- Joined
- May 16, 2012
- Messages
- 10
Hey Guys!
I am brand new to the forum and I am so excited to know as much about Greek tortoises as everyone else here seems to! The reason I am posting today is because I have done so much independent research to make sure my Greek (Penny!) is getting the right things from her habitat. What we do have that I hope is right is as follows:
We have a 150W basking light giving a steady temp of around 90-95 degrees on one side of the terrarium. We have a UVB coil light as well that is on all day, and the other side of the terrarium has her hide and is usually between 75-80 degrees. At night we turn everything off and the whole tank gets to about 70 degrees (does not drop below 65). We now know that a glass terrarium is not a suitable place for our Penny, but we have only had her about a week, and that was the advice we received. We will have to remedy it sometime in the future! I have been feeding her green beans, kale, and cactus pads and calcium powder every 3 days. She is active and digs around and has been eating well, but I just want to make sure we are giving her the proper care. It has only been a week but I have grown so attached to her!
Here are my questions:
1) I am having a really hard time finding a consistent answer on what her humidity levels should be--I have found everything from as low as possible to 80, and I am hoping to get some clarification.
2) At the advice of the pet store staff (which I now know to never trust) we have her in about 2-3 inches of repti-bark--will this suffice, or should we be looking in to alternatives? (especially since we aren't sure what her humidity should be at--I would not be surprised if we need to invest in something else)
3) She makes a clicking/rubbing sound when she is eating or if she opens and closes her mouth. It does not seem to be a respiratory thing, but from research, maybe that her beak is getting to long. What would fix this issue? I don't know if it IS fixable, but if that is what is going on, it just sounds plain uncomfortable!
That is all for now, but I am sure I will be asking more advice from you, and as I learn, I hope to be able to advise others
I am brand new to the forum and I am so excited to know as much about Greek tortoises as everyone else here seems to! The reason I am posting today is because I have done so much independent research to make sure my Greek (Penny!) is getting the right things from her habitat. What we do have that I hope is right is as follows:
We have a 150W basking light giving a steady temp of around 90-95 degrees on one side of the terrarium. We have a UVB coil light as well that is on all day, and the other side of the terrarium has her hide and is usually between 75-80 degrees. At night we turn everything off and the whole tank gets to about 70 degrees (does not drop below 65). We now know that a glass terrarium is not a suitable place for our Penny, but we have only had her about a week, and that was the advice we received. We will have to remedy it sometime in the future! I have been feeding her green beans, kale, and cactus pads and calcium powder every 3 days. She is active and digs around and has been eating well, but I just want to make sure we are giving her the proper care. It has only been a week but I have grown so attached to her!
Here are my questions:
1) I am having a really hard time finding a consistent answer on what her humidity levels should be--I have found everything from as low as possible to 80, and I am hoping to get some clarification.
2) At the advice of the pet store staff (which I now know to never trust) we have her in about 2-3 inches of repti-bark--will this suffice, or should we be looking in to alternatives? (especially since we aren't sure what her humidity should be at--I would not be surprised if we need to invest in something else)
3) She makes a clicking/rubbing sound when she is eating or if she opens and closes her mouth. It does not seem to be a respiratory thing, but from research, maybe that her beak is getting to long. What would fix this issue? I don't know if it IS fixable, but if that is what is going on, it just sounds plain uncomfortable!
That is all for now, but I am sure I will be asking more advice from you, and as I learn, I hope to be able to advise others