General Care Discussion :: Activities/entertainment?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 12:39 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Been waiting ... Haha ! Look's great and I can see Sedge is already using it.

More places with different temps , more room to climb around on , just more and it's good for Sedge. Nice work. Can't let Piggley see it then he will want more too.

Also like what you did by the round log on left. Looks much safer for Sedge with that edge on the tile gone !

The wrap around the sides on the background , bet it makes Sedge feel more comfortable.
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 1:26 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Thanks litefoot :D

I *did* leave out the part where I left part of the front plexiglass open to air out some glue under the cork. I THOUGHT I successfully blocked Sedge from getting up onto the dock (while I was out for a few hours). Apparently, I was wrong...my housemate didn't tell me until like two weeks later that Sedge moved the tile I had left to block him from the stairs, got on the dock, and fell out of his tank (~4 feet or so) onto the (carpeted) floor. My cats were apparently alarmed / intrigued.

Housemate put him back in and closed the plexi (when I saw it I thought he had just closed the plexi, but I had no idea Sedge got out / fell).

Maybe it's better I didn't know for 2 weeks...I've examined Sedge and he seems fine. No cracks or lameness or anything. But geez... never leaving that open again. :oops: :shock:
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 4:34 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Good thing it was carpet ! Glad to hear all ok. I though the top was removable , after the fact , should have opened it. Never underestimate a turtle on what they can move or do ! Piggley can move an 8" cinder block. Just thinking do you have any kind of lock / security / pin to keep it closed ? Sedge may play with it to find out it slides and open it himself.

Note if you do open top watch out for that plant on the right side it's tall. My Minnie would use plants to climb up and out on. Found that out by leaving a camcorder on at night. She had part monkey in her. If I ever get a good design on a cork tree for Piggley Minnie would have been the first to climb it. She was the great escape artist , always had me on my toes.

R.I.P. Minnie age 35 Hurricane Katrina 2005
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2017 6:13 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Yeah the top opens. Basically, he's just gotten so much more bold so quickly. He used to be afraid of anything above his stairs. I will think about adding a latch. It does take some force to slide it though.
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 9:38 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

I give them ice cubes. Two for Sadie cause she's gargantuan, and one each for Hurricane and Typhoon. They love snapping at them and chasing them around.

Here's a video of them all chasing ice cubes that I did two years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNtN5sQdOtU

They don't have basking docks like the ones in that video anymore. I have a better system now.

I thought about freezing blueberries or strawberry slices in ice cubes and giving it to them that way, but I worry that the berries wouldn't thaw out fast enough and they could choke... so I've never tried it. I'm curious what you guys think about trying that.
Spike - Egyptian mau mix, 8 years old
Phryne - Japanese bobtail, 9 months old
Hurricane - RES, 8 yo, 6 1/2 in. long
Typhoon - RES/Map hybrid, 8 yo, 7 in. long
Sadie - RES, 20 yo, 10 in. long
Sophie - Colombian red tail boa, 5 yo, 5 ft. long
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Post Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:10 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

That's a cute idea. What about shredded carrot?
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Post Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2017 10:37 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

I do just the ice cubes for Piggley.

The blueberries and strawberry's I would stay away from , not a staple and should be rarely used. See pyramiding going on in video. To many treats ? To most fruits can be offered once a month , no more , too high in sugar ! What blueberries do for humans is different in turtles. I even heard people say they help in shedding , more a coincidence , with no scientific data.

Fruits as a last resort help when a turtle stops eating due to a problem just to get something in to keep them going. But it's not a natural food a slider would encounter in the wild.
Carrots would be better , with limited usage , has a nutritional value but carrots can be harmful if excessive.

Good read : http://www.redearslider.com/

It is great to see them playing with ice cubes ! That never get's old.

Not trying to take anything from what you doing ,that's your call , it's just some info please do not take it wrong. Doing this 50 plus years successfully and still new on this forum. I'm old school and that has always work of me. If not for Hurricane Katrina 2005 my guys and girls would be in there 40's today. Lots older now and with my health it's just Piggley and me!
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 4:55 am   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Nice job Kingbird, it looks great.

Never thought of ice cubes, new idea for me to try :)
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steve
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 12:54 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Thanks Steve :)

I think I'll try an ice cube with some shredded carrot at some point. Could do it on a day when I want to feed him carrots anyway.
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 2:28 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

I usually just slice the carrots, shredding them seems like a lot of work :)
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2017 7:58 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Nah, I just shred a bit with a grater, it's easy! Plus, then I can just chop up what's left (for human consumption). He had no interest in carrots before I tried shredding them...shredded, he loves the floating pieces... :roll:
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 3:11 am   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Have you tried a veggie clip? It's a small plastic clip with a suction cup. It seems to help a little when they don't feel like eating.
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 6:21 am   Re: Activities/entertainment?

I haven't, but it's really not a problem, haha. I've seen those before though.
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Kingbird44
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jul 09, 2017 11:05 am   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Piggley loves his veggies so much he tried eating the veggie clip to ! But then his name Piggley !
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:23 pm   Re: Activities/entertainment?

Love the basking setup you have, Kingbird. Also, good point on the un-even surface for basking, litefoot. Never thought about that.

My turtles absolutely love their rare treats. I give them shredded carrots every now and then (2 times a month at most) and a monthly treat.. usually in the form of pieces of banana, mango, and sometimes even small pieces of grape.

My turtles seem to love having fish with them. They don't really go after them as food, but they do like seeing what they're up to.

This thread has inspired me to start brainstorming for a better setup for the turtles! I'm going to see about the ping pong ball first. My turtles are very shy though, and run away and hide when they see me.
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