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Liam's transition to her new enclosure has been pretty smooth. We've had a few hiccups but I've really tried to use her behavior to gauge changes I need to make, and so far, it looks like the enclosure is functional (i.e. she's using all of the resources available). I'm happy about this because I did have that worst-case-scenario concern that she was going to disappear into a burrow and refuse to bask or swim or eat, as she's lived in her previous enclosure since day one. However, she appears to welcome change and I've been successful in my endeavors to help her feel safe!
I have taken all of the information I've gathered over this last year on herpcenter and applied it! I've found that once the enclosure was up and running, everything worked out almost perfectly! Amazing! How often does that happen, right?!
The enclosure is 95% finished. I still need leaf litter, climbing branches, to tweak the substrate temperature slightly, and to make use of the space above her pool.
Description:
So her new enclosure is 8 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 5 feet tall. It's made up of two pieces: the base which includes the substrate and pond, and the top which includes the door and basking platform. Each half is light enough such that I can lift and carry it with the help of one other individual. I did this because I'll be moving a lot over the next few years and wanted to make sure that Liam's enclosure could be moved easily.
It's a wooden enclosure, sealed with Minwax polyurethane (oil-based), satin finish. The base of the enclosure is lined with FRP (fiber reinforced plastic), to protect it from Liam. The joints of the FRP are sealed with silicone. The sliding door is tempered glass and locked.
The enclosure includes a 20 gallon pool to which Liam has access. This pool drains into a 20 gallon freshwater sump tank via a gravity siphon. The water is pumped out of the sump and filtered before being returned to the pool in the enclosure. So there's a total of 40 gallons. The sump is planted of course, and includes shrimp and fish. The pool in the enclosure sits on a shelf that is built into the frame, so she is unable to dig underneath it. The water temperature is about 80*F.
I included a rocky drainage layer, complete with an outlet, to prevent the soil from becoming swampy and stagnating. The substrate is made up of over 1,000 pounds of a sandy-clay loam from my backyard. I put mulch on top of the sandy-clay loam, and then the soil from her last enclosure on top of the mulch. All of the substrate is tamped down, and 2.5 feet deep in the background of the enclosure, then 2 feet deep in the foreground. Substrate temperatures currently vary from 90*F to 80*F. The dig pit is 6 feet long, and 4 feet wide.
The basking spot is a slab of flagstone heated to a solid 120*F by two 45 watt halogen flood bulbs which are spaced such that the 120*F temp is consistent across the flagstone. The ambient humidity in the enclosure varies from 60% to 70% at ground level and increases to 80% at night when the fluorescent lights are off.
I have two 40 watt linear fluorescent UVB bulbs in the enclosure. An Exo Terra 10.0 and 2.0, mostly for full spectrum lighting and for the plants.
The enclosure is currently planted (we'll see what happens over the next few weeks) with wheat grass and blue grama grass (Bouteloua gracilis). The grama is a bunch grass native to New Mexico that is drought-tolerant, and does well with high humidity and in soils with adequate drainage. The grass in the enclosure was taken from my front yard and already has new growth. Grama is also often used with cattle so it can really take a beating. It's pretty hard to kill.
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Liam's reaction!
I regularly made changes to Liam's last enclosure, and when doing so, kept her in her carrier. She's fairly comfortable in there, so she hung out in the carrier with one foot tucked and chin-resting, watching me, while I shoveled all of her substrate into the new enclosure.
Then it was time!!! And she was apprehensive! We tried to lure her out with food to no avail. She would steal it and retreat into her carrier. At first I thought trying to touch her might be overwhelming, but decided to act normally so she'd be more comfortable. I put my hand him, another worm was offered, and she came right out! Once she was out she was exploring and started walking around with a night crawler hanging out of her mouth.
I had set up some hides beneath the basking platform so she could hide immediately. The hide was pieces of cork bark sunken partially into the soil. The mouth of the hide was in line with the carrier. This way, she would have a safe place to go immediately. This was her favorite hide in the other enclosure. However, instead of entering the hide through the mouth, she dug through one of the sides. *sighs*
This hide beneath the basking platform was then established as a "home base" of sorts, and she returned to it after exploring each new area of the enclosure.
do u call um like u would a dog and do they really come when u do that?
Hi! She comes to me when I whistle but it's likely because she's expecting food. I don't think she would come over if food wasn't associated with the whistling.
Hi! She comes to me when I whistle but it's likely because she's expecting food. I don't think she would come over if food wasn't associated with the whistling.
haha thats so crazy and cute at the same time if i was her i would love the new enclosure it looks wonderful!
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If I'd observed all the rules, I'd never have got anywhere. -Marilyn Monroe-
I still have some changes I need to make. Her basking platform isn't as accessible as I'd like it to be, the surface seems a little slick. So I'm going to texture it so she can use it more easily.
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