dry tortoise shell?

[Alex and the Redfoot]

she's been really picky this past month... mostly only eating romaine lettuce and frisée and some radicchio. and this week she's accepted hibiscus. i should probably force her to have mazuri, she's only had water this month!!

healthy poop though. past few weeks, i havent seen urates. is this concerning?

Healthy poop and no urates is fine, as I can tell. She's well hydrated and properly fed. From time to time some "toothpaste"-like urates are fine too.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

oh my gosh... i was looking at the light and i must have misread the instructions!!! This WHOLE YEAR I've had the lamp 11-12 inches away from the ground... and the minimum was 15 inches away from the shell!! Ah, i feel so bad... I'm quickly making a wooden structure to raise it. What should i do?? do you think she could be sick??? oh no

This could affect her behaviour in the enclosure (less exploring and more hiding) and in some extreme cases can affect her eyesight (you can see her eyes becoming puffy, she will stay away from light etc.). I'm glad you've resolved the issue. If the lamp was on for 4 hours a day, you don't have to replace it yearly, just once in 2 years.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

this is how it's looking ^^ about 18-20 inches above the ground for now.

Can you make a photo of overall lights layout? 18-20 inches over the ground is a the safe distance (especially for the one-year old lamp).

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

oh my gosh... i was looking at the light and i must have misread the instructions!!! This WHOLE YEAR I've had the lamp 11-12 inches away from the ground... and the minimum was 15 inches away from the shell!! Ah, i feel so bad... I'm quickly making a wooden structure to raise it. What should i do?? do you think she could be sick??? oh no

Is this the uvb light? As Alex says it could effect behaviour and in some cases eye sight, but if her eyes seem ok I wouldn’t stress too much, at least it’s fixed now

 

[Yingg]

This could affect her behaviour in the enclosure (less exploring and more hiding) and in some extreme cases can affect her eyesight (you can see her eyes becoming puffy, she will stay away from light etc.). I'm glad you've resolved the issue. If the lamp was on for 4 hours a day, you don't have to replace it yearly, just once in 2 years.

her eyes aren't puffy. (i don't think so. i'll take a picture) she still explores... well, as much as a tortoise can. haha. she does hide a bit, but when i come and say hi she always comes out.

 

[Yingg]

This could affect her behaviour in the enclosure (less exploring and more hiding) and in some extreme cases can affect her eyesight (you can see her eyes becoming puffy, she will stay away from light etc.). I'm glad you've resolved the issue. If the lamp was on for 4 hours a day, you don't have to replace it yearly, just once in 2 years.

the lamp was on for about 8-10 hours a day. it's good to buy replacement just in case

 

[Yingg]

Is this the uvb light? As Alex says it could effect behaviour and in some cases eye sight, but if her eyes seem ok I wouldn’t stress too much, at least it’s fixed now

yes it's the UVB light! ugh i feel so bad for a whole year! and her enclosure isn't very big...

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

the lamp was on for about 8-10 hours a day. it's good to buy replacement just in case

Arcadia lamps lose about 10-15% of their UVB output for every 1500 hours of runtime. So, likely, you current tube can be used for the next 6-12 months. Keep it a bit lower - at 18" over substrate. Without a Solarmeter it's only an estimation, though (but based on some long-term tests).

 

[Yingg]

Can you make a photo of overall lights layout? 18-20 inches over the ground is a the safe distance (especially for the one-year old lamp).

the setup and a picture of her eyes. how is it?

 

[Yingg]

Arcadia lamps lose about 10-15% of their UVB output for every 1500 hours of runtime. So, likely, you current tube can be used for the next 6-12 months. Keep it a bit lower - at 18" over substrate. Without a Solarmeter it's only an estimation, though (but based on some long-term tests).

okay ! I will lower it after class today (i probably have to re-measure because i've been eyeballing it. I lost the tape measure, only have a ruler)

 

[Yingg]

is this enough calcium?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

the setup and a picture of her eyes. how is it?

Eyes look fine.
As for the lightning:
1. I would use a smaller dome with a basking lamp (it has a built-in reflector so dome is less important) and wider dome for CHE (I assume you have a ceramic heater).
2. Some ambient light (LEDs) would be nice add to make enclosure brighter.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

is this enough calcium?

If she eats the whole bowl - yes, it's fine.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

yes it's the UVB light! ugh i feel so bad for a whole year! and her enclosure isn't very big...

It doesn’t look like any damage has been done, you’re doing your best, oversights can happen

 

[Yingg]

If she eats the whole bowl - yes, it's fine.

she eats the top layer she's picky

 

[Yingg]

Eyes look fine.
As for the lightning:
1. I would use a smaller dome with a basking lamp (it has a built-in reflector so dome is less important) and wider dome for CHE (I assume you have a ceramic heater).
2. Some ambient light (LEDs) would be nice add to make enclosure brighter.

the lighting is actually quite bright, i didn't open the windows in the room yet lol.

should i switch the CHE and basking domes?

i don't currently use the CHE because heat waves in california have gotten night temps to 75 in the early night and then 65 in the late night.

 

[Yingg]

It doesn’t look like any damage has been done, you’re doing your best, oversights can happen

thank you, you're so sweet yeah i'm trying but it was definitely my mistake. i'm glad i read the packaging yesterday!

 

[Yingg]

@Alex and the Redfoot if i get a new bulb, can i keep it at the current height instead of lowering it? (18 inch from shell, give or take 2 inches since i eyeballed it)

my issue is i can only lower it in 4 inch increments (i don't have any more wood...) and i'd rather have it further than too close to her shell.

is it an issue if i wrap the wood beams with plastic packaging tape? will it melt from the UVB light? you can see it in my pictures, it's the white blue red yellow EBAY tape.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

@Alex and the Redfoot if i get a new bulb, can i keep it at the current height instead of lowering it? (18 inch from shell, give or take 2 inches since i eyeballed it)

my issue is i can only lower it in 4 inch increments (i don't have any more wood...) and i'd rather have it further than too close to her shell.

is it an issue if i wrap the wood beams with plastic packaging tape? will it melt from the UVB light? you can see it in my pictures, it's the white blue red yellow EBAY tape.

I would place it at 22" then and lower after 1 year: there is not a lot of space to hide from UV rays. Technically, 18" is within safe range too but I would think how to move the lights to make a UV-free zone.

After some time plastic tape will degrade and crumble in high-UV areas (e.g. where lamp sits on supports). Maybe a year or two. Tube itself is not very hot, so no melting. At the same time, lamp should be properly fixed in place to avoid falling: if tube breaks you'll have to scrub out the whole enclosure to remove mercury residues.

 

[Yingg]

I would place it at 22" then and lower after 1 year: there is not a lot of space to hide from UV rays. Technically, 18" is within safe range too but I would think how to move the lights to make a UV-free zone.

After some time plastic tape will degrade and crumble in high-UV areas (e.g. where lamp sits on supports). Maybe a year or two. Tube itself is not very hot, so no melting. At the same time, lamp should be properly fixed in place to avoid falling: if tube breaks you'll have to scrub out the whole enclosure to remove mercury residues.

I have a section of the enclosure which has the piece of wood over the top.

instead of moving the light higher (honestly it looks a bit precarious right now you're right) can i cover up some of the enclosure to make it dark? right now she already has a dark enclosure (behind the cardboard i taped up... )