Any turtle or tortoise kept indoors needs to be fed calcium supplements. The calcium supplements should include Vitamin D3 and should be accompanied by a good UV lighting system for maximum beneficial effects. Any turtle or tortoise kept outdoors should be supplemented with calcium without Vitamin D3.
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Having a 5 foot monitor hanging on my shoulder at the shows leads to my being asked this, at minimum, 20 times a day. After dealing with various lizards (small and large) and snakes, we have found that the key to keeping them tame is by avoiding feeding live food. Feeding your reptile a live, moving target triggers [...]
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With Summer upon us, we feel there are some very important precautions our customers should be taking with their animals that they may or may not be aware of. We hope the following is helpful to you and if you have any further questions that you will take the time to e-mail us or comment. When [...]
There are many plants that could prove lethal to your turtle or tortoise so the following list consists of just a *few* of the more common ones: Chrysanthemums (“mums”) Daffodils Euphorbia Privet Crocus Cyclamen Delphinium Foxglove Hydrangea Jasmine Lilly of the valley Lobelia Lupine Mistletoe Potato leaves Rhubarb leaves Rhododendron Wisteria Yew It is imperative [...]
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We always recommend Redfoot tortoises for beginners. They are very hardy and easy to take care of. Some other tortoises you might consider are Russian and Hermanns tortoises as they stay small (4-6″ and 8″ respectively).
During egg-laying season it is very important to be sure that your female tortoise/turtle is receiving adequate amounts of calcium to ensure proper egg formation. We do this by placing multiple cuttlebones in their feeding area. We do this every 2 weeks during egg-laying season and once a month in the off season. It is [...]
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People have long been told not to feed their reptiles iceberg lettuce because it does not contain enough of the essential nutrients necessary to keep your animal healthy and because it is “mostly water”. Both varieties of lettuce contain the same nutrients however romaine lettuce contains almost 3 times the amount found in iceberg. Iceberg can be fed to [...]
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Turtles and tortoises shed their scutes as they grow. As long as what you are seeing underneath the shed is not discolored, this is perfectly normal. When the scutes are shedding, you should not peel the scute but rather let it fall off on its own as you could cause permanent damage to the shell.
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We welcome all types of questions regarding your reptiles and amphibians. If you have questions, please email us at info@martinsworldexotics.com and we can answer them via email and respond on our blog. Or, you could leave a comment on one of our blogs and we will get back to you as soon as possible!
When turtles and tortoises get ear infections, you will most commonly see a swelling on the side of their head. This is more commonly known as an abscess. Unlike infections in humans, when turtles and tortoises develop pus, it solidifies into a ball. This occurs because, although turtles/tortoises can absorb moisture through their skin, they cannot [...]
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