Hello from Scotland

[K1 NGB]

Hi all, first time poster here so go easy

Planning on buying my first tortoise in the next few weeks for my sons 10th birthday so I thought I’d join this forum and do as much research as I can.

I know close to nothing about tortoise care, however my other son has a very successful bioactive Leopard Gecko enclosure and I’ve kept marine reef systems for years so realise the importance of getting the correct equipment/set up the animals need. My plan was actually to make the tortoise enclosure bioactive also, however with it hibernating over the winter each year I’m now thinking there’s not much point keeping the system running when the tortoise isn’t in there.

Planning on building my own enclosure, there is a nice ‘wee dookit’ as we say in Scotland in his bedroom where I could fit a 5 foot by 3 foot enclosure. My local reptile shop has Hermanns and Horsfields in stock and they have told me the care for each is basically the same.

When it comes to the build I’ll make a build thread along the way, I may even start it next weekend. I have a few questions if you don’t mind to start off, any advice would be most appreciated.

Firstly, where I plan to place the enclosure would snuggly fit a 5x2 enclosure and it would look great, however would I regret not going 5x3 further down the line at the expense of it sticking out a bit? Also I’m assuming the tortoises themselves would appreciate that extra space?

My uneductaed plan is to have a cool ‘moist’ hide at one end of the enclosure, then a couple of flat rocks to place their food and shallow water dish on, some plants and then at the other end have the heat bulb with dimming thermostat, with a full length UVB bulb and possible jungle dawn type bulb for plant/grass growth. My passion is making my vivariums/aquariums naturalistic looking so the enclosure would be styled to mimic their natural habitat as much as possible. Thinking of a substrate around 15cm deep with sides around 30cms above the substrate level (is this too high)?

Thank you for reading and I look forward to being an active member of this forum. King regards, Blair

 

[Yvonne G]

If you're getting a baby you want a WARM, moist hide.

Welcome to the Forum!!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome from a fellow uk member! So happy you have made your way here! It’s 100% the best port of call for all your care information!

First just to check as I saw the bit saying “the tortoises themselves..” you do just plan on the one? If wanting two, they both need separate enclosures, tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial, behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about.

Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

Now for your sizing, the size you’re thinking will probably last you up to the 2 year mark, as adults they need a bare minimum of an 8x4 foot space, so many, too many, places here will tell you otherwise, please don’t let them fool you, tortoises travel miles in the wild, it aids in their digestion and muscle strength, the right amount of space is vital.

With your basking light, they work better off of a thermostat, essentially you want to play around with heights and bulb watts(75 usually does the trick for most) to achieve a temperature reading of 95-100f underneath, have your digital monitoring directly underneath it and do a temp gun check after a few hours, if it’s reaching over 100f, raise the bulb and leave it again to do a check, if it’s still too hot, try a lower watt. If it’s too cool, go up a watt.

Then to make sure the rest of your ambient temperature is where it should be, you’ll want get yourself a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) they’re a none light emitting bulb that makes up ambient heat&night heat, this will need running on a thermostat.

As this is a baby you plan on, they need higher humidity than adults to aid in smooth growth, to achieve this you will need a closed chamber set up.

I think you’ll find this thread below super helpful to go through, I cover correct equipment, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a good diet link to check out

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also really good to get familiar with, it will help you avoid the wrong bulbs, materials, housing etc

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope they help! Give them a read and please come back with any further questions you have

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hi all, first time poster here so go easy

Planning on buying my first tortoise in the next few weeks for my sons 10th birthday so I thought I’d join this forum and do as much research as I can.

I know close to nothing about tortoise care, however my other son has a very successful bioactive Leopard Gecko enclosure and I’ve kept marine reef systems for years so realise the importance of getting the correct equipment/set up the animals need. My plan was actually to make the tortoise enclosure bioactive also, however with it hibernating over the winter each year I’m now thinking there’s not much point keeping the system running when the tortoise isn’t in there.

Planning on building my own enclosure, there is a nice ‘wee dookit’ as we say in Scotland in his bedroom where I could fit a 5 foot by 3 foot enclosure. My local reptile shop has Hermanns and Horsfields in stock and they have told me the care for each is basically the same.

When it comes to the build I’ll make a build thread along the way, I may even start it next weekend. I have a few questions if you don’t mind to start off, any advice would be most appreciated.

Firstly, where I plan to place the enclosure would snuggly fit a 5x2 enclosure and it would look great, however would I regret not going 5x3 further down the line at the expense of it sticking out a bit? Also I’m assuming the tortoises themselves would appreciate that extra space?

My uneductaed plan is to have a cool ‘moist’ hide at one end of the enclosure, then a couple of flat rocks to place their food and shallow water dish on, some plants and then at the other end have the heat bulb with dimming thermostat, with a full length UVB bulb and possible jungle dawn type bulb for plant/grass growth. My passion is making my vivariums/aquariums naturalistic looking so the enclosure would be styled to mimic their natural habitat as much as possible. Thinking of a substrate around 15cm deep with sides around 30cms above the substrate level (is this too high)?

Thank you for reading and I look forward to being an active member of this forum. King regards, Blair

Hello and welcome!

1. Bioactive enclosures for tortoises make sense for non-brumating (non-hibernating) species with limited outdoors time - e.g. for the most tropical/forest species like redfooted tortoises or hingebacks in colder climates.
2. 5x2 or 5x3ft. enclosures are good starter sizes for hatchlings/yearlings. For an adult Hermanns/Horsfield a 4x8 ft is recommended (with options to build L-shaped or double-decker enclosure). If you can build an outside secured area for the tortoise - it's the preferred way to keep them. Some advanced builds like cold frames with UV-open plastics can be used to extend time outdoors.
3. For heating and lightning recommendations - check this post: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/ (look for the word "breakdown", but reading the whole post is definitely worth it).
4. For the first few years you will need a "closed top" enclosure with higher humidity to ensure smooth shell growth. Also it's easier to control temperatures. Higher humidity addresses the problems of artificial lights and heating which are more desiccating for tortoise shells than sunlight.
5. Building a naturalistic habitat for Testudo species is a good goal. However, this implies using sandy substrate. Without precautions this may result in tortoise eating more sand than can pass through and getting impacted. You can see from the care sheet linked above that recommended setup is not very "natural", yet it's been proven to be safe and less risky. The goal is raise tortoise past "fragile stage" and let it live outside. One short notice on going natural - it's not always the best for the tortoise. In some areas Horsfields active 3 months in a year between extreme cold and extreme heat seasons.

 

[K1 NGB]

Hello and welcome from a fellow uk member! So happy you have made your way here! It’s 100% the best port of call for all your care information!

First just to check as I saw the bit saying “the tortoises themselves..” you do just plan on the one? If wanting two, they both need separate enclosures, tortoise of any species should NEVER be housed in pairs under any circumstances, they’re incredibly territorial, behaviours that look cute to us really aren’t, following one another and sleeping huddled up is all bullying the the tortoise world, you’ll eventually see more extreme signs of aggression. Anyone who tells you pairs are fine, have no idea what they’re talking about.

Small groups are ok when there’s lots of land and the correct male to female ratio.

Now for your sizing, the size you’re thinking will probably last you up to the 2 year mark, as adults they need a bare minimum of an 8x4 foot space, so many, too many, places here will tell you otherwise, please don’t let them fool you, tortoises travel miles in the wild, it aids in their digestion and muscle strength, the right amount of space is vital.

With your basking light, they work better off of a thermostat, essentially you want to play around with heights and bulb watts(75 usually does the trick for most) to achieve a temperature reading of 95-100f underneath, have your digital monitoring directly underneath it and do a temp gun check after a few hours, if it’s reaching over 100f, raise the bulb and leave it again to do a check, if it’s still too hot, try a lower watt. If it’s too cool, go up a watt.

Then to make sure the rest of your ambient temperature is where it should be, you’ll want get yourself a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) they’re a none light emitting bulb that makes up ambient heat&night heat, this will need running on a thermostat.

As this is a baby you plan on, they need higher humidity than adults to aid in smooth growth, to achieve this you will need a closed chamber set up.

I think you’ll find this thread below super helpful to go through, I cover correct equipment, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a good diet link to check out

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

tortoiseforum.org

This one is also really good to get familiar with, it will help you avoid the wrong bulbs, materials, housing etc

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope they help! Give them a read and please come back with any further questions you have

Thank you very much. Defo only one little fella being purchased. I’ll have a read through the links, much appreciated

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you very much. Defo only one little fella being purchased. I’ll have a read through the links, much appreciated

No problem, we’re all happy to help here! So any questions you have or if you need any guidance setting up, they’ll always be someone around to help, glad to have you a part of our community, it’s always sweet seeing the beginnings of someone’s tortoise journey

 

[TammyJ]

Welcome to the forum!