Leopard set up and heating question

[Tysleopardglenn]

So I have my leopard as a few of you know in a hundred gallon box I got from the zoo I worked at. The diet I'm feeding was out together by reading a ton of different sources and compiling why I thought was the best of the best. Now I'm wondering about heat. I keep a basking zone of about 110 and the cool side stays at 86 during the day and 83 at night... I keep the humidity about 70-90. It drops while I'm at work and over night and I bring it back up when I wake up/get home. Glenn is almost four weeks old and was ground hatched from a breeder in Arizona. So sex is unknown. With those temps do I need any other lights? I was going to add another on the other side of the enclosure but don't want it to be too hot... I don't think the humid hide stays very warm I have a digital temp on top of it and its 86 right now over top of it. My tort seems to sleep a lot during the day and move a lot at night which I thought was weird. I tried to put him in his humid hide to sleep but e always runs out of it pretty quick and sleeps in the corner on the other side of the tank. Not sure if he is just young and this is normal or if I should be concerned with anything this is how he sleeps literally just passed out

 

[wellington]

Put the gauge inside the hide to read the temp and humidity in there. Be sure it's where it is suppose to be. Also, what kind of substrate is in the hide? The stuff he is sleeping on now looks way more comfy then the mulch. Coconut coir works great for humidity and won't mold.

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In case you haven't yet, Toms great threads on raising a healthy smooth leopard are at the bottom of my post. Sounds like you might have read them already, but if you need a brush up, they are below.

 

[Tom]

83-86 is a fine temp for your humid hide and the rest of the enclosure. You don't "need" any other lights, but there is psychological benefit to having the enclosure well lit up during the day and dark at night. The florescent tubes are a good way to increase light without adding much heat. I like the bulbs in the 6500K range.

Many times hatchlings will avoid any sort of "hole" in the ground. I'm surmising that this is a smart way to avoid being eaten in the wild. As they get bigger and more comfortable, they will likely start using the humid hides more. Put him in there after lights out and eventually he'll start staying in there. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks or more.

 

[Tysleopardglenn]

Thanks so much Tom!! I know your probably the top mind in this forum and I appreciate you helping me! You as we'll Wellington! So when you say dark at night is a red bulb not a good idea? And I mean only for night. I know you recommend a CHE but I am running into having to turn my MVB off and wait for it to cool down and then switch to the infrared bulb. Kind of annoying. So I was thinking of adding a Che in the opposite side over top of the humid hide and running that at night and hoping that would help I'm just afraid it won't keep the temp and humidity up. I already have it dialed in so I was afraid to change anything...

 

[wellington]

Most everything I learned about leopards I have learned from Tom. I don't like light for night time, even the red. However, I know some do use them.

 

[volcom6981]

I have a red bulb over top of the humid hide, which is a plastic shoe box with the lid on top. With the red bulb on over top of the humid hide, it stays 80 degrees or a little higher in there. All of my hachlings seem to sleep in there.

 

[Tom]

I appreciate the vote of confidence, but when I need info I am the one who consults the top minds on this forum. Just got an incubation question answered this morning from one of those top minds.

Like Barb, I prefer it dark at night. Tortoises can see a wider spectrum of light than we can (according to what we know of the anatomical structure of their eyes), so if we can see at night with a colored bulb, so can they. CHEs set on a thermostat are the best of of maintaining ambient temps that I have found. You might need more than one, but they can all run off of one thermostat. I like to have my lights and heat automated so that when life throws you those curve balls, the tortoises are all taken care of. I use digital timers and thermostats, so even in the event of a power outage, all my stuff is back "online" and still set correctly once the power comes back on.