enclosure and bathing question

[Stasia74]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to here so I do apologize if my questions seem redundant.
I have a baby Greek Tortoise, he is about 2 inches long. I converted my sons old train table into his habitat. It is about 3 foot by 5 foot. I used plywood to create the box. I have coconut (they call it something else though) and mulch for his bedding. I am sure at some point I will learn the lingo . Currently I do not have a "lid" for this enclosure. He has to lamps, his UV/heat lamp and his night heat lamp (red).

Should I build a "lid" for his enclosure? Will this help keep more heat and humidity in his enclosure? How do I know if the humidity is correct? I am concerned because two of the sides of his enclosure are against outside walls and I do not want him to get cold.

Second, how often should I be bathing/soaking this little guy. How do I know if the water temp is correct? Can I use straight tap water to soak him in?

Last thing since I am here how much should he be sleeping since he is so young? I did not physically pick him out as I ordered him from MyTurtleStore.com so I am not 100 % sure of age and I did not pay extra for a specific gender so not even sure if he is a he.

Thank you everyone for your help. I can post a full pic of his enclosure if that helps.

Stasia

 

[Cathie G]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to here so I do apologize if my questions seem redundant.
I have a baby Greek Tortoise, he is about 2 inches long. I converted my sons old train table into his habitat. It is about 3 foot by 5 foot. I used plywood to create the box. I have coconut (they call it something else though) and mulch for his bedding. I am sure at some point I will learn the lingo . Currently I do not have a "lid" for this enclosure. He has to lamps, his UV/heat lamp and his night heat lamp (red).

Should I build a "lid" for his enclosure? Will this help keep more heat and humidity in his enclosure? How do I know if the humidity is correct? I am concerned because two of the sides of his enclosure are against outside walls and I do not want him to get cold.

Second, how often should I be bathing/soaking this little guy. How do I know if the water temp is correct? Can I use straight tap water to soak him in?

Last thing since I am here how much should he be sleeping since he is so young? I did not physically pick him out as I ordered him from MyTurtleStore.com so I am not 100 % sure of age and I did not pay extra for a specific gender so not even sure if he is a he.

Thank you everyone for your help. I can post a full pic of his enclosure if that helps.

Stasia

Hello Stasia. Hang in there because it is confusing info...but you actually came to the right site. The senior members on tortoise forum have tons of information that will help you help your baby all over this.org.

 

[EllieMay]

Hello and welcome!!! Your asking all the right questions! I don’t keep Greeks so I can’t answer but be assured that someone can & will.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Greetings and welcome.

Here’s a ton of great care info for Greek torts

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/greek-tortoise-testudo-graeca-care-sheet-overview.87146/

Soaking water should be nice and warm, not hot, not cold. Regular water from your tap is perfectly fine. A nice soak every few days is good.

Get urself a good IR thermometer - https://www.amazon.com/Infrared-Thermometers/b?ie=UTF8&node=9931459011

Good luck!

 

[Gillian M]

Hi @Stasia74 and welcome to the forum!

Please post pics of your tort as well as his enclosure. This would enable us to help you more easily.

Personally, I give Oli a daily soak in warm water as I live in Jordan where the climate is that of a desert. I warm up the water and check it before soaking Oli.