Hello EJ,
I'm Xavier Springer, not sure if you remember me but you provided my with some husbandry information about Testudo kleinmanni some time ago. I have now had my female kleinmanni for 1 year, last December she was 19 grams and 42 mms November 3rd 2003 she was 50 grams and 64mms. She is now 20 months old and from what I've heard from two parties which both own a few kleins around her age she is rather small. I was kinda worried as they both had kleins younger and .5'' larger which is a good percentage thinking these tortoises don't get large at all. I know all reptiles grow at different rate but I thought I'd bring it up with you as I'm sure you have kept many many Testudo kleinmanni.
She is being kept in a 50 gallon rubbermaid container with washed sand from wal mart as substrate, I also have two micro habitats which are filled with peat moss. There are halved clay pots over them and she sleep in one almost everynight. I mist one daily and the other the next day. I also soak daily like you told me, some times I get caught up in things and then it becomse late and she is already sleeping ( she still gets soaked very often do).
Her diet constist of store brought greens such as turnip greens, mustard greens, danelion greens, endive, escarole, kale, and collard greens. I provide her with 3 types for 1 week to 10 days in length and then rotate for other ones, I try to provide her with the dandelions greens every week. The kale and collard I don't use often and she also as been given romaine lettuce a few times. Other than those items she doesn't get much maybe a mullberry leaf or two every few weeks and she as gotten fig once or twice and ate water cress often but its been months since I've seen it forsale. I've tried to grow weed and flower mixes from www.turtlecafe.com for her with no luck, maybe the next time now that I have a yard I'll have luck. She never goes outside as I don't know what chemicals the houses around me may use and I have two dogs and don't want her getting into and feces.
I use a Reptisun 5.0 and recently switched her normal basking bulb to a T-rex 160 watt Mecury vapor bulb, the ambeint temp. stay at 78-82 ( its usually only 78-79 in the morning) with a slight drop at night the basking spot has been 88-92 with the new MVB. I also use Repcal calcium without vit. D3 for each feed (I feed her everyother day) and once weekly I give her repcal calcium with vit. D3, Repcal herptivite, and Minerall without vit. D3. She is a heathly eatter and very active, I don't think she has any medical problems but wanted to see if my feeding and husbandy is correct and her size is exceptable.
Thanks again
Xavier
PS some photos taken today of her habitat and her carapace.
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Leopard Geckos
1 Male Tangerine trempor albino
2 blizzard lizzard female
1 tangerine trempor albino female
1 SHCT
1 hatchling amel cornsnake
1.0.0 Common snapping turtle
0.1.0 Belize slider
0.1.0 Egyptian tortoise
0.0.1 blackknobbed sawback
0.0.1 stripeneck musk
0.0.1 nothern DBT
