Recent content by Tom

I use radiant heat panels to heat indoor enclosures of those dimensions. They work great. I like the way the Vivarium Electronics ones mount better than the Sweeter Heaters. Chicken panels should work for this too. I wouldn't use under tank heating. It goes against tortoise instincts and often...

I took notes from Yvonne for years. She's the best.

You can make your own incubator. Look on YouTube. A fish tank or a drink cooler with an aquarium heater immersed in water will work. Put the egg in a plastic tub of some sort and set the tub on a brick or something in your incubator. Keep the media dry. Set the temp to around 86 degrees (30C)...

What he said... Burr clover. I feed it to mine whenever I find it. That is not oxalis.

No, they should not be allowed access to other animals feces. Further, the tortoise needs to be contained in a large safe enclosure. If you keep doing that you will lose your tortoise. SOOOOO many people lose their tortoises this way and every single one of them thought the same thing you are...

I have a shelf full of tortoise books that are just plain full of wrong information. I know and have met several of the authors. Just be aware of that as your read books or watch internet videos. Growing the food for them to graze on is awesome. That's the best way to go. And the "pond" is...

YES! Continuing education.... That hits the nail squarely on the head.

All sounds good. We list some guidelines, generalities, and suggestions, but every enclosure is a custom job. All of them need some fine tuning and tweaking to get them just right, and then you'll get into seasonal adjustments too as the weather changes all year long.

From the link I left for you in post number 12: 19. MVBs: Mercury vapor bulbs. Heat light and UV all in one bulb. Sounds great, but it doesn't work. As mentioned in #16, we don't want high levels of UV all day every day, but the tortoise does need a basking lamp all day (except forrest species)...

The southern species is fairly common in my area. I found one in Acton a few years back, and Acton is only about 10-15 miles from Palmdale/Lancaster where that shelter is. Oddly, they often occur where there is no obvious water, and appear to survive with only season ponds that form in the rain...

Definitely not suffering! Your tortoise is answering your question for you. When they hang out under the basking lamp "too much", it is a sign that the ambient temp in the enclosure is too cool. Your thermometers verify this. I try to keep ambient for a baby Testudo up around 75-80 during the...

What species are we talking about?

Mercury vapor bulbs are not a good option, and sand should never be used, but I agree with the other posters that these were not a likely COD. You probably got a typical dry started hatchling, and it succumbed more quickly than others. That's my best guess based on the info here. I'm glad our...

-What species? What size and age? -Where did you get it and how was it started in the days and weeks after hatching? -What size and type of enclosure? -What were the two types of lamps? -Basking area directly under the bulb should be around 95-100. 83 is too cool. -Thermostats should be used to...

Animals, including or maybe especially tortoises, will find ways to hurt themselves, get stuck, and/or commit suicide. Letting him get back there is going to eventually lead to disaster in some creative way that you and I cannot even imagine. I watched the videos and I can feel it in my bones...