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I’ve gone out for the evening so I don’t have any live pictures from the scene but there’s about 3-4 inches of substrate at the bottom of each viv. The bugs have burrowed and most of them have disappeared but any that surface in the top viv, are being picked off. It’s not the isopod...

They’ve got separate quarters in a big, double decker viv I built a year or so ago. They can’t be together due to the fact one of them is a notorious punk with violent anti-social tendencies. I expected them to disappear and even put some big flat stones down for them to hide under. What I...

I’ve introduced colonies of isopods into two of my stars’ enclosures today to act as cleanup crew, since they make so much mess. I’ve just glanced in, only to be met with scenes of utter chaos. One of the lads is endlessly tearing around his viv in circles, as if possessed by the restless spirit...

Giving this a bit of a bump, really keen to get your feedback.

I’ve kept a growing collection of Indian Stars for the last three years. The oldest is a male I’ve had since he was a 30g hatchling, he now weighs over 800g. He eats everything in sight and is very active. I follow the advice prescribed on this forum quite closely in terms of habitat and...

Thanks Zovick! Better start thinking of a new name ?

Hi all, I’ve been really hoping that my youngest star is a female and it had all been looking good until today when I saw this poking out of her cloaca!! She’s about two years old and 350g so still quite young/small but my older star was smaller than this when he started to flash. I’ve been...

As far as I know, pretty much any type of varnish is safe once it’s fully cured. I’d always give it an extra couple of days to dry in addition to the directions on the tin, just to be sure all of the toxic vapours have disappeared. It will need to be an oil based exterior varnish to deal with...

You’ll want to do your own research but I’m pretty sure any varnish is safe once it’s fully cured. Yacht varnish was my first choice as it effectively plasticises the inside of the viv. I use wooden ramps with icelolly sticks glued to them for traction. These need replacing every so often...

The light fitting is actually a lot closer to the top of the viv in the photo that I attached to my last post (which was my previous viv) than it is in the new one but yes, that should certainly be a consideration. In the dual bulb canopies I use, the ceramic bulb holders protrude about 3”...

Pretty much everything came from Amazon I think. The black canopies have two bulb holders and each hold a 50w CHE on a thermostat and a 40w incandescent bulb on a timer. They hang from some ornate black iron pipe that I had left over from another job which is securely screwed to the side of the...

Thanks a lot. Feel free to drop me a message on here if you need any help or advice with the build.

You could do that, yes. Because I keep two tortoises, my setup is two independent enclosures, one on top of the other, and each has a raised platform, rather than entire second storeys. In this case you could theoretically reduce the footprint by around 1/3rd as you’re only adding...

Hi Jake, You could consider a split level viv with ramps for the tortoises to climb, which is what I have opted for. I live in a small central London flat and I don’t have a lot of floor space so I built a tall, multi level vivarium which gives the tortoises enough sq/ft by using vertical space...

I bought a pack of bulbs from this eBay seller recently: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330940477445 I’ve only been using them for a couple of weeks so I can’t attest to how long they last but so far, so good. They were well packaged and arrived in good condition (which is an issue I’ve had in the...

Oh, I can’t wait ?! I’ll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks a lot for your input guys, good to know I’m not just imagining things. Cheers, Rich

Thanks a lot Mark ?

Any guesses at all?

The normal bulb won’t produce any UVB so it’s not a solution, it’ll just help light that end of your viv. You’ll still need to get a UVB source soon (I’ve just dropped you a PM about this). As far as I’m aware, there’s nothing wrong with your basking lamp, it’s just your coil type UV bulb that...

I would recommend you remove the UV coil bulb today and replace it with a standard domestic light bulb. The coil bulbs have been found to be ineffective sources of UVB for tortoises and can lead to health problems, particularly burned eyes. My understanding is they emit a tiny, negligible amount...