uberlou
New Member
Hello,
I've been an intense lurker and reader for the last month and have been trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can, since this has seemed like the best resource.
Some quick background on Tannie the Tort:
He’s a juvenile sulcata we took in from some close friends over the summer. I don't know his hatch date, but our friends adopted him from a co-worker when he was “palm-sized”. They realized after a year that they couldn't give it the proper care along with their young children. We are animal lovers and took him in from there, not knowing what was expected! Lol We approximate him to be about 3 or 4 years old? He's about 7" or 8" in his carapace length.
Enclosures:
His prior home was a terrarium with a mesh lid. After reading about how useless open tops are, we ordered a PVC enclosure made by Dragonhaus (48" x 24" x 15") that I just built this weekend. He has an outdoor enclosure that is covered, deluxe and well maintained, but 1.) we haven't rigged power yet to create a nightbox in that area 2.) he's still small enough that bringing him in at night is overall better from what I’ve read here. I am posting today specifically about the indoor enclosure and some questions I have.
Enclosure details:
Heating - Zoo Med Labs Habitat Heater (RHP) attached to a thermostat controller
Lighting - SunBlaster NanoTech T5HO w/ a Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB 39W bulb
Substrate - Mix of cypress mulch and coco coir
I currently do not have a basking light in this enclosure. Since it's a closed top, i'm not sure of the best option. I've seen people attach sockets with the bulbs directly on top, but haven't found the best instructions on how to do this? I'm not entirely handy (despite putting this enclosure together myself), so some tips might be helpful if anyone can offer. When it's sunny and warm enough, he goes to his outdoor yard enclosure and gets about 5 or 6 hours outdoor time. We live in Simi Vallley, California. Warmer days right now are about 80. With the outdoor sun time, does he still need indoor basking? There may be a streak of days to a week (possibly multiple weeks) that it might be too cold to let him out, so that's my biggest concern.
This enclosure has two vents on the back, should these be covered up? My wife and I had a discussion on this, I thought it should be covered, she thinks they should stay as-is.
In his enclosure, it's holding steady at about 85% humidity, but the thermometer mostly reads between 76-78 degrees. Though the temperature probe for the heat mat controller read at about 82 degrees. Thermometer/hygrometer is located in the top corner of the enclosure. Any ideas to heat it up a little more (assuming covering the vents?) or should my thermometer/hygrometer be in a different spot?
Here are some pictures of his enclosure and of Tan the man himself. I'm open to all advice, i've been an avid reader of the forums as I mentioned and have tried to take in all the info especially from Tom's guides. I know this is still a work in progress and trying my hardest to work out what's best for Tannie. Thank you!
I've been an intense lurker and reader for the last month and have been trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can, since this has seemed like the best resource.
Some quick background on Tannie the Tort:
He’s a juvenile sulcata we took in from some close friends over the summer. I don't know his hatch date, but our friends adopted him from a co-worker when he was “palm-sized”. They realized after a year that they couldn't give it the proper care along with their young children. We are animal lovers and took him in from there, not knowing what was expected! Lol We approximate him to be about 3 or 4 years old? He's about 7" or 8" in his carapace length.
Enclosures:
His prior home was a terrarium with a mesh lid. After reading about how useless open tops are, we ordered a PVC enclosure made by Dragonhaus (48" x 24" x 15") that I just built this weekend. He has an outdoor enclosure that is covered, deluxe and well maintained, but 1.) we haven't rigged power yet to create a nightbox in that area 2.) he's still small enough that bringing him in at night is overall better from what I’ve read here. I am posting today specifically about the indoor enclosure and some questions I have.
Enclosure details:
Heating - Zoo Med Labs Habitat Heater (RHP) attached to a thermostat controller
Lighting - SunBlaster NanoTech T5HO w/ a Zoo Med Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB 39W bulb
Substrate - Mix of cypress mulch and coco coir
I currently do not have a basking light in this enclosure. Since it's a closed top, i'm not sure of the best option. I've seen people attach sockets with the bulbs directly on top, but haven't found the best instructions on how to do this? I'm not entirely handy (despite putting this enclosure together myself), so some tips might be helpful if anyone can offer. When it's sunny and warm enough, he goes to his outdoor yard enclosure and gets about 5 or 6 hours outdoor time. We live in Simi Vallley, California. Warmer days right now are about 80. With the outdoor sun time, does he still need indoor basking? There may be a streak of days to a week (possibly multiple weeks) that it might be too cold to let him out, so that's my biggest concern.
This enclosure has two vents on the back, should these be covered up? My wife and I had a discussion on this, I thought it should be covered, she thinks they should stay as-is.
In his enclosure, it's holding steady at about 85% humidity, but the thermometer mostly reads between 76-78 degrees. Though the temperature probe for the heat mat controller read at about 82 degrees. Thermometer/hygrometer is located in the top corner of the enclosure. Any ideas to heat it up a little more (assuming covering the vents?) or should my thermometer/hygrometer be in a different spot?
Here are some pictures of his enclosure and of Tan the man himself. I'm open to all advice, i've been an avid reader of the forums as I mentioned and have tried to take in all the info especially from Tom's guides. I know this is still a work in progress and trying my hardest to work out what's best for Tannie. Thank you!