Arcadia Supplements

[Shell-by]

Hey, does anyone know much about Arcadia products for reptiles? We’ve got a Horsfield tortoise, and we’ve got the Arcadia essential calcium, and the earth pro-a multivitamins. But then I found an upgrade on the calcium, which has added magnesium, which is supposed to help with D3. But then I found RevitaliseD3, which has all of the above ingredients although I’m not sure if all % are correct and there is little information available for these products. RevitaliseD3 boasts it is a formula that is supposed to be more accurate, meaning your pet will get what it needs not more or less. But then it’s also added as a ‘top up’ on Swell Reptiles website. I’ve tried to email Arcadia, but haven’t heard anything back as of yet.. We’ve got a desert strength basking lamp that also has UV for basking area, we have been keeping check of the temp to ensure it stays at around 30/32c. He’s got a hide that stay’s around 19-22c and it’s more humid in there too. Our tort is supposed to be around 4-5 month old, but is 8cm long shell length and weighs 93g, which seems pretty big for this age group when I’ve had a research online.. We’ve only had Yoshi (our Horsfield) for about a week, we plan to monitor weight gain monthly to make sure Yoshi isn’t growing too much. I’ve read 1-3g a month is about right for weight gain for Horsfield, is that right? But I’m also going to add, there is so much different information available for these little guys, and it can be very contradicting and confusing!

Thank you so much for the help in advance!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!

Arcadia makes so many supplements right now, that, probably, they are confused too.

When you provide sane amount of variety for your tortoise, most supplements are redundant, with a few exceptions:

1. Fiber. Grocery store greens, young wild weeds and many decorative garden plants have poor fiber/protein ratio (comparing to native diets of Testudo species). Additional sources of fiber are horse hay pellets, commercial tortoise foods and toppers (like Agrobs Pre Alpine, ZooMed Grassland, Mazuri LS, Arcadia Optimized52 Tortoise Food). Some plants, like opuntia cactus pads are good fiber source too.

2. Calcium. Usually a tiny pinch of calcium carbonate powder once-twice a week is what's needed. Occasional foods with high Calcium-Phosphorus ratio are good as well (opuntia pads, kale). Cuttlebone or calcium block available in the enclosure also help with maintaining calcium intake.

3. Vitamin D3 - beneficial in small amounts for tortoises kept in colder regions (like UK or Canada) and indoors-only tortoises.

4. Multi-mineral supplements - just as a safeguard against possible mineral deficiencies.

Herbivorous tortoises obtain required amounts of vitamin A from their diet and supplementation is often redundant.

I don't think that Revitalize D3 is what you need for a tortoise (composition is more suitable for omnivorous lizards like bearded dragons or blue-tongued skinks).

--
1-3 grams a month is a small weight gain. While some keepers advocate for slow growth (based on weight or grow rings size), there is no real need to slow down growth and limit food intake. With proper diet and environment faster growth is expected and doesn't result in pyramiding, low bones density and internal organs damage.

You can check this post (and the Temperate species care sheet linked at the end of that post) for general care information and care details specific for Testudo species:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hey, does anyone know much about Arcadia products for reptiles? We’ve got a Horsfield tortoise, and we’ve got the Arcadia essential calcium, and the earth pro-a multivitamins. But then I found an upgrade on the calcium, which has added magnesium, which is supposed to help with D3. But then I found RevitaliseD3, which has all of the above ingredients although I’m not sure if all % are correct and there is little information available for these products. RevitaliseD3 boasts it is a formula that is supposed to be more accurate, meaning your pet will get what it needs not more or less. But then it’s also added as a ‘top up’ on Swell Reptiles website. I’ve tried to email Arcadia, but haven’t heard anything back as of yet.. We’ve got a desert strength basking lamp that also has UV for basking area, we have been keeping check of the temp to ensure it stays at around 30/32c. He’s got a hide that stay’s around 19-22c and it’s more humid in there too. Our tort is supposed to be around 4-5 month old, but is 8cm long shell length and weighs 93g, which seems pretty big for this age group when I’ve had a research online.. We’ve only had Yoshi (our Horsfield) for about a week, we plan to monitor weight gain monthly to make sure Yoshi isn’t growing too much. I’ve read 1-3g a month is about right for weight gain for Horsfield, is that right? But I’m also going to add, there is so much different information available for these little guys, and it can be very contradicting and confusing!

Thank you so much for the help in advance!

Hello! Hopefully Alex’s response above helped with the supplement side of things!
Your guy does sound a little bit older than a few months, but still on the young side at that size.

Now for the housing side of things, all in one compact uvb and heat bulbs aren’t the safest or most efficient choice unfortunately.

For a basking bulb you want an incandescent reptile flood light, the right watt and height to create the desired basking temperature of 95f(35c) directly underneath, pro rep and Arcadia do them.
The rest of the enclosure should range 80/85 in the middle, and 75f cooler end, 70f is a fine night temperature.

For uvb you want a good quality t5 tube fluorescent bulb, the brands to go for are ‘Arcadia prot5 kit 12%’ which comes with the reflector fitting, or, ‘zoo med reptisun 10.0’ which needs the hood buying separately, I personally recommend the Arcadia.
With the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The right uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics(if needed) will run 24/7 on a thermostat, hopefully this will make more sense once you read links below

I know firsthand how truly confusing and contradictory care information out there can feel when first starting out! Believe me when I say this forum save me SO much confusion! You genuinely can’t go wrong using it as your only source if information, this place is a goldmine of tortoise knowledge, made from folks all over the globe, some have been at it decades, through trial and error discovering the safest most optimal ways to raise tortoises with long term health in mind, this place won’t do you wrong! You can always challenge members on their answers to get to the nitty gritty of all the information you need

Hopefully you find this thread helpful, this covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If ever going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chamber options, some work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope you like them! Please feel free to ask any further questions, welcome to the forum!

 

[144 Grandpa Turtle]

I try to not feed my tortoises store bought chemicals

 

[Shell-by]

Hello and welcome!

Arcadia makes so many supplements right now, that, probably, they are confused too.

When you provide sane amount of variety for your tortoise, most supplements are redundant, with a few exceptions:

1. Fiber. Grocery store greens, young wild weeds and many decorative garden plants have poor fiber/protein ratio (comparing to native diets of Testudo species). Additional sources of fiber are horse hay pellets, commercial tortoise foods and toppers (like Agrobs Pre Alpine, ZooMed Grassland, Mazuri LS, Arcadia Optimized52 Tortoise Food). Some plants, like opuntia cactus pads are good fiber source too.

2. Calcium. Usually a tiny pinch of calcium carbonate powder once-twice a week is what's needed. Occasional foods with high Calcium-Phosphorus ratio are good as well (opuntia pads, kale). Cuttlebone or calcium block available in the enclosure also help with maintaining calcium intake.

3. Vitamin D3 - beneficial in small amounts for tortoises kept in colder regions (like UK or Canada) and indoors-only tortoises.

4. Multi-mineral supplements - just as a safeguard against possible mineral deficiencies.

Herbivorous tortoises obtain required amounts of vitamin A from their diet and supplementation is often redundant.

I don't think that Revitalize D3 is what you need for a tortoise (composition is more suitable for omnivorous lizards like bearded dragons or blue-tongued skinks).

--
1-3 grams a month is a small weight gain. While some keepers advocate for slow growth (based on weight or grow rings size), there is no real need to slow down growth and limit food intake. With proper diet and environment faster growth is expected and doesn't result in pyramiding, low bones density and internal organs damage.

You can check this post (and the Temperate species care sheet linked at the end of that post) for general care information and care details specific for Testudo species:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Hello Alex & LittleRed!
Thank youse both so much for the response, and all of the information youse have supplied me with! I've been looking at lights all morning and I'll be reading about Horsfield all day again, haha! For the Arcadia Pro T5 kit could either of you recommend what to go for out of the 3 choices available 24w, 39w, or 54w? We have already started out very wrong, and had to redo nearly everything over again the only thing we have seemed to do correct is temp, cuttlebone in enclosure and guessing that they need a humid space available too! Lol! Yoshi is on a better diet now, and we have started to grow our current plant collection and got seeds on the way as we speak, to try ensure our tort gets the best diet and a mixture! Enclosure is a tortoise table, but it turns out we need more space than what we've gave! We are currently working on plans for Yoshi's new enclosure, so will have more space available soon enough. We are going to do an enclosure size of 5ftx3ft would this be sufficient space until Yoshi grows to adult size? (we are actively applying for new home, as we are currently in a very small property) We also plan to make an enclosure in the garden, but we are in the UK so Yoshi will only be able to go out in warmer weather

Thank you both so much, again! We would rather be doing the best we can for Yoshi, so it is really appreciated

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello Alex & LittleRed!
Thank youse both so much for the response, and all of the information youse have supplied me with! I've been looking at lights all morning and I'll be reading about Horsfield all day again, haha! For the Arcadia Pro T5 kit could either of you recommend what to go for out of the 3 choices available 24w, 39w, or 54w? We have already started out very wrong, and had to redo nearly everything over again the only thing we have seemed to do correct is temp, cuttlebone in enclosure and guessing that they need a humid space available too! Lol! Yoshi is on a better diet now, and we have started to grow our current plant collection and got seeds on the way as we speak, to try ensure our tort gets the best diet and a mixture! Enclosure is a tortoise table, but it turns out we need more space than what we've gave! We are currently working on plans for Yoshi's new enclosure, so will have more space available soon enough. We are going to do an enclosure size of 5ftx3ft would this be sufficient space until Yoshi grows to adult size? (we are actively applying for new home, as we are currently in a very small property) We also plan to make an enclosure in the garden, but we are in the UK so Yoshi will only be able to go out in warmer weather

Thank you both so much, again! We would rather be doing the best we can for Yoshi, so it is really appreciated

No problem at all! We’re all always down to talk tortoises lol.

The 24watt will do you

They don’t technically need a humid hide so long as humidity is correct in the enclosure in general
If an open topped table id try and get that covered as he’s younger, perhaps one of the topper options in the visual inspiration thread would work? I’d use it for the upgrade too.

That should be plenty room until he’s ready for his finale sizegranted the recommended size for adults can be very alarming, the industry misleads too many people into thinking they’re fine in smaller spaces because they’re a smaller species. Theres lots of creative ways to tackle indoor space though!

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it, hope you like it!

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello Alex & LittleRed!
Thank youse both so much for the response, and all of the information youse have supplied me with! I've been looking at lights all morning and I'll be reading about Horsfield all day again, haha! For the Arcadia Pro T5 kit could either of you recommend what to go for out of the 3 choices available 24w, 39w, or 54w? We have already started out very wrong, and had to redo nearly everything over again the only thing we have seemed to do correct is temp, cuttlebone in enclosure and guessing that they need a humid space available too! Lol! Yoshi is on a better diet now, and we have started to grow our current plant collection and got seeds on the way as we speak, to try ensure our tort gets the best diet and a mixture! Enclosure is a tortoise table, but it turns out we need more space than what we've gave! We are currently working on plans for Yoshi's new enclosure, so will have more space available soon enough. We are going to do an enclosure size of 5ftx3ft would this be sufficient space until Yoshi grows to adult size? (we are actively applying for new home, as we are currently in a very small property) We also plan to make an enclosure in the garden, but we are in the UK so Yoshi will only be able to go out in warmer weather

Thank you both so much, again! We would rather be doing the best we can for Yoshi, so it is really appreciated

For enclosure of that size 24W lamp (22") will work just fine, place it closer to the basking area (basking lamp should be regular, non-halogen incandescent flood lamp like Arcadia Solar Basking Floodlight or ProRep Flood Spot). Desert 12% is optimal but pay attention to installation height (18-21" above substrate). Reptile Systems T5 Kit - Zone 3 is also a decent option.

5x3 will be a bit tight when Yoshi gets closer to the adult size. However, you can expand time outdoors by building a cold frame over his outdoor pen. If you cover it with a UV-transparent plastic like Lumisol he will get natural UV exposure from sunlight.

 

[Shell-by]

No problem at all! We’re all always down to talk tortoises lol.

The 24watt will do you

They don’t technically need a humid hide so long as humidity is correct in the enclosure in general
If an open topped table id try and get that covered as he’s younger, perhaps one of the topper options in the visual inspiration thread would work? I’d use it for the upgrade too.

That should be plenty room until he’s ready for his finale sizegranted the recommended size for adults can be very alarming, the industry misleads too many people into thinking they’re fine in smaller spaces because they’re a smaller species. Theres lots of creative ways to tackle indoor space though!

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it, hope you like it!

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Hello again LittleRed!

struggling to find the Arcadia Pro T5 kit in 24w, are we only to use the 24w? Seeming to be on sale, so assuming there is a mad frenzy for them right now! We've had a look at the enclosure ideas, and we really like the green houses! Thank you for sharing and for the hard work setting it all up, must take hours to set up all this information for everyone! humidity stays between 45/55% in basking area, throughout enclosure can range between 55%-75% as you travel further out from the basking area and closer to hide. Hide we are worrying about a bit, it's just over 75%. But have seen it at just over 80% when first put the coir inside. We had left the coir a tad damper for inside of his hide. He does seem to like it in there, he sleeps there every night and he comes and goes throughout the day as he pleases

(p.s we aren't 100% sure if Yoshi is male or female, he is male until he may prove us otherwise lol)

 

[Shell-by]

For enclosure of that size 24W lamp (22") will work just fine, place it closer to the basking area (basking lamp should be regular, non-halogen incandescent flood lamp like Arcadia Solar Basking Floodlight or ProRep Flood Spot). Desert 12% is optimal but pay attention to installation height (18-21" above substrate). Reptile Systems T5 Kit - Zone 3 is also a decent option.

5x3 will be a bit tight when Yoshi gets closer to the adult size. However, you can expand time outdoors by building a cold frame over his outdoor pen. If you cover it with a UV-transparent plastic like Lumisol he will get natural UV exposure from sunlight.

Hello Alex!
Thank you for letting me know of the Reptile Systems T5 Kit too, I will check it out! I for some reason wanted to stick with Arcadia, but if we’ve no option we will of course go with a different brand. So with our enclosure size; I guess we are better off staying on the lower 24w. We will eventually give him more space, and definitely before he grows to an adult. After all the research, and helpful information that is out there (you’ve just got to dig deep, lol) I’m really surprised how pet shops are able to sell these little guys so easily and without any guidance on care whatsoever. But thankfully there is people like you guys ensuring everyone knows what they are doing, so for that we are very grateful

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello again LittleRed!

struggling to find the Arcadia Pro T5 kit in 24w, are we only to use the 24w? Seeming to be on sale, so assuming there is a mad frenzy for them right now! We've had a look at the enclosure ideas, and we really like the green houses! Thank you for sharing and for the hard work setting it all up, must take hours to set up all this information for everyone! humidity stays between 45/55% in basking area, throughout enclosure can range between 55%-75% as you travel further out from the basking area and closer to hide. Hide we are worrying about a bit, it's just over 75%. But have seen it at just over 80% when first put the coir inside. We had left the coir a tad damper for inside of his hide. He does seem to like it in there, he sleeps there every night and he comes and goes throughout the day as he pleases

(p.s we aren't 100% sure if Yoshi is male or female, he is male until he may prove us otherwise lol)

Hopefully you can find the one Alex suggested too(I trust him with all my tech advice lol) if you’re struggling, you can absolutely go a watt up, it’s more that it’s just not entirely necessary and can save you’re money getting the smallest option

Yeah overall humidity will rise once you’ve got a topper, I’m so glad you liked those links