Tom
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  • Hi Tom,
    i need some help on building a baby sulcata tortoise habitat. I just want to know all the things i might need to care of my tortoise and give it a safe comfortable habitat.
    Hey Tom I recently got 4 sulcata hatchlings from a friend and they are in a 45 gallon long tank with a 100 degree basking area and a 75 degree cool side they have a large hide filled with moist orchid moss also there substrate is cypress mulch
    and are eating a mix of kale, mustard greens andprickly pear with calcium dust is this a good enclosure for them for the time being while I work on a tortoise table?
    Sorry Tom..more questions. The enclosure I am having built is 7 ' long by 3 ' wide and 30 inches high. I was planning on putting 2- 4' light fixtures ...one for flourescent lighting and one arcadia 12% T5 for UV. Since the enclosure is going to be 7' long ...do you think the 4' light fixtures are fine or should I go with 3' fixtures.thanks
    Tom
    Tom
    Hmmm… Its just personal preference, but I'd go with the two 4 footers and overlap them. You'll need to lower the HO bulb down to around 20-24" for it to be most effective. Then I would set the HO bulb on its own timer for only about 3-4 hours a day. Run the other bulb for 12 hours a day, in addition to your basking bulbs.
    Tom
    Tom
    If its not too late, I'd make the enclosure only 24" tall. Then you are not heating more space unnecessarily. If not, 30" will work.
    Hi Tom... i'm in the Los Angeles area and I am wondering if you know anyone who is building these nightboxes because I am quite sure I am not capable of such a fantastic feat.
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    Reactions: Elizabeth Patti
    Tom
    Tom
    I do not. Seems like you could hire a handy man though. There is a thread that shows the box in CAD exploded form that makes it very easy for anyone to understand.
    BellaKonavoka
    BellaKonavoka
    Thank you Tom, I'll check it out! :)
    fanofthedog
    fanofthedog
    @BellaKonavoka I used this guy https://www.facebook.com/K9Residencies/?fref=ts
    who will custom make for you whatever you need. I didn't need the elaborate insulating and stuff because my guys house is inside my enclosed space. Prices were excellent. I love our house- its his page with other tortoise houses
    Thanks Tom.. Also, for the doors, instead of using glass that slides along a track..I thought I remember in one of your threads you said that the next one you built you would use an insulated type sliding window you would order from Lowes...is that correct?
    Tom
    Tom
    Yes, but that isn't as easy as I thought it would be. Get the window first and build the box around the window. There are lots of limitations on the size of the window you can get.
    Hey Tom.. I am building a humid enclosure chamber based on the 8' x 4' one that you have built. My question is I will have 6 light fixtures going inside the enclosure. How do you run the electrical wires to the inside of the plywood enclosure? Thanks
    Tom
    Tom
    I use a hole saw and make hole in the back or sides. After running the cords through, I stuff the hole with closed cell foam pieces, like from a kid's pool noodle.
    Hi Tom,
    Last fall I was unaware of temperatures needing to be lowered when hibernating so I simply let my Russian tortoise empty his belly, soaked him and when he quit coming out of his room just turned his lamp off until he woke up 10-12 weeks later. Is it ok to just let him hibernate in his room under his subtrate at the 70 degrees I keep my home at? He seemed healthy when he awoke last year after hibernating.
    Kennedies
    Kennedies
    Ok, I would hate to do anything that might bring him harm. Any links or sights you might recommend so that I can hibernate him safely? I do not believe keeping him awake is an option, our relationship is on thin ice as it is
    Tom
    Tom
    Kennedies
    Kennedies
    Very helpful, thank you. I am incredibly nervous about this. Temperatures get low here and sometimes below freezing I am concerned that in my garage, even in a shoe box with substrate, he might freeze! Or like you mentioned, wake up on those odd warm days. Although last year in his box I don't remember him waking up at all.
    Hi tom what is the best substrate I can use for my horse field tortoise I replied to your other feed which u asked me wen u are free will u be able to give me so help and advice please
    Hi there! A little over 5 months ago i bought a (pardalis babcocki) leopard tortoise from underground reptiles. They said he would be about 3 inches but he was barely an inch when i recieved him. But now im starting to get worried because he is almost half a year old and is only maybe 3 inches at most.I just want to make sure i am doing all i can and that he is ok.
    Hi Tom, I have recently added Rafa our African Leopard tortoise to the family. Yesterday he came home for the first time. Today however he has been sleeping a lot, apart from when I woke him to bath him this morning. Is this natural?
    His Viv temp is 92 at the hot end during the day and 72 at night. He is currently on a diet of mixed lettuce leaves and cuttle fish bones.
    Many thanks,
    Chris
    Tom
    Tom
    Yes. That should be about right.
    C
    Christopher Gallagher
    How do I sustain 80 at night without turning on the basking lamp and confusing the tortoise about day v night time?
    Tom
    Tom
    You know those threads that I took the time to link in my first reply to your post? Read them. If they didn't come up or you can't get the links to open, I'll help.
    Hi Tom, I think I am having problems sending replies to your E mails. I am glad the girls are laying eggs. Whose been laying, Hamburger, V? All your girls are beautiful anyways. My E mail is [email protected]. Thanks, Linc
    I just got a hatchling and it seems very healthy(clear eyes, shell is not soft)Would you recommend investing in a humidifier? Right now, my tortoise (Olive) is in an open enclosure with cypress mulch. I have been wetting the mulch frequently, soaking the wood log hideout, and soaking Olive twice a day in water to help. When I first got Olive, it was very active exploring the cage, now not so much. Is this normal?
    Alex Madden-Beatley
    Alex Madden-Beatley
    I live in Denver, so trying to keep the humidity up is really hard. it stays around 60, but I want to get it up to 80
    Tom
    Tom
    I answered this in your question on my thread. You should get an "Alert" soon. Just click on it and it will take you to the answer. It would be best to start a new thread on this in the general discussion or sulcata sections.
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