First enclosure

[10mm]

So I decided to go with a Hermann (Dalmatian) He??? is about 7 months old. I bought him from a reputable breeder. Anyway, I have decided to go with three enclosures. The first will be in my sons room and will be the smallest. I was given a full set up for a bearded dragon which I was able to use many of the components. So a 20 gallon tank with a desert 50 florescent light. Also a large metal dome style light with a 150w petco brand uva light. One small black dome with a ceramic heater and one small black dome with a 75 watt max that has a burnt out bulb. Would you recommend using the smaller black dome lights in conjunction or the large domed light during the day and the ceramic at night? I will be using the florescent tube light during the day as well. I simply removed the glass from the back of the tank and enlarged the area as I felt that the tank was to small and lacked ventilation.

My second set up will be much larger (3x8)and kept in another room. This is where he will spend most of his time. The only reason for the set up in my sons room is so we can put him in there when he (my son) is showing interest and we can watch and learn about this new member of the family.

The third will be an outside garden 16x8. I will have to wait until spring before I am able to work on this. Most of the initial construction is done as I keep a fenced in raised garden for veggies. I am done with veggie gardening anyway.


So any recommendations would be great. I do intend to add more rocks and small logs ect.. just need to go find some.

 

[mshine1217]

I have 2 10month old Hermann's. Their indoor enclosure is 2 x 4ft, the substrate is untreated garden soil & play sand in a 50/50 mix. I have a UVB and a heat bulb hanging above the set up. They have been happy and healthy. This "summer", I live in Montana, I will be converting an old raised tomato bed into their outdoor enclosure which will be well fenced off because I am sure that my two Giant Schnauzers would like nothing better than to play tennis ball with them

It looks like your little Hermann has a great new home.

 

[10mm]

I have 2 10month old Hermann's. Their indoor enclosure is 2 x 4ft, the substrate is untreated garden soil & play sand in a 50/50 mix. I have a UVB and a heat bulb hanging above the set up. They have been happy and healthy. This "summer", I live in Montana, I will be converting an old raised tomato bed into their outdoor enclosure which will be well fenced off because I am sure that my two Giant Schnauzers would like nothing better than to play tennis ball with them

It looks like your little Hermann has a great new home.

Thanks. How did you hang your lights? It looks like you have the same two dome lights that I have. What wattage are you using?

 

[10mm]

So I can assume that everything is perfect considering the lack of interest in my indoor set up. 90 views and 1 reply. I wonder if this is like other forums where the people who have the expertise just get tired of saying the same thing over and over, lol Oh well... sorry to bore you all but this is all still new and exciting to me. i will keep trucking... my little guy comes tomorrow. I am excited. Thanks to mshine 1217 for the reply.

 

[lynnedit]

Hang in there! A lot of forum members work during the day, so you may get more responses at night.
I don't have Hermann's, but I have Russians.

It is hard to tell you what wattage to use, because you want to base the choice on temps that they provide. You have the UVB; is that a tube fluorescent bulb? Then you also need a heat bulb for basking; I would guess 100w, one the 'warm side'.
Perhaps a 75w CHE at night (you don't want light at night, of course, just heat in one area).
I don't use heat for my Russians at night, but they are adults.

Have you looked at the Species Specific section on Hermann's? They have a nice care sheet.

Your enclosures sound great: very roomy. Glad you are creating an outside enclosure. You can use galvanized mesh and create a secure lid (I used 1"x2"s for the frame, but you can also use 2"x4"s, although they are heavier.

You have a future lucky tort, you should be excited!

 

[10mm]

Hang in there! A lot of forum members work during the day, so you may get more responses at night.
I don't have Hermann's, but I have Russians.

It is hard to tell you what wattage to use, because you want to base the choice on temps that they provide. You have the UVB; is that a tube fluorescent bulb? Then you also need a heat bulb for basking; I would guess 100w, one the 'warm side'.
Perhaps a 75w CHE at night (you don't want light at night, of course, just heat in one area).
I don't use heat for my Russians at night, but they are adults.

Have you looked at the Species Specific section on Hermann's? They have a nice care sheet.

Your enclosures sound great: very roomy. Glad you are creating an outside enclosure. You can use galvanized mesh and create a secure lid (I used 1"x2"s for the frame, but you can also use 2"x4"s, although they are heavier.

You have a future lucky tort, you should be excited!

Hey thanks for the info. I did read that article (very good read ). I ended up with a Dalmatian. I think the issue is I have read so much that I get confused and admittedly a little frustrated. I might just be nervous. So far with the small set up I have a 75w heat lamp and a 18" florescent uvb, and a ceramic heat lamp for might. I keep my house @ 72 so the temps would get to low 70's at times in the night. High 60's at the lowest. I have been able to get an ambient temp of just under 80 with the cooler side being 75-78. The basking area is holding at 90. I have two hides in the small tank a 1/2 log and a pet store lizard hide. I also decided to mix the substrate with 50% cypress and 50% coconut?? Forgot the name.. Seams more forest like now. I will post a new pic and see if anyone sees anything i should change. One question I have is would I use less electricity to run the 75w heat, the 18" uvb florescent and the ceramic heater in the day or should I run the bigger 150W heat/uva and just the ceramic at night. I can obtain the same temps with either set up.

 

[lynnedit]

The substrate sounds fine. The care sheet mentions aspen, but coir/cypress mulch is a very good substrate, and you can keep the underlayers moist by pouring in some water and mixing it up weekly or so. I have sometimes used aspen in the cool hide on one end; they seem to like it.
Overall your enclosure plans, including outside area, also sound great.

You might want to adjust the basking lamp to get the basking area closer to 95f to help with digestion. That might require a stronger wattage. You can even use a regular 100w house bulb.
I kind of think the cooler side should be cooler, closer to 70f, other areas 75 to 80f. It is sometimes harder to get 'cool' and 'warm' side temps where you want them in a smaller enclosure.
With your house temps, no night heat. Med torts need a temp differential: cooler at night, toasty basking area to warm up in by day when needed.
(scroll down on that Hermann's care sheet thread to post #4).

When you build your larger indoor enclosure, consider a much longer tube fluorescent bulb that stretches almost the length of the enclosure (perhaps a 4' and a 2'?). You want to keep your enclosure bright. Then,have a basking light on one end, and second one partway down. Basically adjust the basking areas (#, height, location) to get your desired temps.

It is very nerve wracking when you start out in tortoise keeping. A lot different than a dog or cat!

 

[10mm]

The substrate sounds fine. The care sheet mentions aspen, but coir/cypress mulch is a very good substrate, and you can keep the underlayers moist by pouring in some water and mixing it up weekly or so. I have sometimes used aspen in the cool hide on one end; they seem to like it.
Overall your enclosure plans, including outside area, also sound great.

You might want to adjust the basking lamp to get the basking area closer to 95f to help with digestion. That might require a stronger wattage. You can even use a regular 100w house bulb.
I kind of think the cooler side should be cooler, closer to 70f, other areas 75 to 80f. It is sometimes harder to get 'cool' and 'warm' side temps where you want them in a smaller enclosure.
With your house temps, no night heat. Med torts need a temp differential: cooler at night, toasty basking area to warm up in by day when needed.
(scroll down on that Hermann's care sheet thread to post #4).

When you build your larger indoor enclosure, consider a much longer tube fluorescent bulb that stretches almost the length of the enclosure (perhaps a 4' and a 2'?). You want to keep your enclosure bright. Then,have a basking light on one end, and second one partway down. Basically adjust the basking areas (#, height, location) to get your desired temps.

It is very nerve wracking when you start out in tortoise keeping. A lot different than a dog or cat!

Thanks for the reply. I will see if I can get the basking area up to 95. The large enclosure will be fun to make. The options are endless as far as layout. I just want to do it right and not make any mistakes that cost the health and happiness of this little guy.

 

[theelectraco]

Where did you find a 3 sided aquarium? Pretty neat enclosure.

 

[10mm]

Where did you find a 3 sided aquarium? Pretty neat enclosure.

I just didn't feel right about the room or the ventilation. The tank and lights etc.. where givin to me by a friend who attempted to raise a Bearded dragon but it didn't live more than a week. Or should I say my buddy killed it in less than a week. I think he cooked it with way too much heat. Anyway... I decided to remove the back piece of glass by carefully cutting the silicone beads then removing the plastic frame on top. This allowed me to remove the glass with only minor cuts on a couple fingers. Then I reassembled the frame and made sure no sharp edges were exposed. My brain works in strange ways at times. Kinda hodge podge but I think it will work until my large indoor table is done. Thanks for the compliment! I did start a thread in the general section with some pics of my new Tortoise.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Where did you find a 3 sided aquarium? Pretty neat enclosure.

I just didn't feel right about the room or the ventilation. The tank and lights etc.. where givin to me by a friend who attempted to raise a Bearded dragon but it didn't live more than a week. Or should I say my buddy killed it in less than a week. I think he cooked it with way too much heat. Anyway... I decided to remove the back piece of glass by carefully cutting the silicone beads then removing the plastic frame on top. This allowed me to remove the glass with only minor cuts on a couple fingers. Then I reassembled the frame and made sure no sharp edges were exposed. My brain works in strange ways at times. Kinda hodge podge but I think it will work until my large indoor table is done. Thanks for the compliment! I did start a thread in the general section with some pics of my new Tortoise.

I, too was planning on asking for details about this 3 sided tank.

I'm sure your tort will enjoy the extra room