Donatello's enclosure- I went from negative to positive

Clorenzo85

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From Donatello's first night with us, to 10 days later. I'm learning something new everyday. Tomorrow we will be adding the floor. It's a slow progress. So I made this a little bigger keeping in mind that I wanted to rescue another sulcata in the future. Am I being delusional? Donatello is small because he has been deprived of so much for his entire life. He doesn't really move, he barely walks. He is now more active than he was the first couple of days, but not active like a healthy tortoise. He still doesn't let me pet him (understandably so). Is this too much space for him? will I be able to add another animal in the mix?




First night with my new family: January 31, 2019
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Day 10 with my new family
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EllieMay

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Definitely gettin better! You might consider getting him a Heat mat with a thermostat for the cool side of that enclosure. Mine has one and he absolutely loves it. And water.. he needs constant access to water:). You are doing a great thing!
 

Clorenzo85

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Definitely gettin better! You might consider getting him a Heat mat with a thermostat for the cool side of that enclosure. Mine has one and he absolutely loves it. And water.. he needs constant access to water:). You are doing a great thing!

can you send me a picture of your set up? Thank you for your advice! I a little freaked out about leaving him water. I have been soaking him every other day.
 

EllieMay

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can you send me a picture of your set up? Thank you for your advice! I a little freaked out about leaving him water. I have been soaking him every other day.

Sure! Now I’m no expert so keep in mind that their are much more knowledgeable members than myself! But here is Toretto’s inside setup. He will be 3 in May and weighs 12-1/2lbs now so he moves outside permanently in a couple months.
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EllieMay

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where can I buy that heat pad? what's the name of the brand? what's the plastic for?

That is a brand from Atwood’s. Farm Innovator I think. It’s built exactly like the Kane mat that I have for my outdoor enclosure and it has overheat protection. I still use the inkbird probe and thermostat on it though because my tortoise doesn’t like it if it gets above 97f .I’ve heard of another brand that’s good too (stanfield maybe??) but you can order the Kane mats online from several places.

The plastic is a clear shower curtain that I used to make my enclosure enclosed. I have a A frame built with 1”x4”s above the Actual frame that its stapled to. It keeps the humidity in and my temperatures stable..
 

Clorenzo85

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so much to learn :( i had no idea how much it goes into caring for a tortoise. Thank you for your support! the only thing that I am worried about is the heat pad burning up. I've read horror stories. Is there another way? his enclosure is in a small room and I was thinking of buying a heater for that room. A regular house heater.
 

vladimir

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Depending on the size of the room, you may be able to use an electric oil filled radiator in the room to bump the overall ambient temperature up.

The Kane heat mats are great, they're built super tough and have overheating protections built in.
 

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