Good For A Sulcata?

[crocididdle]

this is a 50 gallon tote with chicken wire for the top. the orange box has sphagnum under it and the light will go on that side. the big dish is water and the little dish is food. i have bedding mixed with a little orchard hay. Also,,,,, for the moss do i just get it wet once? or do i re-soak it on a certain basis?? hoping to hear good responses Thanks!!

~~Crocididdle~~

 

[Laura]

Hatchling I assume? What is the chicken wire keeping out? it wont keep out much... Hardware cloth is better and still allows airflow and light UVB to get thru..
I would also get rid of the hay.. it molds when it get wet and babies dont tend to eat it.. I cant tell what you are using for the bedding.. but make sure it isnt something that can be eaten and cause a impaction.
What kind of lights and heat do you have...
oh and WELCOME!!

 

[crocididdle]

View attachment 34934

Hatchling I assume? What is the chicken wire keeping out? it wont keep out much... Hardware cloth is better and still allows airflow and light UVB to get thru..
I would also get rid of the hay.. it molds when it get wet and babies dont tend to eat it.. I cant tell what you are using for the bedding.. but make sure it isnt something that can be eaten and cause a impaction.
What kind of lights and heat do you have...
oh and WELCOME!!

chicken wire is because i dont have clamps, i have a 100w basking light and a 26w uvb light, the bedding is the attached picture and it's extremely hard to get the hay out. and yes he is a hatchling and how does the moss work? do i keep getting it wet like everyday? or what?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome sphagnum moss molds easily. When it gets bad, I would switch it out for coconut coir. It won't mold, won't cause impaction and holds humidity really well. Yes, you will have to re-wet the moss. The humidity needs to e 80%, with temps no lower then 80. Ceramic heat emitters work great and don't give off light. Also the mercury vapor bulbs is the best for UVB, however the fluorescent type is fine too, just no coil kind. Check out the threads below by my signature. They are all great for raising a sulcata. BTW, the tote is fine for a hatchling, but will grow to big for it soon.

 

[crocididdle]

Hello and Welcome sphagnum moss molds easily. When it gets bad, I would switch it out for coconut coir. It won't mold, won't cause impaction and holds humidity really well. Yes, you will have to re-wet the moss. The humidity needs to e 80%, with temps no lower then 80. Ceramic heat emitters work great and don't give off light. Also the mercury vapor bulbs is the best for UVB, however the fluorescent type is fine too, just no coil kind. Check out the threads below by my signature. They are all great for raising a sulcata. BTW, the tote is fine for a hatchling, but will grow to big for it soon.

why no coil kind? and where can you get coconut coir?
also how do you lower the humidity if you need to lower it?

 

[wellington]

The coil bulbs have been known to cause eye damage. The coconut coir you can get at most pet stores or on the Internet. You don't have to lower humidity. 80 or above is fine. You will find that you will probably have a hard time getting up. If you do, cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the enclosure. If that doesn't help, you will have to spray more often or some of us pipe in a humidifier.

 

[Tom]

Good advice above. Here's my two cents in my own words:
1. That top and your intended purpose for it are not safe. Hang your lights from above. Either move the enclosure under a shelf or something or build something to hang them from.
2. Your water bowl is too small. Use a terra cotta plant saucer. Much better. Sink the saucer into the substrate so its level with the surface. These only cost a couple of bucks at any hardware store. Keep getting lager ones as he grows.
3. No hay in or on your damp substrate. It will mold. Hay is more for older sulcatas, not babies. If you wish to offer it anyway, just put it in a bowl and chuck it every night.
4. Is you hidebox cardboard? That's not gonna work either. Get a plastic shoebox or something. Home Depot has them on sale for around $1. Walmart has black dishwashing tubs for about $2 that work even better.
5. How often you need to re-wet your substrate depends on a million factors. You will just have to watch it and add water as needed to keep it as damp as you want it.
6. Ditch the coil bulb BEFORE it damages your tortoises eyes. Use the long tube type if you want a florescent UV bulb.
7. Use a basking bulb on a timer for 12 hours a day and a ceramic heating element on a thermostat to maintain your ambient temp. How are you keeping it warm at night right now? They need it dark at night for sleeping.

 

[crocididdle]

Good advice above. Here's my two cents in my own words:
1. That top and your intended purpose for it are not safe. Hang your lights from above. Either move the enclosure under a shelf or something or build something to hang them from.
2. Your water bowl is too small. Use a terra cotta plant saucer. Much better. Sink the saucer into the substrate so its level with the surface. These only cost a couple of bucks at any hardware store. Keep getting lager ones as he grows.
3. No hay in or on your damp substrate. It will mold. Hay is more for older sulcatas, not babies. If you wish to offer it anyway, just put it in a bowl and chuck it every night.
4. Is you hidebox cardboard? That's not gonna work either. Get a plastic shoebox or something. Home Depot has them on sale for around $1. Walmart has black dishwashing tubs for about $2 that work even better.
5. How often you need to re-wet your substrate depends on a million factors. You will just have to watch it and add water as needed to keep it as damp as you want it.
6. Ditch the coil bulb BEFORE it damages your tortoises eyes. Use the long tube type if you want a florescent UV bulb.
7. Use a basking bulb on a timer for 12 hours a day and a ceramic heating element on a thermostat to maintain your ambient temp. How are you keeping it warm at night right now? They need it dark at night for sleeping.

what should i use for substrate. i have coconut fiber and i dont know if i should mix it with anything. also the two lights i use are attached on this reply.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Hi & welcome. I use cypress mulch and I use sphagnum moss in the bottom of my hides under a CHE to create a warm moist environment. I spray my moss untiil it is soaked a couple times a day with a spray bottle and when it gets old and brittle I just replace it. I used coco coir for a while but it was so dusty and it got everywhere so I stopped using it. Also if you put a flat rock under your basking bulb your tort wiill love you and you can use it to feed your tort.

 

[crocididdle]

Hi & welcome. I use cypress mulch and I use sphagnum moss in the bottom of my hides under a CHE to create a warm moist environment. I spray my moss untiil it is soaked a couple times a day with a spray bottle and when it gets old and brittle I just replace it. I used coco coir for a while but it was so dusty and it got everywhere so I stopped using it. Also if you put a flat rock under your basking bulb your tort wiill love you and you can use it to feed your tort.

but doesn't sphagnum moss mole easily and wouldn't the peat moss be better?

 

[Tom]

The light bulb looks fine. I would not use the coil bulb.

Are you checking your temps? What are they? Warm side, cool side, basking spot and night? What are you doing for night heat? Sulcata babies need to stay warm 24/7.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Hi & welcome. I use cypress mulch and I use sphagnum moss in the bottom of my hides under a CHE to create a warm moist environment. I spray my moss untiil it is soaked a couple times a day with a spray bottle and when it gets old and brittle I just replace it. I used coco coir for a while but it was so dusty and it got everywhere so I stopped using it. Also if you put a flat rock under your basking bulb your tort wiill love you and you can use it to feed your tort.

but doesn't sphagnum moss mole easily and wouldn't the peat moss be better?

It has never gotten moldy for me, when it starts getting brittle and starts losing the ability to hold water, I buy some more. I have never used peat moss so I cannot compare the two.

 

[mainey34]

Hello and welcome...really everyone has their own preference on substrate...use what works for you..most here use cocoir. The coil type bulb you have is known to cause blindness. Please keep this in mind...humidity is very important and needs to be @80% for your sulcata. It can be very difficult to get it there. You may want to pick up a dual gauge for temp and humidity. We usually have to cover the enclosure 1/2 to 3/4 of the way to reach the desired humidity..i doubt you will need to worry about bringing humidity down.

 

[crocididdle]

thank you every one for the help. he keeps climbing up the wall and flipping himself over any suggestions on how to fix that ?!