Texas

[Melissa Rose]

What ever got you into these kinds of turtles??

I already had two box turtles for about 10 years when I discovered some Yahoo email groups about Tortoises - Wellllll as it turns out there is turtle math involved and Tortoise Keepers are horrible enablers same as Chicken Keepers

 

[bnjrob]

In my defense, sometimes my phone changes what I type. It is worse on FB. I have to wonder if there is someone who really needs a life trying to be funny.

Have you ever read the stuff from that website with all the funny auto-corrections from phones? I've stayed up late a few times reading those - laughed so hard I cried.

 

[hensfortherapy]

The girls came to check it out after I raked their coop. I guess they thought it needed it.

 

[bnjrob]

So I have a question about bedding in the house. We currently use sand and add straw when it is going to be cold. Cleaning the straw out is a total pain without losing a lot of sand. I wondered what methods others in Texas use. I am thinking of straw during the winter for warmth and sand in the summer for coolness. Any ideas? I am looking for a quick cleaning method. Thank you for any help.

~ Nicole

Sounds like you need a close-tined rake to pick up the straw and let the sand sift through. Or perhaps a lightweight shovel, maybe a plastic snow shovel, with a bunch of holes drilled into it that will let you scoop up the straw and let the sand fall through.

 

[lovingmyhens]

I already had two box turtles for about 10 years when I discovered some Yahoo email groups about Tortoises - Wellllll as it turns out there is turtle math involved and Tortoise Keepers are horrible enablers same as Chicken Keepers  

Yea I've got 4 but they are aquatic and harder to keep. My two daughters got one each on a whim, very tiny and cute. Then I got one, tiny and cute for my classroom. But then one went off to college and the other one thought hers was lonely. So I put them all three in a 20 gallon. Then my daughters friend got a cute not so tiny turtle as a gift and didn't want it so I thought what's one more?? Hmm these tiny turtles get big! I have one at school and three at home.

 

[granthamkk]

Looking at my hens today. Both seem to be well on the mend. They still prefer the safety of their coop, but are venturing out more. I noticed Murphy, the leader of the pair, has spurs. In that common. They are both welsummers, and I believe the same age. Murphy's comb is also much redder. Do you think that because she was more injured, the ranking will change? Will Juliette become the leader?

 

[LBejaran]

Salmonella is a very common pathogen many reptiles carry and can pass on to mammals and birds.

He's still being quarantined and I always wash my hands after handling him, so we are being really cautious. I was just waiting for the stress of being housed with a chick-eating reptile to make him keel over. Of course, he's proven me wrong!

He has about 2 more weeks of quarantine left until I start introducing him to my harmless little Frizzles. I was going to let him roam the yard a bit while the rest of the chickens are still in the coop (Dad was going to weld something and I get worried about them being loose for that), but it seems we are getting some light showers.

 

[LBejaran]

I've been looking through my heirloom seed catalogue. If I get everything I want to try this year, I'll probably end up paying about $85.

I'm so bad at prioritizing this kind of thing. It's so stressful! I need to go back to the drawing board and see if I can do without some items. I want to supplement my chicken feed with certain crops, so maybe the big price tag is worth it. Decisions, decisions.

 

[hensfortherapy]

Have you ever read the stuff from that website with all the funny auto-corrections from phones?  I've stayed up late a few times reading those - laughed so hard I cried.

I have checked those out. Just the text I get from my friends and kids keep me ammused.

 

[jajeanpierre]

They do live outside all year. They have a heated cave made out of plywood and hay bales that they retreat too when it is cold. I use a pig blanket to warm it on the inside

Where are you located? I'm just north of San Antonio in the Hill Country. I would love to have turtles, but I have a little gold fish pond that they would just trash besides eating all the fish. Tortoises would be fun. Could they fall in a pool and drown if they were kept in my back yard?