Humidifier / Open top enclosure / Sulcata

[Sully_Sulcata]

Hello all, I am fairly new (3 weeks) as a sulcata owner. I’ve done lots of research online and read Tom’s article. I realized I needed to keep a higher humidity within the enclosure so decided to add this humidifier. I have it set to maintain between 70%-90% humidity constantly. It will for a few minutes and shut off for a few minutes. Is the amount of mist coming out going to affect Sully in anyway, perhaps respiratory infection? I’m happy with majority of the set up and he seems to love his enclosure. I was misting constantly throughout the day to maintain humidity but wanted something more consistent while I am at work during the day. I recently added the terra-cotta dish and he loves going in and out of that all day. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello and welcome!

The best you can do to keep humidity consistently high is to close mesh top with something like plastic box, sheet of plexyglass, portable greenhouse top or simply tin foil (a temporary solution). When done properly, you wouldn't even need a humidifier.

What do you use as UVB source? I don't see any "tube lamps" (the only type recommended) on photos.

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

Hello and welcome!

The best you can do to keep humidity consistently high is to close mesh top with something like plastic box, sheet of plexyglass, portable greenhouse top or simply tin foil (a temporary solution). When done properly, you wouldn't even need a humidifier.

What do you use as UVB source? I don't see any "tube lamps" (the only type recommended) on photos.

This is the bulb I am currently using, it gets his basking spot between 95° and 105° I gave aluminum foil but could consider plexi glass as well, would the heat transmit through that though

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

All heating elements and UVB sources have to be under the cover. That's why large plastic container or portable greenhouse top work better.

The lamp, you use is MVB (mercury vapour bulb), it's not recommended for tortoises, because it's very intense and can cause pyramiding. This type of lamps has been recommended in older posts on this forum and some caresheets and I've been confused myself. I'll find and attach link for the setup Tom uses.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Here we go:

Thread 'Info For New People. Please Read This First.' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

It's absolutely incredible long-read post by Tom (I am very grateful to him for that). The part on lightning is around point 15 and 16.

I'll add a link to this message to Tom's canned answer about lights and heating in a minute:
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/uvb-light-recommendation.208160/post-2082233

If you have any questions - please ask (maybe before placing an order if feeling unsure)

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

Here we go:

Thread 'Info For New People. Please Read This First.' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

It's absolutely incredible long-read post by Tom (I am very grateful to him for that). The part on lightning is around point 15 and 16.

I'll add a link to this message to Tom's canned answer about lights and heating in a minute:
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/uvb-light-recommendation.208160/post-2082233

If you have any questions - please ask (maybe before placing an order if feeling unsure)

It appears I will have to completely change my
Se

Here we go:

Thread 'Info For New People. Please Read This First.' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

It's absolutely incredible long-read post by Tom (I am very grateful to him for that). The part on lightning is around point 15 and 16.

I'll add a link to this message to Tom's canned answer about lights and heating in a minute:
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/uvb-light-recommendation.208160/post-2082233

If you have any questions - please ask (maybe before placing an order if feeling unsure)

It appears I will have to comepletely ch

Here we go:

Thread 'Info For New People. Please Read This First.' https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/info-for-new-people-please-read-this-first.202363/

It's absolutely incredible long-read post by Tom (I am very grateful to him for that). The part on lightning is around point 15 and 16.

I'll add a link to this message to Tom's canned answer about lights and heating in a minute:
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/uvb-light-recommendation.208160/post-2082233

If you have any questions - please ask (maybe before placing an order if feeling unsure)

it appears I will have to completely change my set up. Good thing it’s only been 3 weeks, I want to make sure he is well taken care of. I had a glass 55 gallon but was told glass is bad for tortoises as they will keep running into it. I just need a proper material to cover the tank with and have enough height to have all the lighting on the inside? I noted getting a flood bulb, solarmeter 6.5, Arcadia pro t5 kit. Any idea what type of flood bulb is proper for this?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

1. Something like this could be used to cover the whole enclosure (example). You just need to check the sizes.
2. Flood bulb - Tom uses 65W incadescent lamps. Probably something like these I've read that they are hard to find now and it's better have some spare lamps. There should be analogs in the pet stores, but I guess overpriced You can search the forum, I believe there were exact pictures somewhere.
3. Arcadia pro T5 Kit 12% - they are good and long-lasting. Reptisun are good as well. They should be placed under the mesh top or much of the UV will be lost (and that's why we need a Solarmeter )
4. Solarmeter is the only way to get the UV levels right (however when getting new lamp you can do some maths and make an educated guess on mounting height, for example Arcadia has the recommendations). It's rather expensive and perhaps you would not need it as soon as Sully would live outdoors. Someone sells used one on this forum - check recent threads.
5. Something is required to keep ambient temperature (and to be running at the night time). It could be CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or radiant heat panel (or even chicken brooder panel) and a thermostat.
6. About glass tank - yes, tortoise can bump into the glass, but not because it's a magic wall. This usually happen when they lack space and see that they can go out and explore. You can put some duct tape/paper tape or something like that above tort's line of sight and this should work. If you current enclosure is larger, than glass tank, I would keep tortoise there and make it "closed type".

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

1. Something like this could be used to cover the whole enclosure (example). You just need to check the sizes.
2. Flood bulb - Tom uses 65W incadescent lamps. Probably something like these I've read that they are hard to find now and it's better have some spare lamps. There should be analogs in the pet stores, but I guess overpriced You can search the forum, I believe there were exact pictures somewhere.
3. Arcadia pro T5 Kit 12% - they are good and long-lasting. Reptisun are good as well. They should be placed under the mesh top or much of the UV will be lost (and that's why we need a Solarmeter )
4. Solarmeter is the only way to get the UV levels right (however when getting new lamp you can do some maths and make an educated guess on mounting height, for example Arcadia has the recommendations). It's rather expensive and perhaps you would not need it as soon as Sully would live outdoors. Someone sells used one on this forum - check recent threads.
5. Something is required to keep ambient temperature (and to be running at the night time). It could be CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or radiant heat panel (or even chicken brooder panel) and a thermostat.
6. About glass tank - yes, tortoise can bump into the glass, but not because it's a magic wall. This usually happen when they lack space and see that they can go out and explore. You can put some duct tape/paper tape or something like that above tort's line of sight and this should work. If you current enclosure is larger, than glass tank, I would keep tortoise there and make it "closed type".

This has helped me so much, I truly can’t thank you enough! Hopefully my little guy is thriving soon.

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

1. Something like this could be used to cover the whole enclosure (example). You just need to check the sizes.
2. Flood bulb - Tom uses 65W incadescent lamps. Probably something like these I've read that they are hard to find now and it's better have some spare lamps. There should be analogs in the pet stores, but I guess overpriced You can search the forum, I believe there were exact pictures somewhere.
3. Arcadia pro T5 Kit 12% - they are good and long-lasting. Reptisun are good as well. They should be placed under the mesh top or much of the UV will be lost (and that's why we need a Solarmeter )
4. Solarmeter is the only way to get the UV levels right (however when getting new lamp you can do some maths and make an educated guess on mounting height, for example Arcadia has the recommendations). It's rather expensive and perhaps you would not need it as soon as Sully would live outdoors. Someone sells used one on this forum - check recent threads.
5. Something is required to keep ambient temperature (and to be running at the night time). It could be CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or radiant heat panel (or even chicken brooder panel) and a thermostat.
6. About glass tank - yes, tortoise can bump into the glass, but not because it's a magic wall. This usually happen when they lack space and see that they can go out and explore. You can put some duct tape/paper tape or something like that above tort's line of sight and this should work. If you current enclosure is larger, than glass tank, I would keep tortoise there and make it "closed type".

Since the Arcadia pro t5 kit (12%) is only 12% is this something you can leave on for 12 hours? Or still limited to 2 hours per day

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

1. Something like this could be used to cover the whole enclosure (example). You just need to check the sizes.
2. Flood bulb - Tom uses 65W incadescent lamps. Probably something like these I've read that they are hard to find now and it's better have some spare lamps. There should be analogs in the pet stores, but I guess overpriced You can search the forum, I believe there were exact pictures somewhere.
3. Arcadia pro T5 Kit 12% - they are good and long-lasting. Reptisun are good as well. They should be placed under the mesh top or much of the UV will be lost (and that's why we need a Solarmeter )
4. Solarmeter is the only way to get the UV levels right (however when getting new lamp you can do some maths and make an educated guess on mounting height, for example Arcadia has the recommendations). It's rather expensive and perhaps you would not need it as soon as Sully would live outdoors. Someone sells used one on this forum - check recent threads.
5. Something is required to keep ambient temperature (and to be running at the night time). It could be CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or radiant heat panel (or even chicken brooder panel) and a thermostat.
6. About glass tank - yes, tortoise can bump into the glass, but not because it's a magic wall. This usually happen when they lack space and see that they can go out and explore. You can put some duct tape/paper tape or something like that above tort's line of sight and this should work. If you current enclosure is larger, than glass tank, I would keep tortoise there and make it "closed type".

Since the Arcadia pro t5 kit (12%) is only 12% is this something you can leave on for 12 hours? Or still limited to 2 hours?

 

[Tom]

Since the Arcadia pro t5 kit (12%) is only 12% is this something you can leave on for 12 hours? Or still limited to 2 hours per day

Hello and welcome!

You can't tell tone from the typed word, so let me tell you that my tone is cheery and helpful.

These questions and everything you need to know are explained in the thread that Alex linked for you in post number 5. Please take a moment to read that. There is also a sulcata care sheet at the bottom of that thread that will help you even more.

12% is a high level of UVB. It only needs to be on for a few hours mid day. Any good UV source should only need to be on a few hours a day.

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

Hello and welcome!

You can't tell tone from the typed word, so let me tell you that my tone is cheery and helpful.

These questions and everything you need to know are explained in the thread that Alex linked for you in post number 5. Please take a moment to read that. There is also a sulcata care sheet at the bottom of that thread that will help you even more.

12% is a high level of UVB. It only needs to be on for a few hours mid day. Any good UV source should only need to be on a few hours a day.

Understood, I have those pages book marked and continue to read them, thank you for taking the time to post these. I just picked up a 65W flood bulb for the basking location, if the Arcadia light is only being used for a couple hours a day and the flood bulb is for basking, what should I use just for a general lighting source to have light within the closure? I also ordered a miniature green house to cover the entire enclosure to make it a closed chamber.

 

[Tom]

Understood, I have those pages book marked and continue to read them, thank you for taking the time to post these. I just picked up a 65W flood bulb for the basking location, if the Arcadia light is only being used for a couple hours a day and the flood bulb is for basking, what should I use just for a general lighting source to have light within the closure? I also ordered a miniature green house to cover the entire enclosure to make it a closed chamber.

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Tom, thank you so much this has been very helpful! I try to get my baby sulcata outside for atleast an hour each day but the pet store has given me lots of wrong information, telling me I only need MVB light to provide heat / basking / ambient lighting (basically everything in one) I ordered the Arcadia T5 kit, 65W flood bulbs, a green house to keep the humidity in since I am using the aivituvin enclosure (might change this, I am reading cedar is toxic for sulcatas). I will look to get the LED for ambient lighting this morning. I’m invested in making sure I give him the best accommodations I possibly can to make sure he sully has a long healthy life. I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Great! Keep going! Keep us informed!

About cedar - it look like treated/painted wood. Unless it has notable smell of pinewood it should not be number one priority.

We haven't paid much attention to heating of the enclosure. Once you get rid of MVB lamp, you will need another heat source and a thermostat - for example, ceramic heat emitter bulb (it doesn't give any light and can provide ambient heat for the enclosure at night). Keeping consistent ambient temperature is important as well as humidity (cold and humid enclosure could result in respiratory infections).

 

[Tom]

Tom, thank you so much this has been very helpful! I try to get my baby sulcata outside for atleast an hour each day but the pet store has given me lots of wrong information, telling me I only need MVB light to provide heat / basking / ambient lighting (basically everything in one) I ordered the Arcadia T5 kit, 65W flood bulbs, a green house to keep the humidity in since I am using the aivituvin enclosure (might change this, I am reading cedar is toxic for sulcatas). I will look to get the LED for ambient lighting this morning. I’m invested in making sure I give him the best accommodations I possibly can to make sure he sully has a long healthy life. I appreciate you taking the time to explain everything!

This happens to almost everybody because the tortoise care advice that has been out in the world for decades is wrong. Its based on old incorrect assumptions. This wrong info keeps getting passed down from generation to generation. We are trying to stop it.

You now have the correct care and feeding info, so hopefully your story will have a happy ending.

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

Great! Keep going! Keep us informed!

About cedar - it look like treated/painted wood. Unless it has notable smell of pinewood it should not be number one priority.

We haven't paid much attention to heating of the enclosure. Once you get rid of MVB lamp, you will need another heat source and a thermostat - for example, ceramic heat emitter bulb (it doesn't give any light and can provide ambient heat for the enclosure at night). Keeping consistent ambient temperature is important as well as humidity (cold and humid enclosure could result in respiratory infections).

Yes I have a CHE I’ve been using at night time while the MVB is turned off (with current set up) I’m going to be setting all the new goodies up today

 

[Sully_Sulcata]

Great! Keep going! Keep us informed!

About cedar - it look like treated/painted wood. Unless it has notable smell of pinewood it should not be number one priority.

We haven't paid much attention to heating of the enclosure. Once you get rid of MVB lamp, you will need another heat source and a thermostat - for example, ceramic heat emitter bulb (it doesn't give any light and can provide ambient heat for the enclosure at night). Keeping consistent ambient temperature is important as well as humidity (cold and humid enclosure could result in respiratory infections).

I use the CHE for roughly 15 minutes in the morning to get the green house up to temp, then run the flood bulbs which have given me a perfect basking temperature under the light. The Arcadia light is running late for delivery and my LED ambient light should be delivered today (6500K strip) that I will run along the top. Miniature green house has been amazing!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

These are great news to know! With CHE I would get a thermostat anyway - let the automatics do its job (especially at night, when everyone's sleeping). And I see you have a temperature gun now? That's a really handy thing. Thanks for an update!
I've remembered another useful routine - to keep track of your tortoise size/weight daily or weekly. This could be useful for health assessment, planning enclosure and to amaze everyone on tortoise birthday parties. And yes, it's free
How's Sully doing? I hope she (or he, who knows yet) enjoys the changes.

 

[cmacusa3]

you'll probably want to put down a tarp or something under there, once the humidity starts getting right under that greenhouse you'll get some damp carpets.