Hey guys! My names Andy and in two days a childhood dream is about to become a reality!

[Orcsloot]

😁Hello from South Texas!

I just wanted to drop the first of hopefully many more posts to come! in two days i will finally be sharing my home with a 1+ year old Marginated Tortoise He/She will be treated like royalty im putting feelers out for all tips and suggestions please lmk shed some wisdom my way! my setup will be a tort table 2x4ft open top box the substrate will be cypress chips the flukers brand & coco coir fibers ideally id like to have live plants in there but am aware of the need to start from seeds due to risk associated with sourcing from stores etc..

for heat i have a 100w basking bulb 2 pack and a 100w lucky herp ceramic heat element thing also 2 pack id like to know which i should really use and why if anyone cares to lmk right now inside temp in this room which will be shared with the fella is 80F 70% humidity, i just hope i didnt get to high of a watt tbh and if i should have the basking side covered like some do or if that heat will kinda isolate on that spot lid or no lid? ideally id like to have the tort table open but ultimitely wants whats best for my new best friend in the end. covered i worry about to high humidity.. uncovered i worry about not enough... forgive me guys im a noob and i do overthink alot.

UVB will be the Arcadia 24in bar with T5HO 12% D3 Bulb!

i plan to also really go all out with this enclosure so am open to suggestions! and plan to build the same outside so this fella can spend as much time outside as possible i do want to let yall know i plan to buy more of these tort tables and jerry rig em together to create a 4ftx8ft eventually! i also want to set up another at the grandparents to i plan to keep yall posted on this life long journey and actually have a youtube i think im gonna start documenting this journey through to i noticed aside from garden state tortoise and some few others there really isnt much tort info on youtube in regards to specifically marginated torts! maybe i can play a part in changing that?

Ever since i was a kid ive always wanted a tortoise but because of my location it simply wasnt practical 27 years old now i can now finally welcome one into my home i cant begin to tell you how excited i am! ive probably done hundreds thousands of hours of research collectively throughout my life but i still feel so ill prepared i want nothing but the best life for this dude/dudette i know that getting one of these humble dinos is a life long commitment and actuallly past that you truly need to have your affairs in order which i do so anyway im excited guys and so happy to be apart of this community its been a very long time coming but im here and im not leavin anytime soon!

 

[Tom]

Hello

😁Hello from South Texas!

I just wanted to drop the first of hopefully many more posts to come! in two days i will finally be sharing my home with a 1+ year old Marginated Tortoise He/She will be treated like royalty im putting feelers out for all tips and suggestions please lmk shed some wisdom my way! my setup will be a tort table 2x4ft open top box the substrate will be cypress chips the flukers brand & coco coir fibers ideally id like to have live plants in there but am aware of the need to start from seeds due to risk associated with sourcing from stores etc..

for heat i have a 100w basking bulb 2 pack and a 100w lucky herp ceramic heat element thing also 2 pack id like to know which i should really use and why if anyone cares to lmk right now inside temp in this room which will be shared with the fella is 80F 70% humidity, i just hope i didnt get to high of a watt tbh and if i should have the basking side covered like some do or if that heat will kinda isolate on that spot lid or no lid? ideally id like to have the tort table open but ultimitely wants whats best for my new best friend in the end. covered i worry about to high humidity.. uncovered i worry about not enough... forgive me guys im a noob and i do overthink alot.

UVB will be the Arcadia 24in bar with T5HO 12% D3 Bulb!

i plan to also really go all out with this enclosure so am open to suggestions! and plan to build the same outside so this fella can spend as much time outside as possible i do want to let yall know i plan to buy more of these tort tables and jerry rig em together to create a 4ftx8ft eventually! i also want to set up another at the grandparents to i plan to keep yall posted on this life long journey and actually have a youtube i think im gonna start documenting this journey through to i noticed aside from garden state tortoise and some few others there really isnt much tort info on youtube in regards to specifically marginated torts! maybe i can play a part in changing that?

Ever since i was a kid ive always wanted a tortoise but because of my location it simply wasnt practical 27 years old now i can now finally welcome one into my home i cant begin to tell you how excited i am! ive probably done hundreds thousands of hours of research collectively throughout my life but i still feel so ill prepared i want nothing but the best life for this dude/dudette i know that getting one of these humble dinos is a life long commitment and actuallly past that you truly need to have your affairs in order which i do so anyway im excited guys and so happy to be apart of this community its been a very long time coming but im here and im not leavin anytime soon!

Hello and welcome! Congrats on beginning your tortoise journey.

There is a lot of old incorrect info out in the world. Here is the correct info for you:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

There is a heating/lighting breakdown and a temperate species care sheet at the bottom of that thread.

2x4 is a good size for a hatchling, but that might be too small for one year old. It really depends on the size of the tortoise, not the age.

Though the room is humid, the inside of the enclosure with the electrically generated desiccating heat will probably not be. Your hygrometer will tell you the answer. If it is too dry, a small growing tortoise will pyramid. It is much easier to maintain the correct heat and humidity in a large closed chamber.

Give the linked thread a read through once or twice, and questions are welcome.

 

[_The_Beast_]

Welcome! Please share pics of your little cutie once you've welcomed them home

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Welcome to the forum from South Florida

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Andy! Nice to meet you. I'm Yvonne from Central California.

 

[TammyJ]

Hi and welcome!

 

[Orcsloot]

Hello

Hello and welcome! Congrats on beginning your tortoise journey.

There is a lot of old incorrect info out in the world. Here is the correct info for you:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

There is a heating/lighting breakdown and a temperate species care sheet at the bottom of that thread.

2x4 is a good size for a hatchling, but that might be too small for one year old. It really depends on the size of the tortoise, not the age.

Though the room is humid, the inside of the enclosure with the electrically generated desiccating heat will probably not be. Your hygrometer will tell you the answer. If it is too dry, a small growing tortoise will pyramid. It is much easier to maintain the correct heat and humidity in a large closed chamber.

Give the linked thread a read through once or twice, and questions are welcome.

Thank you so much for the bountiful info! i can tell you've been keeping tortoises for awhile i see you alot on here always sharing such wisdom i appreciate ya man! Hey i did have one question i bought some scotts premium top soil its that red bag (i'll try and atttach a pic) no perlite or fertilizer mentioned from what i can tell, but some say to cook the dirt to kill off anything? whats your opinion if you dont mind me asking?

my plan was to do a 50/50 top soil and coco coir with a layer of cypress mulch but that soil was tough to find like one without chemicals in it and i couldn't really find fine ground orchid besides the miracle grow stuff which is loaded with fertilizer etc. i plan to try and grow live plants in there or make it bioactive per say.

the fellas in transit now heading out of vegas not sure if yall have heard of davids jungle but he was reputable on morph market thats where i ordered the fella im praying everything goes smoothly tommorows the day so excited!!

 

[Orcsloot]

Hi Andy! Nice to meet you. I'm Yvonne from Central California.

Hi Yvonne nice to meet ya! Well tommorows the day cant wait!

 

[Orcsloot]

Hi and welcome!

Hi Thanks for havin me looking forward to sharing pics tommorow sometime before 12pm ill have the fella!

 

[Orcsloot]

Welcome to the forum from South Florida

Thanks man! Yeah im excited tommorows the day!

 

[Orcsloot]

Welcome! Please share pics of your little cutie once you've welcomed them home

oh 1000% tommorows the day im so stoked! the little dude/dudette should be here before noon its gonna be hard not to want to hold the fellla by the way is there anything you think i should know like handling wise aside from the known fact (they really dont like being handled at all) if you can help it? when should i present the first chin scratch etc? IM SO EXCITED!!!!!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you so much for the bountiful info! i can tell you've been keeping tortoises for awhile i see you alot on here always sharing such wisdom i appreciate ya man! Hey i did have one question i bought some scotts premium top soil its that red bag (i'll try and atttach a pic) no perlite or fertilizer mentioned from what i can tell, but some say to cook the dirt to kill off anything? whats your opinion if you dont mind me asking?

my plan was to do a 50/50 top soil and coco coir with a layer of cypress mulch but that soil was tough to find like one without chemicals in it and i couldn't really find fine ground orchid besides the miracle grow stuff which is loaded with fertilizer etc. i plan to try and grow live plants in there or make it bioactive per say.

the fellas in transit now heading out of vegas not sure if yall have heard of davids jungle but he was reputable on morph market thats where i ordered the fella im praying everything goes smoothly tommorows the day so excited!!

I wouldn't use the soil as a substrate - just coco coir or cypress mulch. Better to use potted plants or plant trays. This will prevent them from being stomped to the ground, you can replace and regrow damaged plants and they will be easier to water and fertilize.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

oh 1000% tommorows the day im so stoked! the little dude/dudette should be here before noon its gonna be hard not to want to hold the fellla by the way is there anything you think i should know like handling wise aside from the known fact (they really dont like being handled at all) if you can help it? when should i present the first chin scratch etc? IM SO EXCITED!!!!!

On arrival maybe you should give him a warm "welcome soaking". Nothing really special about handling - minimize it during first week or so. When he will settle in - some head rubbing, butt scratches while soaking, hand feeding without taking him out of the enclosure.

Also, you can check the whole your setup with us and make the adjustments. It's easier to do without a tortoise inside

 

[Orcsloot]

I wouldn't use the soil as a substrate - just coco coir or cypress mulch. Better to use potted plants or plant trays. This will prevent them from being stomped to the ground, you can replace and regrow damaged plants and they will be easier to water and fertilize.

so is it safe to buy potted plants from the store and put them in even if the soil the plants reside in is fertilized etc? will any harm come to the tortoise if ingested? im real nervous to have any man altered thing in there i dont want to introduce toxins and what not.

 

[Tom]

Thank you so much for the bountiful info!

Hey i did have one question i bought some scotts premium top soil...

Read numbers 4, 5 and 6 on the thread I linked for you. Especially number 5.

 

[Tom]

so is it safe to buy potted plants from the store and put them in even if the soil the plants reside in is fertilized etc? will any harm come to the tortoise if ingested? im real nervous to have any man altered thing in there i dont want to introduce toxins and what not.

Potted plants are grown with systemic pesticides. It takes at least a couple of months for the toxins to dissipate. Replace the soil and keep them in pots where the tortoise can't reach them. You can use your Scott's soil for this purpose. Its best to grow your own plants from seed or from cuttings.

Its fine to use fertilizer to grow plants and food for tortoises. Plants can't grow without some sort of fertilizer. Just don't let the tortoise have direct access to the fertilizer product.

 

[Orcsloot]

On arrival maybe you should give him a warm "welcome soaking". Nothing really special about handling - minimize it during first week or so. When he will settle in - some head rubbing, butt scratches while soaking, hand feeding without taking him out of the enclosure.

Also, you can check the whole your setup with us and make the adjustments. It's easier to do without a tortoise inside

Read numbers 4, 5 and 6 on the thread I linked for you. Especially number 5.

ill be returning that soil tommorow and never letting any come in contact I can’t believe some of that I thought it was filtered pure clean dirt.. I’ll stick to potted plants if I introduce live plants or stick to fake ones and just provide food to the little guy. I watched garden state tortoise last night and got it in my head it was fine but nah your right not worth the risk.

 

[Orcsloot]

Potted plants are grown with systemic pesticides. It takes at least a couple of months for the toxins to dissipate. Replace the soil and keep them in pots where the tortoise can't reach them. You can use your Scott's soil for this purpose. Its best to grow your own plants from seed or from cuttings.

Its fine to use fertilizer to grow plants and food for tortoises. Plants can't grow without some sort of fertilizer. Just don't let the tortoise have direct access to the fertilizer product.

Oh okay I gotcha, Tom your a wealth of knowledge man thank you! What do you personally recommend to start growing if I was to start a garden up?

And what would you recommend I leave in the tank if any and how tall of a potted plant? Can they climb in it? Or find a way to eat that dirt somehow?

If I use the Scott’s in a little pot and introduce in the enclosure is there risk of infestation or parasites from the soil?

I’ve read things about centipedes taking over sometimes in that top soil or generally any soil cause like 5 mentions anything pretty much goes with that soil glass, clippings, parasite eggs, etc

Sorry for overloading you I truly just want the best all my life I’ve wanted a tortoise man and want to spend the rest of my life sharing my life with one to so want nothing but the best for my little buddy!

 

[Orcsloot]

On arrival maybe you should give him a warm "welcome soaking". Nothing really special about handling - minimize it during first week or so. When he will settle in - some head rubbing, butt scratches while soaking, hand feeding without taking him out of the enclosure.

Also, you can check the whole your setup with us and make the adjustments. It's easier to do without a tortoise inside

I’ll be sure to do that I plan to put the fella in a warm bath while I build his enclosure it’s coming the same day unfortunately the breeder couldn’t ship the next day due to risk of shipping delays.

I will try and attach a image of the build it’s a simple tort table 2x4ft 13in depth and I’m going to just do coco coir and cypress mulch I’m putting a clay plate thing (forget the name of it) it sits under pots) and that will be the water dish buried a little of course.

I’ll be getting another for food and having it on the cool side, I have a 24in t5 ho Arcadia pro 12% d3 UVB strip that will be hanging from 550 paracord 12 in above shell height in the enclosure likely starting on the cool side going in I was thinking.

Heat will be a 100w uva repti zoo intense basking spot which I’m hoping won’t get to hot but I also bought a heat gun just for this. I’ll have a thermometer on each side displaying temp and humidity. (I also have a CHE 150w which should’ve been a 100w as a backup for ambient)

I was going to add that moss for humidity but now think I won’t due to conflicting things I’ve read. I don’t feel the need nor purpose to take any unnecessary risk. (Saphagnum moss)

Other than that current temps are 79F 69% Humidity in the current room (living room) which is where this baby will be.

I plan to soak daily to and build a outside enclosure for outside sun exposure for at least a couple hours then back in the enclosure I was thinking try to give as much time outside but again heard different things so idk quite yet..

Diet I plan to order that dried stuff the dude will makes on here and get a garden setup for home grown tort food meantime it’s gonna be grocery store visits sadly dusted with calcium maybe x3 week? Again heard conflicting things on this and would appreciate any tips where I can get em. I’ll have to re read Tom’s guide again pretty sure he recommends x3 week dusting or I picked it up off YouTube or somethin..

No fruit at all. And I’m gonna minimize the handling the first week. Opinions comments yall? Please don’t hold back I seek to learn and grow!

 

[Orcsloot]

This would be the tort table and I plan to in the end have a 4x8ft honestly as much space as possible I’ve dedicated a room to the Dino pretty much.