Feedback on Tortoise Future Home

[ketzie79]

Hi,

We are getting our son a Tortoise this weekend and I have put his/her home together first before getting him/her. Would love some feedback. This is his temporary home until my husband returns from deployment and can build him/her a bigger place to live. I used a cement mixing bin. On the left is the UVA/UVB bulb and on the right is the heat one. I listed to the guy at the pet store and sometimes I do not always get the right information so I wanted to ask the experts. If you see anything wrong or if I need to change anything please let me know. Again, this is a temporary home for a few months. We will be bringing our Tortoise outside everyday for 1 hour for him/her to get some real sun and let the kids watch the tortoise walk around.

I do have a question we have carpet in our house is it ok to let your tortoise walk around your house or should I put it on a sheet. I know these guys are not like dogs but I know my kids are going to want him/her in the house and I wanted to check to see if anyone else does this.

Another question is will a tortoise go through a tunnel. I was thinking of getting another bin and connecting them with a PVC pipe to make his home bigger.

Any advice would be appreciated. I have read just about everything. I bought some vitamins and calcium to sprinkle on the tortoise's food. I bought spinach and Kale.

Thanks in advance,

Ketzie

 

[chadk]

Welcome!

I recommend you read this:
http://russiantortoise.org/care_sheet.htm

Your setup should work. And yes, the tube thing will work too.

Your diet could use some work. Spinach is OK in small quantities, but you really want a much more varied diet of healthy leafy greens. The site listed above has some better info and details on this.

That UVB bulb does not look right to me. What kind is it?

Do you know your temps? You need to know your basking spot temp, warm side temp, and cool side temp.

 

[ketzie79]

Thanks. I printed off the list and will get a variety for our RT. The UVB bulb is Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Light (26 watts). Is this ok or do I need something else? I will do the temps and repost. Is the position of my lamps ok. I was going to put both lamps on the same size but didn't know if that was ok. Thanks again and I will post pics of our RT this Saturday.

 

[chadk]

Both lamps on the same side is a good idea. But again, you really need to be able to measure temps. You want a warm side and a cool side. If you UVB is next to your basking spot, you know your tort will be getting his heat + UVB at the same time.

Those UVB bulbs are not good. I would return it. See the link I posted for recommendations on better UVB bulbs. What is your heat bulb?

 

[terryo]

I would push the water thingie down into the substrate a little.

 

[ketzie79]

Thanks. I just got through reading a ton of posts and finding out my substrate is not good. I guess I will never listen to petshop people. I bought the repti-bark because he said sand was not good for the eyes. I am looking for a good substrate. Any suggestions to use besides sand. Could I use the Coconut Coir or Eco Earth with topsoil. Also for topsoil should I use organic? Would love some good suggestions on a good substrate.

Also I am returning the current bulbs for the Zoo-Med 100wt Powersun since it does both heat and UVB.

Think I am getting the hang of this.

Thanks again.

Thanks