Almost Finished Tortoise Table Help!!!

ryanlocsin22

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can you guys help me?
i have a prebuilt open top tortoise table that i invested a lot already. so i made some revisions for the humidity. The table is 6ft x 3ft and 24inches in height. it has wheels so i can move it anywhere. it opens at the top ill be putting a screen on top.and i have a plastic to cover the top of the whole screen to make it more humid. the insides are all lined with a pond liner the area at the back which has a door that can be opened and closed to acces the small "house" for them to hide in. it is also lined with hard plastic. so moisture wont be a problem for the wood. the table will be outside in our front porch

question.how do i set my lights?

do i put a CHE inside the small #House" and then another CHE outside? plus a tubelight for lighting and a uvb t5 Ho 10.0 light plus a 50w incandescent for the basking spot? in what order do i do the lights?should i cover the entrance to the "small house" with rubber black door flaps to make it dark ? or should i use clear plastic flaps?

ive take a pic of the night time temp and humidity inside the table that is still with the sides and top open so when i close the side door and then put the plastic on the top of the screen door makes it more humid

im from the Philippines btw im new here but i learned a lot reading. so im making sure to make the most out of what i have already to make the enclosure more humid.

pics for reference below

IMG_20200531_175244.jpgIMG_20200531_175337.jpgIMG_20200531_191355.jpg
 

Yvonne G

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Most of us here feel different species should not be kept together. And besides that, it's seldom a good idea to keep tortoises in pairs. You can read about both of these subjects in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

Regarding the lights - make some sort of light stand to hang them from, or look up Zoo Med's light stand - I'd buy the bigger one.

You should use some sort of controller with the CHE, but I don't know about mounting it in the shelter. I'd be leery of doing that.

I wouldn't cover the door opening.
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

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Too small for two torts that large. Torts are quite territorial. CHE's can be installed in wood, but make sure to have a proper insulated ceramic socket like those used to install floodlights in ceilings, or it's a fire risk.
 

ryanlocsin22

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Iloilo City Philippines
Most of us here feel different species should not be kept together. And besides that, it's seldom a good idea to keep tortoises in pairs. You can read about both of these subjects in our Frequently Asked Questions section.

Regarding the lights - make some sort of light stand to hang them from, or look up Zoo Med's light stand - I'd buy the bigger one.

You should use some sort of controller with the CHE, but I don't know about mounting it in the shelter. I'd be leery of doing that.

I wouldn't cover the door opening.

Thank you! i mean id be getting one first. then after that one is bigger to moved to an outside enclosure. if id clean that tortoise table and get another one..

im thinking the placement would be
15911472296172307633903898827260.jpg
im planning to put all the lights hung inside. so that there would be no waste of UVB and il make sure that the inside temps stay and 80c and the basking light at 90to100(adjusting on the height and wattage of the incandescent bulb). my height from substrate to the top mesh screen would be 18-19inches. would that be ok?

the CHEs would all be in a brooder lamp with ceramic holders. is it ok to put one of the 100w inside the small enclosed room with the flaps. to maintain 80c itll be controlled by a thermostat.
or should i remove the plastic flaps for the small entrance?and not put the CHE in the small room. the flaps look like this
images.jpeg

thank you so much for your help. i just want to make the right enclosure first before getting a tortoise
 
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ryanlocsin22

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Iloilo City Philippines
Too small for two torts that large. Torts are quite territorial. CHE's can be installed in wood, but make sure to have a proper insulated ceramic socket like those used to install floodlights in ceilings, or it's a fire risk.
yes il make sure the CHEs are installed with a brooder lamp and a ceramic bulb holder. any thoughts on this placement? for the lights
1591147774972581281814922391415.jpg
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

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Unless your home is really cold, 100w CHE is overkill. I usually use 60W to 75w for my reptiles during the summer, and only break out the 100w to 150w during the coldest winter months in snowy Utah. In the Philippines I’d think two 75s should be more than adequate.
 

ryanlocsin22

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Unless your home is really cold, 100w CHE is overkill. I usually use 60W to 75w for my reptiles during the summer, and only break out the 100w to 150w during the coldest winter months in snowy Utah. In the Philippines I’d think two 75s should be more than adequate.
oh shoot i ordered 2 100w CHEs. i cant return the. cos i bought in online. should it work with a thermostat? i mean itll shut it off everytime it reaches 80d right? i messed up. and those 2 100w was like 25 dollars each ? but is my lighting diagrma correct? should i put plastic door flaps in the entrance of the small room in the enclosure to keep humidity in?images.jpeg
 

Kim&Tim

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oh shoot i ordered 2 100w CHEs. i cant return the. cos i bought in online. should it work with a thermostat? i mean itll shut it off everytime it reaches 80d right? i messed up. and those 2 100w was like 25 dollars each ? but is my lighting diagrma correct? should i put plastic door flaps in the entrance of the small room in the enclosure to keep humidity in?View attachment 296355
I would just keep measuring your temps and adjust your thermostat to that. You'll figure it out soon enough. I think humidity will be fine, your country is very humid! But try to measure it. I think it's you're trying to figure it out before getting them??
 

Toddrickfl1

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oh shoot i ordered 2 100w CHEs. i cant return the. cos i bought in online. should it work with a thermostat? i mean itll shut it off everytime it reaches 80d right? i messed up. and those 2 100w was like 25 dollars each ? but is my lighting diagrma correct? should i put plastic door flaps in the entrance of the small room in the enclosure to keep humidity in?View attachment 296355
As long as you put it on a thermostat 100w would be fine.
 

ryanlocsin22

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Location (City and/or State)
Iloilo City Philippines
I would just keep measuring your temps and adjust your thermostat to that. You'll figure it out soon enough. I think humidity will be fine, your country is very humid! But try to measure it. I think it's you're trying to figure it out before getting them??
yes ive been overthinking a lot . "what if this is not enough?". "should i get more?" it is driving me nuts. i even bought 4 thermo hygrometers just to be sure. lol just want to give the best enclosure and care for my tort. thank you!!

ill adjust the heat and test it. thanks!
 

Kim&Tim

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yes ive been overthinking a lot . "what if this is not enough?". "should i get more?" it is driving me nuts. i even bought 4 thermo hygrometers just to be sure. lol just want to give the best enclosure and care for my tort. thank you!!

ill adjust the heat and test it. thanks!
You'll do fine??☀️
 

COmtnLady

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I'm new here, too, but am concerned that you have said you want to keep the temp at "80c". That's FAR too hot. 80F which is 26c is good. ("80c" is 176F. ouch!)

I thought at first it might have been a typo, but you used the "80c" several times. Please don't cook your Tortoise, drop the temperature to 26C or 27C.
 

Kim&Tim

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I'm new here, too, but am concerned that you have said you want to keep the temp at "80c". That's FAR too hot. 80F which is 26c is good. ("80c" is 176F. ouch!)

I thought at first it might have been a typo, but you used the "80c" several times. Please don't cook your Tortoise, drop the temperature to 26C or 27C.
He didn't mean 80c, the majority of the world, including me, use centimeters and celsius. So typos are to be made, celsius is inbedded in our brain. Almost everyone here uses F, it's mostly Americans here. So you try to adjust, doesn't always work?
Google:

There are only three: Myanmar (or Burma), Liberia and the United States. Every other country in the world has adopted the metric system as the primary unit of measurement.
 
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ryanlocsin22

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May 14, 2020
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Location (City and/or State)
Iloilo City Philippines
I'm new here, too, but am concerned that you have said you want to keep the temp at "80c". That's FAR too hot. 80F which is 26c is good. ("80c" is 176F. ouch!)

I thought at first it might have been a typo, but you used the "80c" several times. Please don't cook your Tortoise, drop the temperature to 26C or 27C.
im sorry!! yeaah 26c.. i meant 80f. sorry i get confused. here in the Philippines we use degree celsius.thats what i meant . so whatever i read here i always convert it to celsius when i use my heat gun thermometer. ✌️✌️✌️
 
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