Enclosure confusion

[tortoisaur]

So its in the books for a house move this year, when this happens I will be making a tortoise table as they look awesome! Plus by then I will be wanting to move my Herman to a bigger enclosure anyway... However I keep reading about how bad Viv's are, mine is in a large viv but I have taken the glass out at the front so its open and have a little barrier at the front to keep him in and so that he doesn't have to spend hours wondering why he can't walk through glass and has much better ventilation as the whole front is open is this acceptable? Is there other reasons they shouldn't be used?

 

[Joanne]

Yeah that's fine. The other reason is that it is more difficult to get a good gradient of heat and they tend to stay a lot warmer. Sometimes a tort just needs to get to a cooler spot

 

[tortoisaur]

Okay cool he has his heat lamp right over at one end so he can get to or away from it whichever he is feeling! The temp seems to stay just where I need it so seems fine in that aspect thank you

 

[Joanne]

yeah it's when you have the glass in the viv that it can get too warm. I'm sure he'll be fine where he is until you move

 

[Tom]

There is nothing wrong with Vivariums or glass tanks. I and many others have been using them without issue for decades. They are actually better for all the reasons that people claim they are bad. The air in a typical heated or air conditioned house is actually very dry. Much too dry for most tortoises. In many cases its also too cold, depending on species, age and housing style. If the air inside your house is the ideal temperature and humidity for your species and situation, then the increased ventilation of an open tortoise table is a good thing. If the air in your home is not the correct temperature or humidity, then an open topped tortoise table is a terrible idea. The laws of physics will put your tortoise in the incorrect conditions. You will end up using more and more extreme tactics to counteract the incorrect humidity and temperatures, and it still won't work. A vivarium or closed chamber makes it very easy to maintain whatever conditions you desire for your tortoise. I have never had any trouble at all maintaining thermal gradients in my closed chambers or glass tanks. My tortoises also do not try to walk through the glass. They are in no apparent stress whatsoever. In fact they seem to enjoy being able to see what's going on in their room and I think it helps to desensitize them to normal human activities.

 

[tortoisaur]

Well I'm glad to hear there not all that bad! I was feeling like I was doing ng something very wrong keeping mine in one I'm glad they're not all that bad!