Heat?

[erinnco22]

Hi! I have 2 baby (6 mo) Sonoran Desert tortoises inside. I have had them for about a week, and really don't know much about these little loves!
There is a heating pad and a light on one side of the terrarium, where it averages about 85 degrees.. which they seem to love! The other side is cooler and contains a hide where they can escape. I was wondering if I should be leaving the heating pad on 24/7? I turn the light off at night and it goes down to about 80. I would appreciate any advice to help me make these little ones happy!

 

[mainey34]

Have you looked into a CHE yet?

 

[erinnco22]

I haven't really..I went and bought a light/heat dome reflector lamp with a 50w. It's really cranking up the heat..it's at 90 degrees now. How warm is too warm for these 8 month olds?
Also, I have a mixture of desert/calcium sand in there..but have been reading about problems with sand. I looked into the reptile mulch/chips, but was afraid to purchase it in fear that they might try to eat it. Do they do that? They are so little!

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Do a search in desert tortoise at the top of the forums. Many members have desert tortoises. My experience with keeping desert tortoises in doors is limited. Any indoor heat source needs to be on a thermostat. Set for the needs of the specific animal. My CHE are all on thermostats with my MVB lights on timers. When the lights are on during the day, they contribute a great deal of heat to the enclosure and as a result the CHE doesn't cycle on as often as in the evening and nighttime when the light is off.

 

[erinnco22]

Thank you for the advice! A lot of it is going over my head, though. I'm searching..

This is what I have :

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Erin:

Does that mean that you hit your "send" key before you were finished posting, or that you have absolutely a big fat zero?

Ok, here's the scoop:

I like to keep my babies in a very large plastic tub. I have two light fixtures over the tub, one at each end. I have a day bulb in one fixture, and lately I've been using the MVB because it is heat and UVB all in one bulb. I have a black light in the other fixture, but you can use a CHE (ceramic heat emitter, which is heat without light). There are two hiding places...one on the hot side and one on the night time side. The feeding station is a little bit away from the hot side. The temp directly under the light is 100F degrees, sometimes a bit more. The overall heat in the tub is right around 80-85F degrees. I keep the top covered with aluminum foil to keep the cold air out and the warm air in.

There...I think I covered it all...oh no, wait:

I soak babies every day plus I have a small wading pool in their habitat.

Now I'm done!

 

[erinnco22]

 

[Yvonne G]

Your pictures aren't showing up for me, Erin.

 

[erinnco22]

Hm, I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. This site is new to me.

What would be the best substrate for the babies? I have dirt/sand in there now..but am of course reading all the warnings and horror stories on having sand. It's puzzling to me because it is their natural surrounding. Either way, I want them to be as healthy and as safe as they can be. I looked at the repti-bark..but it seemed so big and bulky for their little feet. I purchased walnut shell substrate by persuasion on the salesperson instead..then I came home and looked into it a bit more before putting it in their habitat. Everyone seems to say NO!
I think I need help! Everyone seems to have something else to say on everything, respectfully

 

[Yvonne G]

My favorite substrate is orchid bark. I buy it at Orchard Supply Hardware. I don't think they are in Arizona. But if you go to a nursery and ask for it there, they may sell it, as people use it to plant their orchids in.

In the wild, the dirt is usually compacted and the surface is hard. Also, the plants they eat in the wild are up off the ground, growing on a stem or blade and the tortoise doesn't have to bite the ground to get the moist food off the ground, which then sticks to the food.

Lots of people here on the forum us coco coir. You buy that at a pet store and its called Bed-A-Beast. Comes in a compressed brick and you set it in a 5 gallon bucket of water to make it fall apart. I don't like it.

Just understand that there are no hard fast rules about tortoise-keeping. You look at everything everyone has to say about it and you choose which thing suits you, your climate and your tortoises best. Its really trial and error.

 

[erinnco22]

Thank you, emysemys!

I really do appreciate your helpful advice! I will look into the orchid bark. I searched it online and it looks like the repti-bark they sell at petsmart. Is there any harm in using it with babies? Such as them getting good footing and/or them eating it?

 

[Yvonne G]

Repti bark is ok, however the chunks are a bit big for babies and in my opinion, hard for them to walk on. If you look for "Forest Floor" or "Cypress Bed" in the pet stores, those would be better products.

 

[reticguy76]

I have had my dt baby for about a year now. During the late spring and summer months, I soak 3 days a week. My enclosure is pretty simple, untreated grass and I put greens, leaves, and weeds in his/her enclosure.
Ive never been a big fan of "substrate" like repti-bark, or any of that (I use it for my false water cobras, because they need really high humidity and like to burrow), but I have to change it all the time because it molds and stuff quickly or has in my experience.

 

[Yvonne G]

That's the nice thing about cypress mulch (Forest Floor and Cypress Bed). You can keep it moist and it doesn't turn sour or moldy.

 

[ascott]

Peat moss and plain ole yard dirt works well too ....

 

[lynnedit]

One of our gardening stores sells fine orchid bark. It is like soil, but ground up. Free of additives for the orchids, so good for torts.
That, or regular dirt/peat moss or cypress mulch or organic topsoil or some combination of the above.
The availability of these products can depend on where you live.

The Christmas tree storage boxes (plastic, really nice size) will go on sale soon after xmas...