# AQUARIUMS AND SULCATAS



## Cre8ruckas

Anyone Keep their BABY or HATCHLING SULCATA's in aquariums, would love to see pix of the setup, lighting, aquarium size, substrate etc. PIX PIX PIX...PLEASE.


----------



## Millerlite

aquariums are pretty frowned upon with tortoises keeping because of the high sides, glass sides, lack of ventilation. Heat tends to build up, they can see out the sides stress out, and stagnant air can build up. Im sure you heard this before, and its all a repeat. On the flip side there are people that do keep there tortoises in aquariums no problem terry i think has one for her red footed tortoise. how bigs your aquarium?


----------



## Tom

I prefer them BECAUSE of the reasons people say they are bad. No time for pics right now. I gotta go, but I'll try to post some later.


----------



## Cre8ruckas

30 gallon. approx 12 wide x 18 high x 36 long. standard 30 gallon. not sure if my demensions are correct.


----------



## Kristina

Here is a pic of Tom's tank 







I use aquariums for my baby torts. Once they hit a certain size, however, aquariums become impractical mainly because of the expense. A 125 gallon aquarium costs around $300 brand new, and you can build a 4 X 8 tortoise table for $75 or less.


----------



## Cre8ruckas

i attached a pic of mine at the top of this thread. Working on making solid (except for vent holes) cover to hold humidity...


----------



## moswen

i believe the freshest solid ideas on aquariams is that they are really great for hatchlings-yearlings, maybe 3-4 years tops, because of the high sides allow to keep humidity and warmth better than an open wooden box. humidity is really important to a tort's first few years of life to keep it from establishing a pyramiding pattern. 


as long as your tort's not scratching incessantly at the glass trying to get out, and your temps are good, i think they're great. oh ya, and it's not like a 5 gallon tank or anything. it needs to be big.


----------



## ticothetort2

This is for a 3 month old Leopard but the habitat for the two (sulcata/leopard) is similar. I have had no issues with him being in a glass aquarium. 

I can keep a temperature gradient with no problems. I use a 100W Powersun MVB and keep an ambient temp around 80 degrees and hot spot of around 103 degrees. Night time is a regular black light at 80 degrees. Humidity usually stays around 85%.

I use cypress mulch as substrate and sphagnum moss in the hides.


----------



## turtletania

I keep my stars in an aquarium... but not my sulcata or leopard, they are in tort table (ex bookcases laying down)


----------



## Yvonne G

My, my, my, Turtletania (did we ever learn your name?): What an inventive way to make your waterer flush with the floor! Good thinking!!


----------



## turtletania

Thanks Yvonne.....and its Tania. Works so well and they have no problem walking up, in and out.


----------



## -ryan-

Like a lot of things in the reptile industry, aquariums were frowned upon because the animals failed to thrive in them. I think what people have started to figure out is that it was never the aquariums themselves that were the problem, but the lack of other appropriate care. Think about it. A couple decades ago when tortoise tables started taking over, do you think people had their temperature and humidity correct? Do you think they started with quality, captive bred animals? Do you think they didn't try to stuff a bunch of tortoises of varying size and species into a small aquarium?

Now that we know more about tortoises and their needs, and we are continuing to discover more and more, I predict that a decade from now people will be warning others about tortoise tables, and the fact that it is impossible to accurately control the temperature and humidity in a tortoise table without also changing the temperature and humidity of the entire room.

I have been using closed-top enclosures from the very start of my tortoise-keeping, and I think the great results that I have gotten in a relatively short amount of time should say something. I raise all of my hatchling russians in aquariums.


----------



## coreyc

Hello I just looked at your setup I would move the mulch from the side of the hide your tort could walk up the side and right off the front and land upside down  just my thought


----------



## Tom

-ryan- said:


> Now that we know more about tortoises and their needs, and we are continuing to discover more and more, I predict that a decade from now people will be warning others about tortoise tables, and the fact that it is impossible to accurately control the temperature and humidity in a tortoise table without also changing the temperature and humidity of the entire room.



Very insightful. I think your time frame is off, though. I tell people this NOW. I don't like tortoise tables because you can't just dump a lot of water in to a wooden enclosure unless you've gone to a great deal of time and trouble to somehow "seal" it. Even then I don't trust it not to leak or rot. Also, I DID have to heat and humidify the whole room in my area. I'd never get the humidity out of the 20's if I just had a single, open topped, enclosure in a room in my house.


----------



## Cre8ruckas

just figured out to post the direct pic lol.


----------



## Snapper




----------



## Badgemash

[/quote]

Very insightful. I think your time frame is off, though. I tell people this NOW. I don't like tortoise tables because you can't just dump a lot of water in to a wooden enclosure unless you've gone to a great deal of time and trouble to somehow "seal" it. Even then I don't trust it not to leak or rot. Also, I DID have to heat and humidify the whole room in my area. I'd never get the humidity out of the 20's if I just had a single, open topped, enclosure in a room in my house.
[/quote]

I think you're right, I do sometimes regret going with the wooden box. It's only because I spent four days sealing the wood and the seams before we got the torts that it's working at all. It's difficult to keep heat in, and the humidity is only kept up by running a fogger. It works, but it's inefficient, plus it's costing a fortune in distilled water and electricity, which eats up all of the cost savings of building a wooden enclosure instead of buying a big aquarium.


----------



## Tom

Devon, the big plastic tubs are a cheaper alternative. This is the time of year when the big stores sell those 4' long Christmas tree storage bins for about $40.


----------



## methos75

I like the Exo Terra Terrariums, Their designed for Reptiles and I love how they open from the front.


----------



## Neal

I have glass aquariums and deep plastic tubs. I've kept babies in tortoise tables, vision cages, and shallow plastic boxes none have worked better than the aquarium for keeping temperatures and humidity to where I want it to be. Sorry I don't have pictures.


----------



## Lady Serpent

-ryan- said:


> Like a lot of things in the reptile industry, aquariums were frowned upon because the animals failed to thrive in them. I think what people have started to figure out is that it was never the aquariums themselves that were the problem, but the lack of other appropriate care. Think about it. A couple decades ago when tortoise tables started taking over, do you think people had their temperature and humidity correct? Do you think they started with quality, captive bred animals? Do you think they didn't try to stuff a bunch of tortoises of varying size and species into a small aquarium?
> 
> Now that we know more about tortoises and their needs, and we are continuing to discover more and more, I predict that a decade from now people will be warning others about tortoise tables, and the fact that it is impossible to accurately control the temperature and humidity in a tortoise table without also changing the temperature and humidity of the entire room.
> 
> I have been using closed-top enclosures from the very start of my tortoise-keeping, and I think the great results that I have gotten in a relatively short amount of time should say something. I raise all of my hatchling russians in aquariums.




AMEN!!!









How I miss this little guy


----------

