Isa, I think the vet may want Hermy to stay on the carpet for now. It keeps dust and any other bacteria out of her area. It does give her traction but I can't imagine a vet thinking she would live on that forever. Often if a tort is injured they are placed on carpet or paper towels until they are well. I would go with only 1 bulb. I personally use the T-Rex Mercury Vapor combined heat and UVB bulb. However I plan to change them out to the Mega Ray this summer.
Here are a few places you can purchase them on the net.
http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-products.php
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog/-/t-...heat-bulb/
guide to explain some of the lighting
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercuryvapourlamps.htm
I personally do not like the spiral lights. I have heard too many bad things form them. There is some info on the mega ray sight and I heard on the news here that the ones people are using can cause seizures in some people because of the flickering in the light. Just my personal opinion though.
Hello Crazy1,
The vet wants me to put my little Hermy on a carpet forever. He told me if I put a substract, she will eat it. He told me that if she does not have RI, to put some timothee in her terrarium but leave the carpet there, it's safer
. That's why I am soooo confused.
Regarding the website you gave me, Can I trust them??
Should I use a 10.0 or a 5.0? What size should I buy the UVB lights?? My terrarium is 36*20. Is it ok if I put the UVB light on the screen?
Thanks a lot for your answer.
The helps I get in this site is very precious. I finally feel I'm going somewhere. Soon, my Hermy's terrarium will be all set up and nice
.
Isa
during the summer I will use a 75W or a 50W while she is inside. So I will need a separate UVB. So I will buy the UVA and UVB separatly, what brand should I buy, I did not see the UVB light in T-REX? What is wrong with Exo terra? I went on the site you gave me, It does not say how much UVB the t-rex gives?? Do you know?
Thanks
Isa
Hi Isa,
I'm so glad the test came out negative. YAY!
If Hermy likes to eat the substrate, I would not use any sand at all. It can cause impaction. I don't think it is harmful for her to eat organic soil or coco fiber. They are organic matters. It might just be the novelty thing and she might stop eating after a while. I'm not sure about putting soil or coir in a bowl. Hermy might behave differently in a bowl, unless the bowl is big enough that you can leave her in there for a while.. How about getting a dish washing tub or something comparable in size from a dollar store and try keeping her in there with the substrate for a while??
As far as the UV, it is a controversial issue. Some say it's absolutely necessary and some say not at all. I think most people want to be safe than sorry and provide UV. I think providing too much UV is as dangerous or worse. I would use just one 10.0 UV light bulb and not 2.0. I checked the uvguide uk site again, and I didn't see anything against Exo-terra bulb. Someone posted that the Exo terra bulb was on the bad list, but I can't find it on the list. Maybe there is nothing wrong with Exo-terra... Sorry, I'm not sure. (if anyone knows Exo-terra's safe nor not, let us know, please). If you want brightness, you can just use regular or full spectrum fluorescent tube (like the ones people use to grow plants), you may be able to have some safe plants in the viv...
Good luck
Em
Hello all
On thursday, I'm going to the vet again for her blood test but this time I will see a new vet (since mine is not comfortable to do a blood test since Hermy is too small). Apparently, he is the best. I'm happy to see another vet because I dont trust the one I have now. I dont want to put my little Hermy on a carpet forever, it is not natural!!!!
I went on the site you gave me, I really like Chris Caresheet. There is a lot of informations in it. Do you know if he would accept to ship me a tortoise in Canada?
So no sand at all? I will try to put my little Hermy in some coco soil. I'm not sure about the size I should buy for the UVB lights?
Robyn, the mega ray system looks very interesting. But in the summer I need something that will not give heat. So I am still not sure about the UVB and UVA system I will buy for my Hermy this summer. Now I have the spirrals but this week, I will go to the store to get a refund or something (I hope they will want to give me a refund!). I dont know if I should put the UVB light on the the warm side or the cold side. Or in the middle. I think I will buy the T-rex lamp for the winter (UVA and UVB) like you (Robyn) suggested. For this summer, I am cluless.
By the way, I attached a pic of the terrarium before, do you think it is too small for now for my little Hermy??
THanks a lot!!
Isa
Isa, I am also interested in what your vet will tell you. I like to make a list of questions so I don't forget to ask everything. Is Hermy going to be outside at all this summer? If so how often? Mine are out more than 2 hours a day so I don't even use a uvb bulb in the summer. Some days they are out most if not all day. This helps with the electric cost and I have them in a Rabbit cage so they are safe from predators. I will be posting pics in the next couple of days of the cage.
The store should give you a refund or at least store credit. Just remember if you get the Mega Ray or T-Rex for the winter that your Ceramic base lamp set up is rated for the bulb size.
I have my uvb set up on one side so that they can get out of the intense light if they want to. But some people set it up in the middle as if they were outside and the sun was directly above them, which is fine I think for uvb lights without heat (MPO)
I personally like the idea of an open table design and have my Greek in a large Rabbit cage, or use a Cement mixing tub. They are short for good air circulation but deep enough to put in a substrate and still have enough height that they can't crawl out. They can be bought at home construction stores. I will PM you the size when I get home but I know the Rabbit cage is 30 inches long by 18 inches wide. And for my 6 month old Greek it is fairly large.
When I first put Comet on substrate I put him on plain dirt from the back yard. Figured he would eventually be out their anyway. My new ones I placed on Aspen it is lighter, for the rabbit cage. They tasted it at first now they just ignore it.
What size is your viv? And your tort? As for size of uvb bulb, I would base it on the size of habitat you have for him. Do not place anything between the light and the tort. Even a screen will filter out the uvb. I would not use more than a 10.0 or even start out with an 8.0 at this time.
Chris’s care sheet should have some answers for you on the lighting. And if you PM him you may be able to ask some of these questions and get more definitive answers. He is pretty much the Hermanni go to guy.
Sorry this is so long hopefully it will be somewhat helpful.
Hello Robyn
Thanks for your answer.
I will let you know what the new vet says, I already made a list of questions I will have to ask him haha. Since I leave home around 7AM and get back from work around 6PM I will only leave my Hermy outside during the week end, I will buy a rabbit cage next week. I cant leave Hermy outside while I am not there since there are a lot of squirrels, birds in my backyard. My neigbor has 3 cats ( they always come in my yard!!!) and the other one has 1 dog. So I dont want them to hurt Hermy.
This morning, I had a super idea. I think I will make a super wood table for Hermy
. What do you think??
I only have one question?? where can I find the wood and which one should I use? I think I will start the construction next month (it is still cold outside here). The vivarium is 36*18 and the distance between Hermy and the lights is 16" or 18" I am not sure (I am at work). Hermy is about 2'' * 2 1/2. I am still not sure because she is not in front of me
.
If my ceramic base is not correct for that type of bulb I will buy another one.
For the UVB light, I live in a big city, there are a lot of pet store and I only find 5.0 or 10.0. There are no 8.0. What is Chris Nickname? Do you know how can I PM him (I am kind of new here and I dont know how.).
By the way what do you think of the solar meter (should I buy one)?
I cant wait to see the pics of your cage
!
Isa
Hello
Here is a little update. Yesterday evening, I went to the vet with little Hermy, I saw the new one. He told me he had a tortoise and her substract is Aspen. He told me I could put Aspen in Hermy's vivarium
. He was super nice with Hermy, he made a blood test on her (it works woohooo). Poor Hermy, she was all tired and stressed out when we got home. The vet thinks that maybe the petstore gave some dog food or cat food to Hermy when she was a little baby, he's going to know with the blood test (I got her whan she was 8 months, she is 10 months old now). He is going to call me back on monday with the resutls. I hope everything is going to be ok.
Isa
Thats great new for Hermy Isa. Chris's nickname is HermanniChris. When you find a thread for him go to the bottom and it says email-PM-Find just click on the PM it will take you right to the Message area. Or you can click on his nickname and it will take you to the compose area Click on compose and then just type in his name and compose you PM. Try this
http://tortoiseforum.org/private.php?act...nd&uid=135
Hello
my vet called me yesterday evening with the blood test results. The results are goodddd
. My little Hermy is healty
. I am sooooo happy. My vet wants to make another blood test in 6 months to be sure. He thinks that she urinates a lot because she eats greens and salad.
Thanks for all the advices