I use these with my Indian Star and Radiated tortoises, alongside an Arcadia Jungle Dawn for high visible light, and an Arcadia flood for UV provision. All over the basking site. The DHP's replaced halogen basking bulbs, and I much prefer the DHP. Subjectively I think the tortoises basking...
Just been reading this post. I swapped from using halogen basking lights, to the DHP, approx 1yr ago when I upgraded my torts vivs. My Indian Star and Radiated tortoises seem to bask well under the DHP, but it is immediately next to a UV flood, so the area is light and heat rich. I like the DHP...
I know this thread is a bit old, but wanted to say that I now use the DHP with both my radiated and indian star tortoises... they seem to bask under them more frequently than they did when I was using halogen basking bulbs, although the basking temperatures are basically the same. I've been...
Hi :)
Im no expert on substrates, but I have used coco coir, cypress mulch and orchid bark (not all at once lol!) with my star (and radiated) tortoise, and I think all are perfectly suitable.... I personally like orchid bark because its less messy than coir, and less sharp/splintery than cypress...
Thanks for the info. I understand the concern, but I haven't had any issues at all. Im just about to change it, but i'll be using orchid bark instead. I have used coir/soil on my indian star before, but I really don't like it, and they seem to be doing well on the bark based substrates.
But why? Its obviously fine if you think this, but you should justify statements like this, otherwise it's tantamount to scaremongering. A lot of excellent, renowned reptile/tortoise specialist vets would be happy to inject into the back leg.....
Also, I feel compelled to comment......
Why exactly should the vet NOT inject anything into the rear legs?! I assume you are concerned about the renal-portal system of reptiles? If you are, you should know that the significance of the renal-portal system on drug elimination/excretion is rather...
Whilst I agree that, on balance, it sounds likely this tortoise received a dose of vitamin A by injection, and that is the cause of the signs... we don't know this. The OP states that it received vitamins...... how? orally? by injection? And what were they...? at what dose?
To the OP - I would...
Ideally, you should take your tortoise to a vet for a check over... I would usually start systemic antibiotics in this case, it is often better than waiting until infection sets in when dealing with dog bites and tortoises. That said, judging solely from the pictures (cannot be completely sure...
Distilled water is just pure H2O, and nothing else..... no dissolved minerals or salts at all. Because of this, if an animal were to drink/bathe in distilled water, particularly amphibians, they will absorb more than is natural, due to the massive osmotic gradient created by the fact the...
I wouldn't use distilled water for any tortoise (or reptile for that matter)... apart from in humidifiers/foggers...
I would advise treating the water with a reptile safe dechlorinator though, if you use tap water and it is treated.
Hey,
Great pics of your setup, thanks! And absolutely lovely looking radiated torts!!
I keep mine on coco coir substrate also, though it has a layer of cypress mulch on top. What sort of lighting have you got in their viv??
I haven't tried mine with lawn grass yet - my star loves it, but...
Hi,
Thanks for the link to the care sheet, I've been interested to see it and wasn't able to find it anywhere, so really appreciate that!! :)
I have some Zoo Med grassland pellets already (that my indian star rejected!), so might try with a small amount of that. I have had mazuri in the past...
Hi,
As the title suggests, I was just wondering if people could share info on/post pictures of their radiated setups... particularly those that are unlucky enough to live in a climate (like me in the U.K) where they have to be kept indoors a lot...!
Also, what do people feed their radiated...
Hope the tortoise was seen at the vets and something is being done for him.
Just picking up on something though..... There is a lot of scaremongering that goes on about tortoises receiving vitamin A injections, with people saying "don't allow the vet to do it"....... Yes, vitamin A can be...
If it is chalky, then sounds like it is urates... usually they are creamy, but can potentially be gritty, hard or excessively chalky if the tortoise is inadequately hydrated.... Do you know what the humidity/temperatures are in your enclosure?
Mine was fed on mainly weeds....... Broad/narrow...