Is this tortoise house okay?

[Sunny_Sunday]

Hi! I’m new here and I’m getting a 4 inch male Herman tortoise in the spring time. I would like to know which Mercury vapor bulb to get for it as it’s gonna be a juvenile tortoise. And is the link I sent below good for it I know I had to get a second house because it’s gonna grow. Also does anyone recommend some cheap substrates I can use for it?

 

[Sunny_Sunday]

what kind of easy and fast weeds or flowers can I grow for him?

 

[Lyn W]

Hi and welcome,
You are wise to research before getting your tort.
Unfortunately there are a lot of suppliers still selling enclosures like this that aren't really suitable for tortoises. It is too small and will be impossible to retain and control heat and humidity in an open table.

Please read the information in this thread that Tom - a very experienced keeper has posted to help new members. He has collated everything you need to know to save searching through their original threads, and there will be information specifically for Mediterranean/Temperate species in it.

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

MVB lamps aren't recommended any more because they have been found to dry and damage tort shells. The heating and lighting information is also in thread above as recommendations for substrate and diet will be.

There is a lot of old information still being passed around but if you follow the advice in the thread your tort should thrive and it will save you money that you might otherwise waste on unsuitable and/or unsafe equipment.

Make TFO your main source of information and please ask as many questions as you like there is always someone to help.

 

[Sunny_Sunday]

Thanks so much for the information I’m glad I asked for help before getting one.
Could anyone recommend me a a tortoise house that can combine? I can’t build a tortoise table.
Also can you recommend a light for the tortoise? How far should I put it away from the tortoise?

 

[Lyn W]

what kind of easy and fast weeds or flowers can I grow for him?

You can buy packs of seeds for tortoise food containing a mix of all sorts.
Dandelions are popular, sow thistle, ribwort plantain and broadleaf plantain, clover - to name a few.

 

[Lyn W]

Thanks so much for the information I’m glad I asked for help before getting one.
Could anyone recommend me a a tortoise house that can combine? I can’t build a tortoise table.
Also can you recommend a light for the tortoise? How far should I put it away from the tortoise?

It's all in that thread if you find the heating and lighting section i.e.
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.

US members familiar with your climate will be able to tell you what's available and what your options are for enclosures.

 

[Sunny_Sunday]

Alright thanks!

 

[Sunny_Sunday]

You can buy packs of seeds for tortoise food containing a mix of all sorts.
Dandelions are popular, sow thistle, ribwort plantain and broadleaf plantain, clover - to name a few.

Thanks so much but do you have any brands or links in mind?

 

[WillB]

Welcome to the forum!

For seed mixes Zellajake Farm from amazon is not bad. Many different sizes for your preference and they germinate fairly well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B7PYMSS/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

For bigger portions I recently bought from tortoisesupply.com which is growing nicely and is recommended by alot of the forum members here. https://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

Hope this helps! I also currently have a tortoise table but top it off with a 3x3 greenhouse cover to keep the humidity over 80% with not too much trouble.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sunny_Sunday]

If not can someone recommend me one?

 

[Tom]

That style of enclosure can work, but you need it much larger, and the screen top will let all your heat and humidity out. You need 4x8 minimum for an adult, and 2x4 feet for a baby.

 

[Sunny_Sunday]

Welcome to the forum!

For seed mixes Zellajake Farm from amazon is not bad. Many different sizes for your preference and they germinate fairly well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B7PYMSS/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

For bigger portions I recently bought from tortoisesupply.com which is growing nicely and is recommended by alot of the forum members here. https://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes

Hope this helps! I also currently have a tortoise table but top it off with a 3x3 greenhouse cover to keep the humidity over 80% with not too much trouble.

Hope this helps!

Thanks it helped! Is dandelion garnet stems okay? And I was think of cutting a hole of the lid of the plastic tub for the home Not the interior but the plastic tub and it’s lid is that ok?

 

[SinLA]

Hi! I’m new here and I’m getting a 4 inch male Herman tortoise in the spring time. I would like to know which Mercury vapor bulb to get for it as it’s gonna be a juvenile tortoise. And is the link I sent below good for it I know I had to get a second house because it’s gonna grow. Also does anyone recommend some cheap substrates I can use for it?

No those houses by themselves are not great. By the time s/he's an adult you'll need like 6 of them kept together to be the right size. Some people buy an old bookcase from goodwill and fix that up, just make sure you waterproof/damp proof it safely.

 

[WillB]

Thanks it helped! Is dandelion garnet stems okay? And I was think of cutting a hole of the lid of the plastic tub for the home Not the interior but the plastic tub and it’s lid is that ok?

It should be fine. For a list of acceptable plants you can either look through the forum or use https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/ (they also have an app) that has a list of plants you can feed to your tortoise, variety is always better.

 

[Tom]

And I was think of cutting a hole of the lid of the plastic tub for the home Not the interior but the plastic tub and it’s lid is that ok?

This will create a chimney effect which will draw your heat and humidity up and out of the enclosure, drawing cooler drier room air into your enclosure. The heating and lighting need to be inside the enclosure.