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  1. Tom

    New family member. Meet Gribble.

    That works. That's how Mark W likes to do it too on his Smart Enclosures. CHEs are for ambient heat, not basking. You need light for a basking bulb.
  2. Tom

    New family member. Meet Gribble.

    Congrats on the new addition! That's awesome. Here is what I'd change: -Most of this sounds great, but I prefer my basking lamp on a timer, not a thermostat. I don't want the "sun" going on and off all day. I have a friend that did this with her uromastix and it was driving me crazy from across...
  3. Tom

    Help with declining Russian tortoise

    Where in CA are you? Different advice for Palm Springs VS. Pismo Beach. What are the temperatures in the indoor enclosure? Basking area, cool side, warm side, and overnight low? What other lighting and heating do you have other than the heat lamp? Stop offering fruit. It wreaks havoc on their...
  4. Tom

    UVB & Solarmeter 6.5 R

    Yes. I've been running several of them for years.
  5. Tom

    i found my tortoise dead and it was my fault

    Here are a few things I see: 1. Not having a water bowl for a few days would not kill them. It was most likely the heat. Hydration is vitally important for long term health, but this species can survive a few days with a dry water bowl if all else is done correctly. 2. When housed outdoors in...
  6. Tom

    UVB & Solarmeter 6.5 R

    UV levels in the UK are lower than here, but have you tried it outside, mid day in summer time? You should be able to look up online what is normal this time of year for your area.
  7. Tom

    Do marginateds grow... differently?

    Both are great species and both have the same care requirements. Marginated just get a little bit larger. Hermani are way more common and available, so finding a breeder who starts them correctly might be easier.
  8. Tom

    UVB & Solarmeter 6.5 R

    I agree those readings are okay, but they seem very low for 12% or a 14%. I wonder if your meter is off. I prefer Arcadia. I think their stuff is better quality. I wonder if another keeper or reptile shop near you is running an Arcadia HO tube that you could test your meter under?
  9. Tom

    Russian Tortoise Eating

    Hello and welcome! What you are feeding him is ideal, but he has probably never seen any of that and has no idea what it is. New foods have to be introduced gradually over weeks or months. Check in with the seller and see what he was eating before. Probably lettuce. Mix in small amounts of...
  10. Tom

    What’s your biggest challenge as a tortoise keeper? ⭐

    Procuring enough food to feed my ever-growing herd is my biggest challenge. Closely followed by having to put them all away every night into their night boxes when the weather is hot. Your questions; 1. I leave them unattended every night while I'm sleeping and they are in their boxes. I don't...
  11. Tom

    Struggling with Arcadia T5 UV light

    The UV does not need to blanket the entire enclosure. Just an area near the basking lamp is all that is needed. LED for the rest of the enclosure is great.
  12. Tom

    Does diet overlap between Sulcata and desert tortoise?

    I thought wandering jew was toxic, but I could be mistaken. Yes, if it's safe for a DT, it's also safe for a sulcata. Grasses and grass hay are best, but also look for lavatera, grape vines, mulberry leaves, and lots of spineless opuntia.
  13. Tom

    Any thoughts on letting your desert tortoise into the house?

    Yes, you are doing him a huge disservice by letting him in. The floor of the house is not safe, cannot be made safe, and no amount of supervision changes this. We see tragedy after tragedy as a result of people letting them roam free in the house. Nobody realizes how dangerous it is, or how many...
  14. Tom

    Irregular eating Habits

    They aren't stressed. They are just marching. Much like a horse, tortoises rely on locomotion to keep the GI tract moving along. Think of the soaks like a hot walker for horses. Years ago @Yvonne G used the phrase "tortoise treadmill". It really does fit. While soaking for 45 minutes, your...
  15. Tom

    Irregular eating Habits

    All of this sounds ideal. Longer soaks are better, as the mountain lady pointed out, but with two soaks a day, dehydration, constipation, and bladder stones can reasonably be ruled out. As an experiment, try switching back to the original diet with half romaine, before you added in the new...
  16. Tom

    For those with soaking ponds

    My tortoises are the forces of destruction mentioned in the video...
  17. Tom

    Irregular eating Habits

    Upland has great tortoise weather for DTs! The heat shouldn't matter indoors. I'm trying to see a reason for the reduced appetite. How often do you soak them? What sort of heating, lighting and UV are you using indoors? What are your temperatures indoors? What substrate are you using? Outside...
  18. Tom

    Irregular eating Habits

    First: Are they housed separately? If the tortoise is grazing naturally, and with your huge variety of good stuff, you really don't need and supplementation. A tiny pinch of calcium now and then certainly won't hurt anything, but if they are eating a variety of weeds and all of those...
  19. Tom

    Sulcata overgrown lower lip/jaw

    In addition to what Zovick said, this problem usually indicates poor care, incorrect hosing, and wrong diet. Just something to be aware of.
  20. Tom

    UVB/UVA help with new indoor enclosure

    Closed chambers work much better and more efficiently if there is a solid top and all of the heating and lighting is contained inside. I'm not familiar with vivtech, but here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials: Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the...
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