curious

Thanks
Allen

It must be close to time to go under for good because after I posted this I offered food to Hobo, he refused it. That's the first time he's refused so by the end of next week, I'd bet he'll be gone for the season.

Allen,
We have a 70 to 75lb sulcata tortoise in the yard. I measured her yesterday in 5 & 1/2 years she's grown from a 14" L x 9" W tortoise to a 20" L x 16" W tortoise. Yikes she's big.
She's a rescue for us, we had to build a cinder block fence to keep her in because she's a powerful animal and our old fence was flimsy chainlink. The fence was here when we moved in, it was very old and it wasn't in great shape.
Most people around here have wooden fences, they don't hold up very well in this area. I know in my sister's neighborhood in Plano everyone has wood fencing, from what I've seen it looks to me like wood holds up better in that climate than this one.
I think if wood held up & had a concrete base it could keep a large tortoise like her in.
Would a sulcata do well in that colder in winter climate? If you had the right housing & equipment I think so. A leopard tortoise might do ok too, they're a bit smaller than sulcata. (they do not hibernate so you have to keep them warm year round.)

You're climate is more humid so for smaller than those 2 species but larger than a box turtle, I think a red footed or yellow footed from S. America might work for you. They can eat alot of fruit too unlike the African grassland species like sulcata or leopard. Might be easier to feed a fruit eating tortoise.
Then there's the greek, the golden greek, the russian (oh they tend to carry a herpes virus that can spread to other shelled species so if I were you I'd skip that species)
There's the hingebacks.. a lot to choose from out there.

btw except for Hobo who we haven't figured out where to put yet, the other box turtles are female & live in the pen where the tortoise and Hobo the male can't go.
Look at all the tortoise websites, I'll bet you can find a species that will work for you.
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PHRatz

One of mine is still out: we've been in the upper 60's - low 70's the last few days and apparently she's just not quiiiite ready to take that long nap.

Ditto. Mine are still active. Ratz, we are now getting your warmer weather over here. It is nearly 80. The box turtles are just staring up into the sky...the Wood turtles are doing the bowchickabowow like crazy. Nobody is eating.

I had to get up early for school today so I sat here & watched the cold front blow in. It was nice & sunny when I got up then the sky turned brown, the sand started blowing & it's yucky out there right now.
But the tortoise was out & about when I got home a little while ago. She had to go to her spot to make a pile of road apples. LOL

I haven't seen any of the boxies since Monday when Hobo refused the food.
The one thing I'm really happy about is Shell E, she's the one who's been indoors most of her time here since I found her broken 6 years ago.
I worried most about her not knowing what to do but in Oct. she vanished & she hasn't come back. I think she buried herself & stayed.
During the summer she disapeared for about 3-4 days, it was extremely hot when she did then we had a light rain one day & I saw her walking around with about half an inch of moist sand stuck to her carapace. LOL
I knew then that she'd been underground to escape the heat so hopefully she knew to do that to escape cool temps too.
I've worried about them a lot but Shell E is the one I was most concerned about.. I have a good feeling about them being out there, I think that all is well. I sure hope so.
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PHRatz

My baby and juvie box turtles are all hiding. I assume they started hibernation. The started at the first cold snap and even stayed under during the warm spell the past 2 weeks. My adults were under during the cold snap, but came out when it was warm. They were hiding today though when it got cold again. I'll check on them tomorrow.