Building the baby cheery enlcosure

Hotsause

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Mar 3, 2021
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Based off these readings from the probes next the the hide I think he will be happy in his new home tonight.
 

Hotsause

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Now I finally have a good avatar pic. Thank you guys so much for the help. This project is far from over but It feels so good to finally have biggmann settled in and the equipment on hand to make to even better tmrw. Thank you especially to @Blackdog1714 for being there from the start. I picked out all the moss by hand in the areas where I figured he might dig, then covered in reptibark. So far he only seems concerned with eating the strawberries so that’s good. I will be continuing to make the improvements and posting my progress.
 

Hotsause

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Hey kinda forgot about this thread here. Here’s the small changes I’ve made
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Those things in the back are Venus flytraps (with their own water basin inside, as not to mix with my soil because they are from the pet store)that I put in to try and kill the fruit flies, but I don’t think it’s working. The spider plant was from my moms house so I know it’s safe. I was able to raise the lamp like and inch or so but it’s super ghetto now. Thinking of getting a Exo Terra 36x18x18 with the doors on the front. Would look a lot nicer and good for a few years or him I think.
 

ZenHerper

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Hey kinda forgot about this thread here. Here’s the small changes I’ve made
...
Those things in the back are Venus flytraps (with their own water basin inside, as not to mix with my soil because they are from the pet store)that I put in to try and kill the fruit flies, but I don’t think it’s working. The spider plant was from my moms house so I know it’s safe. I was able to raise the lamp like and inch or so but it’s super ghetto now. Thinking of getting a Exo Terra 36x18x18 with the doors on the front. Would look a lot nicer and good for a few years or him I think.
Fruit flies are probably too small to spring VFTs...or they will crawl out if a trap does shut.

Try Pinguicula (Butterwort) species for wee flies and gnats...
 

Krista S

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Hey kinda forgot about this thread here. Here’s the small changes I’ve made
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Those things in the back are Venus flytraps (with their own water basin inside, as not to mix with my soil because they are from the pet store)that I put in to try and kill the fruit flies, but I don’t think it’s working. The spider plant was from my moms house so I know it’s safe. I was able to raise the lamp like and inch or so but it’s super ghetto now. Thinking of getting a Exo Terra 36x18x18 with the doors on the front. Would look a lot nicer and good for a few years or him I think.
Looks good. I think you’d regret the 36x18x18 because he’s likely to outgrow it in less than a year. That‘s what I initially bought for my little Hermann’s hatchling also thinking it would be good for a few years, but he outgrew it in less than a year. I‘d go bigger right away.
 

Hotsause

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So I decided I’m going to build a better tub. This was the biggest I could find. It’s only a few inches longer and wider than the one I have, but much taller. I’m going attach these metal bars (hot glue probably) and use it to mount the lighting and heat off of. I also plan on canabalizing that smaller clear lid to insert into a cutout in larger blue one that fits the tub. That way more natural light will get in for me to observe better.
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I’m also planning on putting some of this down once I find out if it’s safe to use. I have seen some beautiful enclosures with moss so hopefully this stuff is ok.

That’s all I can think of for now. The best part about this project I can take my time building it. I found out real quick how stressful it is to make any major adjustments to the enclosure when the tortoise is living in. This way I get to make sure it’s perfect before I move him in.
 

Hotsause

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I’m looking into buying a radiant heat panel from reptilebasics.com . I’m not sure what wattage I’ll need. My tank is 40x21x18. Can anyone recommend which one I should buy or if there’s a better brand or site I should look into ?

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MikeT307

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Jan 4, 2020
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Nice work with the steady improvements! I like the live food sources too. Let us know how the isopods work out.
 

Hotsause

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Updated enclosure. I’ve had this running for a few months now but never got around to posting.
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When I bought the radiant heat panel I was expecting it be about the size of a uvb light but to my surprise it was huge but I decided to keep it as it will fit nicely in a larger enclosure. The camera is an amazon blink and I was really surprised by how well it works for only a 25 dollar camera. Hooks right up to the WiFi and you can check it from your phone at any time. Still want to add a few live plants that my are grown at my moms so I know they’re save. Unfortunately my isopods died before I was able to add them so I have to order some more and try again.

I have heat set for 81 and stays there pretty well. Humidity is a bit of an issue since the lid isn’t secured very tightly but it stays between 80 and 60 with frequent misting. Let me know what you guys think.
 

Thomas tortoise

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There is a app called the tortoise table you could download then type the name of the plant on it and it will say if your tortoise can eat it.
I’m torn between live plants or plastic. I’m worried he might try to eat the small plastic fern things even though I like them a lot. So I also bought some real plants. None of them came up when searched basic names for plants toxic for torts, and I don’t know if they live in the climate I’m making. So fake or real ?
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Hotsause

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Mar 3, 2021
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Connecticut
And he’s all about Jesus. He spends most his waking hours staring at this statue. Should i be concerned ?
 

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