Concerns about everything Mr. T is almost 2 yrs old

[Anna Allen]

So if someone wanted to make this super easy on me...I'm going to Petco now (about an hour drive) would someone want to make me a list of everything I need? From bedding, food, heat source, etc....I'll get everything

I will ask the people there too but any type of list would help to make it clear, specific and easy lol

 

[Souptugo]

1) Mercury vapor bulb. 100-160 watts. Reptisun is good. Avoid coiled fluorescent bulbs of any kind. Make sure you buy a Ceramic socket for this. Very important.

2) Grassland tortoise pellets to mix later with his dark leafy greens. If they have Mazuri get it.

3) Substrate like coco coir, orchid bark are good. You could buy bricks of coco coir and soak. Fine (loose) kind is what you want.

4) Ceramic heating element 100-150 watts is good.

Elsewhere

5) Slate platter for him to eat on.

6) Terra cotta dish for water.

7) Some decor for hiding like logs and. Plants.

 

[Anna Allen]

Amazing! Thank you

 

[Anna Allen]

This light?

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

Yes, that is a CHE. You will need to buy a compatible fixture for it too.

 

[saginawhxc]

This light? View attachment 203053

Just to be clear. The bulb pictured gives off zero light. It is a great source of heat though, and that is why many of us use them at night.

All of the advice you have been given here has been pretty top notch. I might seem overwhelming to have a group of people tell you that everything you have been doing is all wrong, but the people on this site are generally great and won't steer you wrong.

 

[Anna Allen]

Just to be clear. The bulb pictured gives off zero light. It is a great source of heat though, and that is why many of us use them at night.

All of the advice you have been given here has been pretty top notch. I might seem overwhelming to have a group of people tell you that everything you have been doing is all wrong, but the people on this site are generally great and won't steer you wrong.

It is overwhelming but I am very appreciative of everyone! This is a great place for fast and helpful advise! I knew something was wrong but certain websites made me think I was doing a good job but I could clearly see something was wrong...turns out everything was wrong!!

I will do everything possible to get this little back to good health..I honestly didn't want a pet tortious (cause they live forever haha) but he was a gift and he was bought at a Bad dealer and was super cold when he made it to me and they still had their umbilical cord...I know I'm his best shot at a healthy happy life so that's what I will do! I'm just glad I found you guys when I did (I wish I did a year and a half ago) but hopefully he gets better after this!!

 

[Anna Allen]

I should rephrase that...not that I didn't want one, I just never planned on owning one. He is awesome and I've loved him from day 1....just wasn't quite ready for him lol

 

[Tom]

So if someone wanted to make this super easy on me...I'm going to Petco now (about an hour drive) would someone want to make me a list of everything I need? From bedding, food, heat source, etc....I'll get everything

I will ask the people there too but any type of list would help to make it clear, specific and easy lol

Anna, Are you seeing the threads that were linked? Everything you are asking is explained in them.

They do need it dark at night, but still warm. You need a ceramic heating element and a thermostat to control it.

Spot bulbs should not be used for tortoises. Use flood bulbs instead.

Stay out of the pet store. You'll get bad products and bad advice there.

It is going to be very difficult to provide your little guy with the correct conditions in an open topped table. There is no way to contain the heat and humidity that he needs. You need to buy or build a closed chamber.


There are 4 elements to heating and lighting:
1. You need a basking bulb to simulate the sun when the tortoise is inside and give him a place to warm up. I use 65 watt "flood" bulbs for this. I adjust the height of the bulb so that the temperate under it is around 95-100 degrees. It should be on a timer for about 12-13 hours. "Spot" bulbs are too desiccating and will contribute to more pyramiding.
2. Night and ambient heat. This is the aforementioned CHE and thermostat. This will keep your ambient temps from dropping below 80 day or night. Use a ceramic based fixture and hang this over the middle of the enclosure. In large enclosures, you might need two. Keep the thermostat's probe on a cool side. We want a minimum of 80 in the coolest part of the enclosure.
3. A UV source is needed for tortoises that are not in a warm climate and getting regular sunshine all year long. Don't use cfl bulbs. This is what the pet store will try to sell you. Use a long tube type. Which one you get should depend on the height you intend to amount it. The newer HO types work the best, but must be mounted at the right distance. I put these on their own timer and a few hours mid day to simulate the higher mid day UV levels that occur outside.
4. Ambient light. It can be a little dark in a closed chamber, and the basking bulb isn't all that bright. Add a regular florescent tube in the 4000-6500K color range to make it brighter. A 10.0 type UV tube makes good light in the correct spectrum for them. If its more than one foot away from the tortoise, it won't do much for UV, but its still good light. This one can be on the same timer as the basking bulb.

 

[Mattt0192]

This light? View attachment 203053

Yeesh, does that say $39.99 for the CHE? You can get them on amazon for 10 bucks.

 

[Anna Allen]

View attachment 203125 I still need a few things but hopefully

Anna, Are you seeing the threads that were linked? Everything you are asking is explained in them.

They do need it dark at night, but still warm. You need a ceramic heating element and a thermostat to control it.

Spot bulbs should not be used for tortoises. Use flood bulbs instead.

Stay out of the pet store. You'll get bad products and bad advice there.

It is going to be very difficult to provide your little guy with the correct conditions in an open topped table. There is no way to contain the heat and humidity that he needs. You need to buy or build a closed chamber.


There are 4 elements to heating and lighting:
1. You need a basking bulb to simulate the sun when the tortoise is inside and give him a place to warm up. I use 65 watt "flood" bulbs for this. I adjust the height of the bulb so that the temperate under it is around 95-100 degrees. It should be on a timer for about 12-13 hours. "Spot" bulbs are too desiccating and will contribute to more pyramiding.
2. Night and ambient heat. This is the aforementioned CHE and thermostat. This will keep your ambient temps from dropping below 80 day or night. Use a ceramic based fixture and hang this over the middle of the enclosure. In large enclosures, you might need two. Keep the thermostat's probe on a cool side. We want a minimum of 80 in the coolest part of the enclosure.
3. A UV source is needed for tortoises that are not in a warm climate and getting regular sunshine all year long. Don't use cfl bulbs. This is what the pet store will try to sell you. Use a long tube type. Which one you get should depend on the height you intend to amount it. The newer HO types work the best, but must be mounted at the right distance. I put these on their own timer and a few hours mid day to simulate the higher mid day UV levels that occur outside.
4. Ambient light. It can be a little dark in a closed chamber, and the basking bulb isn't all that bright. Add a regular florescent tube in the 4000-6500K color range to make it brighter. A 10.0 type UV tube makes good light in the correct spectrum for them. If its more than one foot away from the tortoise, it won't do much for UV, but its still good light. This one can be on the same timer as the basking bulb.

Thanks Tom. You are right....I got zero help from the pet store...no one even offered help! But I did find coco coir for his bedding, mazuri for some food, and a few tropical plants that I planted in his pen. I've been soaking him (as you suggested) a couple times a day but I still haven't seen him eat anything. :/

Is there anything I can do to stimulate his appetite? He had soft poop Saturday morning so I'm hopeful that means he's not impacted?!?

I didn't get the light from the store cause I wasn't sure and it was actually $65 and someone said you can get it on amazon for $10 so I'm really glad I didn't get that.

I am also coming up with ideas to create a doam like cover for the pen to help keep heat in. Picture to follow once I get that figured out.

I did read all the links sent and it's all great info. This will be a working progress

 

[Anna Allen]

Yeesh, does that say $39.99 for the CHE? You can get them on amazon for 10 bucks.

39.99 was for the 60 watt
$64.99 for the 100 watt!!!

Glad I didn't get it...not I'll order online

 

[Mattt0192]

39.99 was for the 60 watt
$64.99 for the 100 watt!!!

Glad I didn't get it...not I'll order online

Try this one
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IOBZT80/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Souptugo]

You didn't get the mercury vapor bulb for UV? The Ceramic heat emitter is different than the MVB. You cannot get an MVB for $10 no way.

 

[Anna Allen]

You didn't get the mercury vapor bulb for UV? The Ceramic heat emitter is different than the MVB. You cannot get an MVB for $10 no way.

I got a 100 watt mercury vapor bulb but now I need to order the ceramic for the night time

 

[Tom]

View attachment 203125
Is there anything I can do to stimulate his appetite? He had soft poop Saturday morning so I'm hopeful that means he's not impacted?!?

The best thing you can do to stimulate his appetite is to get him into the correct monsoon style conditions with warm temps day and night. If he's too cold at night, or any other time, he's not going to want to eat.

 

[Bass.Isles]

View attachment 203029

I'm not super experienced, but his carapace appears very dry. I was really worried about the resperitory infection thing too, in regards to the soaking, until Tom helped me out and told me not to worry too much about that. And now that I'm providing more warm water (deeper) for mine to soak and wade around in, she seems much happier. Also, about not being able to find a vet... I live in a really small town and even we have one veterinary clinic with a reptile vet on staff. Check out this site and plug in your location info:
www.veterinarians.com/services/reptiles/
If nothing comes up with that search, try Yelp or just googling reptile vets in conjunction with your towns name.

 

[Bee62]

Hello, any news ?
Is your tort baby doing better Anna ?