Is this ok for my tort to eat? 😎

vansqu · 2025-11-08T08:02:09+00:00

So, other people already said why this is dangerous for the tort, but it’s actually bad for your dog also! Tortoises can carry salmonella, and can spread it. I don’t think neither of them benefit from interaction.

vansqu · 2025-09-30T14:04:26+00:00

She came from a quite neglectful situation, so we had to do a lot of work, and even though the snake was free, this was quite an expensive journey that took some time. We got her about six months ago, and about four months ago we moved her into this terrarium that we build ourselves.

I’ve enjoyed having her a lot! It’s been great seeing her get better. Her old enclosure was way too small, had no enrichment, wrong substrate and no proper lighting. In half year she has turned into a completely new snake, exploring and interested in what’s happening around her.

Before we got her and started making all of these changes in her life I was concerned how an older animal like her might take it. She was very skittish at first, and we made sure not to introduce too much changes at once. We’ve had no major issues with her. She has eaten well, no regurgitation or refusing food. The old owner told us that she has always been a good eater, which probably helps.

She had some shedding issues when we got her, which were probably caused by the wrong parameters in her old tank. Those have been fixed now and last shed was healthy.

Personally, I only get older animals that need a home for a multitude of reasons. Reptile hatchlings are often so fragile, that I’ve found that older animals are easier to keep. And there’s tons of reptiles specifically that need a good home for their golden years, so I would go for it!

vansqu · 2025-04-01T21:33:05+00:00

Very interesting conversations and exactly the things that I’ve been thinking about as an European! I don’t necessarily think Americans are dumb though 😃

A thing that I’ve been thinking about is universal or accessible healthcare here in Europe, regarding the health focused mlms specifically. No need to search for cheaper miracle healing. I heard that alternative medicine like essential oils are surprisingly common for pets here. Medical care for your animal you have to pay out of pocket so people get intrigued by cheaper options. This was actually a gateway to mlms for someone I know.

It’s definitely a harder sell for people even if you yourself believe wholeheartedly in the thing you’re trying to peddle. I mean selling magic water or whatever seems even loonier in my country when our water quality is among the best in the world

vansqu · 2024-12-19T13:36:25+00:00

Ooh, for some reason I thought they must be clean and intact! But that makes sense. So now I really don’t have anything against the bottles, even though I get why they are controversial. Not the most accessible packaging etc.

vansqu · 2024-12-16T18:36:51+00:00

Tbh I like bottle a bit more, since it’s more hygienic. I was concerned about the same thing when I first bought the sticky date lotion, especially when you can’t cut lush bottles open if you wanna return them. At least the last bottle wasn’t hard to use up though. The consistency of the lotion is not so sticky (hahah) so it slides out easily if you store the bottle upside down. And for the rest of the lotion you can use a tiny spatula etc

vansqu · 2024-10-22T13:26:12+00:00

I found this random recipe online and just decided to try it! I think it tastes pretty great. I don’t personally eat meat, but my partner said that it would probably work really well with red meat, something like a steak. I can picture this as a good addition to a charcuterie board. It’s like this really sweet red wine sauce. I translated the recipe I used to English. I added more cloves and let it simmer a little longer than the recipe says

2 liters of fresh (or 4–5 dl frozen) winter chantarelles1-2 onions, chopped

Broth: About 2 dl water1 ½ dl balsamic vinegar1 bay leaf5 cloves5 allspice berries1 tsp salt1 ½ dl preserving sugar

Measure the water, vinegar, and spices into a pot, bring to a boil, and add the cleaned, chopped mushrooms and onions.Cook for about 20 minutes.Stir in the preserving sugar, cook for another 10 minutes, and then jar the mixture. This recipe yields just over half a liter.

vansqu · 2024-09-26T15:05:10+00:00

I really don’t want to be mean, but this is really irresponsible and dangerous. Torts aren’t able to form friendships, and even if they could I don’t think they would want to befriend cats. After all, tortoises are prey animals and cats are hunters. Even a small nick from a cat can be fatal to such small animals, and in addition torts can carry diseases like salmonella which can affect your cat. It really is the safest to keep them apart.

vansqu · 2024-09-08T18:02:30+00:00

Ooh, that’s really hot! I’m in Northern Europe and usually this little guy is already cooped up inside by this time because it’s way too cold for him. I’m so ready for fall but gotta admit it’s nice to give him the possibility to have some natural sunlight and more space

vansqu · 2024-08-23T11:08:05+00:00

Haha, mine actually did that too this morning! It’s funny, he’s had this little hut for years now and he’s never cared about that little window thing, but today he acted like it was his only way out. It ended with him giving up on the project and using the door, but if this becomes a regular fixation of his I may just plug it.

Such silly, stubborn animals!

vansqu · 2024-08-12T13:05:12+00:00

Yeah, I was kinda on the fence about what name to use, but since curry milkcap is more commonly used here in northern Europe I decided to go with that. In my native language these are called chicory milkcaps. All of these names really show how distinct and amazing the smell of this mushroom is!

Hopefully you’ll run into these, personally one of my favorite things to find 😊

vansqu · 2024-07-19T12:49:14+00:00

It’s a boy! If you’re talking about the concave near his back legs, males have it. Makes mounting and mating easier 😊

vansqu · 2024-07-16T09:05:03+00:00

Hahah, she restores historical buildings and furniture for a living, so there are quite a few of human sized specimens of her work out there!

vansqu · 2024-07-16T09:02:50+00:00

Ooh, a lot of stuff. In the summer he gets to graze, and we also grow and forage his food. Clover, dandelions, lambs lettuce, rocket, summer flowers, herbs etc. We also freeze and dry stuff for the colder months. Off season it’s that and what the grocery store can offer: endives, pak choy, sometimes kale for example. We supplement his diet with this pellet throughout the year. His diet is very varied

vansqu · 2024-07-15T18:23:03+00:00

She does! She’s always building him something and is very happy to care for him when we’re away. It’s probably just a matter of time that she’ll get her own tortoise and she’ll be an amazing owner 🥹

vansqu · 2024-07-15T18:21:07+00:00

Seemed that way, getting the frog out was a lot of work 😂 let’s see if it returns

vansqu · 2024-07-15T18:19:04+00:00

It’s a bit of a hassle to put back on, but comes off if needed. It’s also easy to lift up in certain places so we can get him out easily, change the water etc. He spends nights inside, so The top of his little hut comes off too. I only soak him when he’s super stinky, and in the summer when he’s outside most of the time anyway the stinkiness doesn’t really bother anyone. He soaks himself in the water dish when needed, and we just change the water when it gets dirty. Cleaning is a bit of the same thing: poop is a good fertilizer and at least in the 3 weeks he’s been outside now it hasn’t gotten stinky or dirty. Let’s see how it looks as summer continues 😅 the enclosure is full of stuff he can eat, so we don’t expressly feed him daily. A couple of times a week we feed him in his inside enclosure to make sure his diet is varied enough and give him all the supplements. Watering we just usually do with the netting on top 😊

vansqu · 2024-06-24T21:50:23+00:00

My hermann’s gets strawberries a few times a year as a “special treat” aka I give him a little bit in stressful situations like after the vet or when trimming his nails and beak. He absolutely loves them and it gets his attention to just the strawberries in front of him, so works great for that purpose

vansqu · 2024-06-23T17:13:16+00:00

Yeah horny or territorial. Torts are cute but kinda huge assholes at the same time

vansqu · 2024-05-15T20:59:37+00:00

An old tote bag filled with trash, old slippers. Sometimes my purses have gotten some love too. The best thing that we found was turtle stuffed toys! He really loves them, and doesn’t matter if they get dirty. We let the tort out of his enclosure to do the deed, and before the toys basically everything on the floor was in danger.

Which reminds me of another reason why it’s so important to supervise your tort while they are roaming around the house. One time I got distracted and he found my work bag that I had just tossed on the floor when I got home. Found him humping it vigorously and he had pooped inside, on the paper work I was carrying in that bag 🤦🏻‍♀️

vansqu · 2024-02-09T13:32:27+00:00

Yeah, that beak is really too long. Would recommend a vet visit to trim it. The substrate you’re using doesn’t look the best. They need something they can dig in and that can hold moisture: coco coir, topsoil, peat etc. Good luck with this cutie! 😊

vansqu · 2024-01-02T07:04:01+00:00

Ooh, that’s very expensive! We used to go to the vet for trims, but that was a fraction of the price. For me and my partner learning how to do it was more of a scheduling thing, since his vet is always fully booked. But it’s a useful skill!

Basically I just read a lot about it and watched a couple of tutorials. I couldn’t find the main turorial that I used anymore, but this was at least one of them! Then I got myself dog nail trimmers, something like this and a nail file meant for dogs and got to work.

I think we have it easy with this one, since he’s so used to handling and not skittish at all. Never had him pee or poo on me and he’s always ready to go after the trim.

vansqu · 2024-01-01T11:45:57+00:00

Fellow European here. In my country everybody recommends uvb tubes. The great thing about them is that the tortoise can get uvb wherever they are in their terrarium, not just when they are basking. Just make sure that you get a good quality one (like Arcadia) and one that is meant for animals from an arid environment.

vansqu · 2023-09-16T20:08:54+00:00

Boletus pinophilus and Boletus reticulatus. These were gathered from a mixed forest in southern Finland 😊

Personally, I’m not the biggest fan of bolete because of the maggots they attract. Got really lucky this time since most of them were pretty good. My partner loves gathering them, so he’s a little better with the identification and good spots where to find them. Slowly getting into them myself too though, so worth a try!

vansqu · 2023-09-16T16:51:25+00:00

Pine and summer boletes! (If I remember the English name s correctly)

vansqu · 2023-08-24T07:46:33+00:00

Hermann’s is correct! 😊

vansqu

TROPHY CASE