Awesome photos--- He is doing his magic plus he has some nice decor to work with. *****
Thank you!
We had to think about the whole project for a long time. Tortoises need a real (not tile or stone) substrate and humidity (misting) but Missus wasn't enthusiastic about bioactive, so we made some compromises.
She mixed up 2 or 3 batches of custom substrate that (theoretically) gets changed every 6 months, but it's been that and we're still good.
He doesn't defecate in there—he saves it for his daily soaks (which are good for shell development and to help prevent pyramiding).
Plants are all double potted—originally because they're all safely edible and we thought we might have to change/rotate them often. That'd be a real PITA if we had to deal with developed root systems. He
has devoured a couple—most notably the first inchplant. Since we knew he's need access to nibble, we put the outer pots on the enclosure floor, and 'landscaped' around them for access, enrichment (they like to slide on their plastrons), and visual barriers so the enclosure looks bigger from his perspective. If/when something happens with a plant, we just pull the inner pot and replace with what we have in reserve. Like our other enclosures, we had to research all the plants individually—not just for edible safety, but plant needs as well.
The rockpile was my idea (for enrichment). It's working out far better than I'd hoped! The grazing garden (currently regrowing, but goes next to the rockpile) is Missus' idea, and he chows down as fast as she can sprout & replace new ones.
The only feature he hasn't checked out thoroughly is his pool area. We think the stainless steel might be spooking him or something, so we're working on replacing it with something different—maybe another take-out container.
so does this qualify him as a generational pet? Like this guy?
