Hello and welcome. Most of the care info out in the world for this species is all wrong. Looks like that is what you found.
tortoiseforum.org
Oh my gosh, so much to take in! What do you put them in? Everything I have seen is wood or glass and I’ve heard glass isn’t good. I obviously didn’t get him from a good breeder bc the moss was recommended by them. The water dish I have in there is a terra cotta saucer. The food goes in the green dish. I am guessing that is the one you at recommending removing? And I’ve heard romaine is ok in moderation. I guess I am reading from all of the wrong sources.Hello and welcome. Most of the care info out in the world for this species is all wrong. Looks like that is what you found.
Open tables don't work. You can't maintain the correct heat and humidity. That is like trying to heat your house in winter with no roof on it.
Moss will be eaten and it can cause impaction. Remove that ASAP.
Mercury vapor bulbs are unreliable and can cause pyramiding. They should not be used.
The substrate is much too dry. Humidity needs to be 80+% at all times. That level of moisture will rot the wood in short order.
That water bowl isn't safe or suitable for tortoises. Use the terra cotta saucer for water, and add another one for food.
Lettuce is not good tortoise food.
Sorry for all the bad news, but months from now you will be so thankful that you learned this stuff now, BEFORE your tortoise is permanently disfigured by the dry conditions.
Here is the right info:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
We see this all the time. I always feel so bad for people. It is OBVIOUS that you care very much and went to great effort to do everything perfectly. Its so awful that the same wrong info is repeated decade after decade. As frustrating as this is now, imagine how bad it would be if you had not found us and the baby eventually died or or pyramided heavily, like almost all of them do.
Thank you for all of the info! We love this little guy so much and want him to live the best life. We live on a farm and cannot wait to watch him grow. We just want to make sure we do it properly for him. I appreciate your time!
