Tortoise Enclosure

Good day!

I would like to ask some help regarding my enclosure.

I recently bought a baby tortoise and is 10.0 UVB okay for him/her? Also, is coco peat suitable for its substrate? The store owner told me not to use any substrate yet since it's just a baby.

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Please post pictures of your tort as well as his/her enclosure, so as to enable us to help you.

You could also read the "Beginners Mistake" Thread, and different care sheets on enclosures.

Keep us updated, and good luck!

Here is my temporary enclosure. UVB light is 10.0 and I'm planning to use coco peat as substrate tomorrow. This was taken a few hours ago.

Gillian Moore said:

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Please post pictures of your tort as well as his/her enclosure, so as to enable us to help you.

You could also read the "Beginners Mistake" Thread, and different care sheets on enclosures.

Keep us updated, and good luck!

Click to expand...

I've posted the pic above.

Hello and Welcome. The best way to keep your little one is in a closed chamber. They need a basking area of 100 over all temp for day and night of no lower then 80 and that is with a humidity of 80%. The coil bulb you are using can and has caused eye damage so I would remove that. Coconut coir is great for keeping humidity, won't mold and won't cause impactions. Provide water 24/7 in a low sided clay saucer big enough for your tort to get into. Also, soak him every day for 20-30 minutes in warm water. Ceramic heat emitters are the best for providing heat at night as they don't give off any light.
Please read the threads linked below in my post, they will explain how best to do all this.

wellington said:

Hello and Welcome. The best way to keep your little one is in a closed chamber. They need a basking area of 100 over all temp for day and night of no lower then 80 and that is with a humidity of 80%. The coil bulb you are using can and has caused eye damage so I would remove that. Coconut coir is great for keeping humidity, won't mold and won't cause impactions. Provide water 24/7 in a low sided clay saucer big enough for your tort to get into. Also, soak him every day for 20-30 minutes in warm water. Ceramic heat emitters are the best for providing heat at night as they don't give off any light.
Please read the threads linked below in my post, they will explain how best to do all this.

Click to expand...

Remove both bulb? The first bulb is 10.0 UVB and the second one is for heat. What do I replace with UVB and the other one? Thank you for the answer. I'd like to purchase that ceramic heat emitter tomorrow.

The bulb you are using for UVB (the spiral-shaped bulb) causes a very painful eye condition in baby tortoises similar to snow-blindness. You should turn it off immediately and don't use it. If possible, take it back to the store and get your money back. You should use either one of these for UVB:



and for night time heat you can use this:



Also, the store-keeper told you wrong. Your baby needs substrate. Walking on smooth newspaper might harm his leg joints. He needs traction and something you can moisten; something he can dig down into.

Your heat light is up too high. Have you measured the temperature down on the floor of the habitat? The baby needs to be kept warm. At least 85F.

Please read the care sheet pinned at the top of our Sulcata section. It will help you set the baby up properly.

Welcome to the forum. It might seem overwhelming at first, but there is a lot of bad information floating around the internet about how to properly care for tortoises. I went through this a few months ago when I got my sulcata baby. I was all set to build a tort table, and after posting my plans on here I realized that I needed to completely rethink the design. High humidity (~80%) is crucial for torts to develop appropriately. I really recommend looking through the 'closed chamber' threads on here and get an idea about what kind of enclosures are more appropriate. You can get as extravagant or as simple as you want, but just be sure to get all of your heat and humidity parameters in check.

For a strip bulb I would go with the 10.0 t5 HO. From what I have read on here, 5.0 is a bit weak.

Feel The Pain said:

Remove both bulb? The first bulb is 10.0 UVB and the second one is for heat. What do I replace with UVB and the other one? Thank you for the answer. I'd like to purchase that ceramic heat emitter tomorrow.

Click to expand...

The only bulb I can see is the spiral one and that's the one that will cause eye damage. Be sure to measure heat at tort level, no lower then 80. A point and shoot infrared temp gun, fairly cheap is a great thing to have too and a good thermometer/hygrometer for humidity. The disc type ones are not reliable, so don't waist you money on them

Yvonne G said:

The bulb you are using for UVB (the spiral-shaped bulb) causes a very painful eye condition in baby tortoises similar to snow-blindness. You should turn it off immediately and don't use it. If possible, take it back to the store and get your money back. You should use either one of these for UVB:

View attachment 154575 View attachment 154576

and for night time heat you can use this:

View attachment 154577

Also, the store-keeper told you wrong. Your baby needs substrate. Walking on smooth newspaper might harm his leg joints. He needs traction and something you can moisten; something he can dig down into.

Your heat light is up too high. Have you measured the temperature down on the floor of the habitat? The baby needs to be kept warm. At least 85F.

Please read the care sheet pinned at the top of our Sulcata section. It will help you set the baby up properly.

Click to expand...

i can't use this kind of bulb?

JoshSloane said:

Welcome to the forum. It might seem overwhelming at first, but there is a lot of bad information floating around the internet about how to properly care for tortoises. I went through this a few months ago when I got my sulcata baby. I was all set to build a tort table, and after posting my plans on here I realized that I needed to completely rethink the design. High humidity (~80%) is crucial for torts to develop appropriately. I really recommend looking through the 'closed chamber' threads on here and get an idea about what kind of enclosures are more appropriate. You can get as extravagant or as simple as you want, but just be sure to get all of your heat and humidity parameters in check.

For a strip bulb I would go with the 10.0 t5 HO. From what I have read on here, 5.0 is a bit weak.

Click to expand...

yes, i'm currently using coco peat as my substrate also, i'm a bit confused on my closed chamber enclosure but still working on it

wellington said:

The only bulb I can see is the spiral one and that's the one that will cause eye damage. Be sure to measure heat at tort level, no lower then 80. A point and shoot infrared temp gun, fairly cheap is a great thing to have too and a good thermometer/hygrometer for humidity. The disc type ones are not reliable, so don't waist you money on them

Click to expand...

i'm currently keeping his temperature at 28 degrees celcius. planning to buy hygrometer later.
how about this bulb?

That's the kind of bulbs that causes eye damage. So a big NO on that kind. Get a regular fluorescent or a Mercury vapor bulb

wellington said:

That's the kind of bulbs that causes eye damage. So a big NO on that kind. Get a regular fluorescent or a Mercury vapor bulb

Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. About how many inches should I put the fluorescent above the substrate?

Feel The Pain said:

Ok, thanks. About how many inches should I put the fluorescent above the substrate?

Click to expand...

It should say on the package of the bulb. Something like 10 or 12 to 16 or 24 inches. I'm not real sure.

Feel The Pain said:

yes, i'm currently using coco peat as my substrate also, i'm a bit confused on my closed chamber enclosure but still working on it

Click to expand...

By closed chamber, we basically mean anything that prevents the loss of moisture and can keep humidity up near 80%. Really anyway that you can make this happen works. I built my enclosure out of plywood, but many people seal the tops of tortoise tables with plastic sheeting etc. Limiting ventilation is the key.