Is this a good baby leopard tortoise enclosure?

Joseph Flores

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The white lamp is the UVB light and the yellow one is a heat and UVA light. Is this a good enough enclosure?

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Tom

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Unless the entire room is 80 degrees with 80% humidity 24/7, then no, it is not a good leopard enclosure. There is not way to maintain the correct conditions in a low sided tub like that. The colder drier room air will continuously mix with the enclosure air making things too cool and too dry.

What type of lights are in the hoods? Is one of them a cfl for UV? Those should not be used. They are ineffective as UV sources, and some of them burn tortoise eyes. Is the other bulb a "spot" type? Should be a flood to reduce the desiccating effects.

The water bowl isn't the worst I've seen, but I wouldn't use it. The sides are too steep. Best to use another terra cotta saucer sunk into the substrate.
 

Joseph Flores

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Unless the entire room is 80 degrees with 80% humidity 24/7, then no, it is not a good leopard enclosure. There is not way to maintain the correct conditions in a low sided tub like that. The colder drier room air will continuously mix with the enclosure air making things too cool and too dry.

What type of lights are in the hoods? Is one of them a cfl for UV? Those should not be used. They are ineffective as UV sources, and some of them burn tortoise eyes. Is the other bulb a "spot" type? Should be a flood to reduce the desiccating effects.

The water bowl isn't the worst I've seen, but I wouldn't use it. The sides are too steep. Best to use another terra cotta saucer sunk into the substrate.
I do not understand on the humidty ranges because I saw videos of people that raised baby leopard with a range of 50 to 60 percent hunidty and the leopard tortoises look smooth and great and everyone so far has different opinions with good results. I'm using the zoo med UVB light 10.0 and it has good ratings and even some of the people who own reptile sanctuary use it and they say it works very well. It's hard to really know what is perfect because everyone has different opinions and have good results with whatever they go with most of the time from what I have seen.
 

Tom

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I do not understand on the humidty ranges because I saw videos of people that raised baby leopard with a range of 50 to 60 percent hunidty and the leopard tortoises look smooth and great and everyone so far has different opinions with good results. I'm using the zoo med UVB light 10.0 and it has good ratings and even some of the people who own reptile sanctuary use it and they say it works very well. It's hard to really know what is perfect because everyone has different opinions and have good results with whatever they go with most of the time from what I have seen.
I get it. Lots of conflicting info. Who to listen to? I don't know what to tell you. You asked a question. I answered you and shared insight the took me decades of mistakes to learn. After you've done it for decades and experienced the same failures that I've experienced, you will also know what I know. Then you will share it with a new keeper who will doubt what you've told them because of all the conflicting, wrong info circulating around, and the cycle will repeat.

No one is raising a smooth leopard in an indoor low sided tub with a heat lamp. No one.

If you think you have a good bulb and assume your tortoise is getting all of its UV from it, you will end up with MBD. If you supplement with foods and other D3 sources, plus get your tortoise outside for real sunshine, you won't see MBD, but it will have nothing to do with the bulb. You might have one of the bulbs that isn't an eye burner. I hope that is the case. If not, you'll learn that lesson soon enough.

I've shown you the right path. Only you can decide which way to walk. Your questions are welcome. Skepticism is expected and invited. Through questioning the assertions I've made here and previously, more will be shared, and more will be learned by you and anyone reading.
 

Joseph Flores

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I get it. Lots of conflicting info. Who to listen to? I don't know what to tell you. You asked a question. I answered you and shared insight the took me decades of mistakes to learn. After you've done it for decades and experienced the same failures that I've experienced, you will also know what I know. Then you will share it with a new keeper who will doubt what you've told them because of all the conflicting, wrong info circulating around, and the cycle will repeat.

No one is raising a smooth leopard in an indoor low sided tub with a heat lamp. No one.

If you think you have a good bulb and assume your tortoise is getting all of its UV from it, you will end up with MBD. If you supplement with foods and other D3 sources, plus get your tortoise outside for real sunshine, you won't see MBD, but it will have nothing to do with the bulb. You might have one of the bulbs that isn't an eye burner. I hope that is the case. If not, you'll learn that lesson soon enough.

I've shown you the right path. Only you can decide which way to walk. Your questions are welcome. Skepticism is expected and invited. Through questioning the assertions I've made here and previously, more will be shared, and more will be learned by you and anyone reading.
Thank you very much tho!!!
 

Yvonne G

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I built a sort of rack out of scrap lumber. You can see the process here:


And then you can cover the whole thing with a sheet of plastic or a shower curtain liner.
 

Tom

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Do you recommend anything I can cover my enclosure with to keep the humidty in?
I recommend buying or building a closed chamber. I've tried many methods of modifying an existing open topped enclosure, and none of them have been satisfactory for me. Some methods are better than others, and doing "something" is better than doing nothing, but a closed chamber with all the heating and lighting contained inside, is needed to really solve these problems.
 

Joseph Flores

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I recommend buying or building a closed chamber. I've tried many methods of modifying an existing open topped enclosure, and none of them have been satisfactory for me. Some methods are better than others, and doing "something" is better than doing nothing, but a closed chamber with all the heating and lighting contained inside, is needed to really solve these problems.
I dont really have the time and money at all to be buying another enclosure but you think I can building like a thing to hold the lamps from the top and then put plastic over the whole enclosure and take down the sides to prevent any hunidty from leaving?
 

Yvonne G

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If you read the link I attached in my previous thread all the way to the end, you'll see how I draped the plastic over the whole thing. No plastic comes close to touching the lights. And then you can tuck the edges under the bottom of the enclosure further helping to close it all in. With this system, if you change out your light to the tube type fluorescent, you negate the desiccating effect of the incandescent or MVB bulbs.
 

eminart

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Just a suggestion to the original poster. I'm kind of in the same boat. I just picked up my first leopard tortoise yesterday. I thought I had a pretty good handle on care. I've been keeping reptiles since the 80's, but my only tortoise, until now, is an Egyptian tortoise I've had for about 14 years. Anyway, I threw together a setup very similar to yours for my new leo, but after doing some reading on here today, I see my care might be outdated. The first solution that springs to my mind is to go buy a $20 sheet of foam insulation board to build a box around my tub. This is just a temporary home anyway, that will be quickly outgrown.
 

Joseph Flores

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Just a suggestion to the original poster. I'm kind of in the same boat. I just picked up my first leopard tortoise yesterday. I thought I had a pretty good handle on care. I've been keeping reptiles since the 80's, but my only tortoise, until now, is an Egyptian tortoise I've had for about 14 years. Anyway, I threw together a setup very similar to yours for my new leo, but after doing some reading on here today, I see my care might be outdated. The first solution that springs to my mind is to go buy a $20 sheet of foam insulation board to build a box around my tub. This is just a temporary home anyway, that will be quickly outgrown.
Can you send a picture?
 

eminart

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Can you send a picture?

I haven't done it yet. Just got my tortoise yesterday, and like you, after some reading here, I realize I probably need to enclose my setup. But, I'm thinking I could throw together a box made of foam insulation board in 15 minutes. Just size it to fit over your tub.
 

Joseph Flores

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I haven't done it yet. Just got my tortoise yesterday, and like you, after some reading here, I realize I probably need to enclose my setup. But, I'm thinking I could throw together a box made of foam insulation board in 15 minutes. Just size it to fit over your tub.
I'll see what I can do cause money is a bit tightish from spending a lot on the tortoise so I think maybe plastic wrap over everything sealed good would keep the humidity good in the mean time.
 

eminart

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I'll see what I can do cause money is a bit tightish from spending a lot on the tortoise so I think maybe plastic wrap over everything sealed good would keep the humidity good in the mean time.

I'm sure you can rig up some kind of frame with plastic wrap around it that will hold humidity. If you're still having trouble with ambient temps, try insulating it by putting old towels or something over the plastic. But, be very careful that everything is solid so it doesn't fall and become a fire hazard.
 

Joseph Flores

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I'm sure you can rig up some kind of frame with plastic wrap around it that will hold humidity. If you're still having trouble with ambient temps, try insulating it by putting old towels or something over the plastic. But, be very careful that everything is solid so it doesn't fall and become a fire hazard.
Thank you, hopefully all goes well.
 
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