# Tortoise houses



## yumyum1803 (Jun 22, 2013)

How is your tortoise homes been set up ? Have i been mis sold items ... ( vivarium .. thermostat thermometre.. heat lamb ..uvb light) ??

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## LeopardTortLover (Jun 22, 2013)

Just going to bullet point all the things I have here. But you could check out the enclosure section of the forum for some ideas. I have a leopard tortoise. 

- coco coir substrate
- UV MVB lamp
- lamp holder
- 2x bulb holder that glow in the dark
- heat lamp
- 2 attached tortoise boxes (covered with acetate sheets for humidity keeping)
- 2 hides
- water bowl
- spaghum moss
- upturned bathroom tiles for feeding
- log for climbing on
- stone for climbing on
- 2 ceramic heat emitters
- 2 che holders
- 2 water spray bottles 
- pellet food
- fresh food
- 2x thermostat
- 2x hygrometer
- 2x thermometer
- 2x oudoor enclosures. One with glass roof, one without. 
- 1 outside hide box on legs 
- garden for excersize
- calcium supplement 

Hope this helps


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## yumyum1803 (Jun 22, 2013)

Hi. Thanks for the above . I went to a pet store earlier today and he told me i was mis sold the vivarium as it is enclosed with little ventilation and tortoises are suppose to have open top enclosures.

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## Vickie (Jun 22, 2013)

Very true depending on age of tortoise as well as humidity needs. Those work best a lot of times with young hatchlings etc since they do need more humidity or you have a very dry home environment. 

However, yes I HATE it when I am sold something totally unneeded just so they make an extra buck. Those tend to be the stores I refuse to go back to. GRRRR!


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## LeopardTortLover (Jun 22, 2013)

yumyum1803 said:


> Hi. Thanks for the above . I went to a pet store earlier today and he told me i was mis sold the vivarium as it is enclosed with little ventilation and tortoises are suppose to have open top enclosures.
> 
> Sent from my GT-N7105 using TortForum mobile app



What species do you have? Vivariums aren't too bad. The information you were told may have been outdated. Vivariums can be good for keeping humidity levels up and some are well ventilated. Some species need humidity levels of 80% which is really hard to maintain in an opentop box (hence why i have mine covered to create a closed chamber). But some species need little humidity. It is very rare people use open topped boxes nowadays.


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## yumyum1803 (Jun 22, 2013)

I am very confused there are different opinions here there and every where . But yes i agree.. pet stores just wanna make extra bucks and sell whatever they can . I have a hermann tortoise 1 and a half years old 

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## LeopardTortLover (Jun 22, 2013)

You will find more experienced/well informed information in the hermanns section of the forum. You will also find there what type of enclosure is the best for your species  but yeah I agree, opinions do differ. Although info from pet stores isn't rated very highly by most people on here as they do just want to make money!


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## yumyum1803 (Jun 22, 2013)

Thank you all for the help xxx

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## Cowboy_Ken (Jun 22, 2013)

I just linked this thread in a new post in the marketplace section for you. Good luck.


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## Tom (Jun 22, 2013)

This also depends on YOUR environment. If you live in Phoenix, you will get different advice then if you live in Miami.

Any enclosure can work. You have to adjust your maintenance techniques to suit what you've got. If you run a closed chamber you might need to dump a water dish in there once a week to obtain and maintain the humidity level you seek. If you run a low sided sweater box in a dry climate, you might need to add a gallon of water a day to the substrate to maintain some dampness.

Personally I prefer the closed style of a Vivarium. Whether you want it wet or dry, its much easier to maintain stable consistent conditions than in something with an open top.


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