boomerdog121
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2016
- Messages
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Hello! I'm new to here!! I just received my new baby tortoise in the mail yesterday, and was wondering if the Greek tortoises had the little bumps on the back of their thighs. Thank you!!
Welcome to the forum. A cute tort!Hello! I'm new to here!! I just received my new baby tortoise in the mail yesterday, and was wondering if the Greek tortoises had the little bumps on the back of their thighs. Thank you!!
Welcome to the forum. A cute tort!
Sorry, cannot help with your tort's issue. Am not a tort expert. Hopefully, @JoesMum will be able to help here. She's experienced and an expert as far as torts are concerned.
Any pic of your tort's enclosure?
Your tort will appreciate some plants in there
Also your lamps should hang straight down. The basking lamp is not effective at an angle.
What type of UVB are you using? The compact coil type sometimes cause eye problems in torts and are not recommended generally on this form.
Spider plants are good for enclosures. Have a big one growing on the windowsill and it will throw out runners with baby plants on them. Pot them up and sink the pot into the substrate. When they get eaten/trampled you will have more growing from the parent plant to replace them.What types of plants could I get for him? And his lamps do point straight down, but the wire lid gets in the way in the mornings when I'm taking him out to soak, cleaning his feed dishes, ect.
I just looked and it is a coil bulb. [emoji44] What type of bulb should I get him?
Sorry for all the questions!!
Here you go
Your tort needs:
1. A basking lamp
This must hang vertically, not at an angle. Basking is essential to raise your tortoise's core temperature so it can digest food.
2. UVB light
Read the instructions for the source to see how close to the substrate it must be. UVB is essential so your tort can process dietary calcium and have healthy bones and shell.
Both 1 and 2 are available from the sun for those able to live outside.
UVB does not pass through glass or perspex(plexiglass) - light must be direct to be effective not through a window. Mesh screening can also interfere with UVB.
3. A minimum overnight temperature (see the care sheet for your species) and complete darkness at night to sleep.
Notes
(a) A Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) provides combined UVB and Basking. Alternatively you can use 2 bulbs: a tube UVB and a reflector bulb for basking (a household reflector - not low energy or halogen - from a hardware store will do the job; it's the wattage that counts)
(b) Ignore any references to UVA you may read - it's misleading marketing speak.
(c) Compact coil UVB harms tortoise eyes and must not be used.
(d) Basking and UVB should be on a timer so the light(s) are on for 12 hours a day. Temperature under the basking is regulated by its height above the substrate.
(e) Overnight, depending on your home, you may need additional heat. You get this from a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) which must be on a thermostat.
(f) Torts have outstanding colour vision and love red and purple food. Coloured heat lamps colour tank decor and torts don't always apply intelligence to what they eat, resulting them in eating tank decor. Coloured bulbs should not be used.
Measurements
There are 4 important temperatures that you must know for an indoor enclosure.
- Directly under the basking lamp
- Warm side
- Cool side
- Overnight Minimum
You will need digital thermometers for accuracy.
A temperature gun thermometer (inexpensive from Amazon) measures temperature accurately in specific places like directly under the basking lamp.
A min/max thermometer so you know the min/max temperatures in your home by day and night.
You should also get a good digital probe hygrometer to measure humidity.
Thermometers and hygrometer that stick to the side of the enclosure tend to be less accurate.
Here you go
Your tort needs:
1. A basking lamp
This must hang vertically, not at an angle. Basking is essential to raise your tortoise's core temperature so it can digest food.
2. UVB light
Read the instructions for the source to see how close to the substrate it must be. UVB is essential so your tort can process dietary calcium and have healthy bones and shell.
Both 1 and 2 are available from the sun for those able to live outside.
UVB does not pass through glass or perspex(plexiglass) - light must be direct to be effective not through a window. Mesh screening can also interfere with UVB.
3. A minimum overnight temperature (see the care sheet for your species) and complete darkness at night to sleep.
Notes
(a) A Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) provides combined UVB and Basking. Alternatively you can use 2 bulbs: a tube UVB and a reflector bulb for basking (a household reflector - not low energy or halogen - from a hardware store will do the job; it's the wattage that counts)
(b) Ignore any references to UVA you may read - it's misleading marketing speak.
(c) Compact coil UVB harms tortoise eyes and must not be used.
(d) Basking and UVB should be on a timer so the light(s) are on for 12 hours a day. Temperature under the basking is regulated by its height above the substrate.
(e) Overnight, depending on your home, you may need additional heat. You get this from a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) which must be on a thermostat.
(f) Torts have outstanding colour vision and love red and purple food. Coloured heat lamps colour tank decor and torts don't always apply intelligence to what they eat, resulting them in eating tank decor. Coloured bulbs should not be used.
Measurements
There are 4 important temperatures that you must know for an indoor enclosure.
- Directly under the basking lamp
- Warm side
- Cool side
- Overnight Minimum
You will need digital thermometers for accuracy.
A temperature gun thermometer (inexpensive from Amazon) measures temperature accurately in specific places like directly under the basking lamp.
A min/max thermometer so you know the min/max temperatures in your home by day and night.
You should also get a good digital probe hygrometer to measure humidity.
Thermometers and hygrometer that stick to the side of the enclosure tend to be less accurate.
Looks good, though I think you could make it more interesting.
Here's his/her enclosure! The substrate is coco husk but I'm not really liking it because it sticks to his face. I'm thinking that I'm going to mix in some reptibark or some cypress mulch.
Here's his/her enclosure! The substrate is coco husk but I'm not really liking it because it sticks to his face. I'm thinking that I'm going to mix in some reptibark or some cypress mulch.
It needs to be damp, thicker, and then you need to hand pack it down. It takes about two weeks to "settle in", and then you will love it.
It's already about two inches (some places more, some less) throughout the whole thing. How much deeper should it be?