Leopard Tortoise - Lighting Concern

zalvi

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I picked up a 3 month old Leopard Tortoise yesterday at my local Reptile Expo. I will be working on its enclosure some more, but I'm worried that my tortoise won't be getting the ideal heat/temperature in his/her basking area. I have him/her in a 50 gallon storage bin, it seems fine, but I think it may be too high for the little guy. And the height of it might be what is lowering the effectiveness of the light. The light is a 100 watt UVA + UVB bulb all in one. When I put my hand down to where he is, I don't feel much heat. Is it also that plastic doesn't hold up the heat that well? I have some pictures to show ya'll. Would appreciate some guidance and tips. Thanks in advance.

image (1).jpeg image (2).jpeg image (3).jpeg image (4).jpeg
 

zalvi

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welcome to the forum!!!!! i think the light is ok but the substrate can NOT be news paper! the baby tort need humidity about 80%. low humidity can cause serious problems for the baby tort.
Thanks! Newspaper is temporary, going to get timothy hay soon. The vendor I bought this little guy from told me it's best to use paper towels, reptile carpet, or timothy hay for juveniles to prevent impaction other substrates can cause. And I just got him yesterday. His enclosure is a 50 gallon, haven't soaked him yet, I gave him a little bit of spinach leaves with a sprinkle of cut up carrots dusted by a little bit of vitamin.
 

wellington

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Hello and Welcome:). Your baby leopard has already been started out way too dry and that is why he is pyramided/lumpy quite a bit for his size. Please read Toms threads at the bottom of my post for raising a healthy and smooth leopard. He needs a humidity of 80% with temps no lower then 80 and basking area of 95+. He needs to be soaked every day in warm water for 20/30 minutes. You also need to buy a good temp/humdidty gauge, so you can get the temps and humidity correct and know that they are. The light, should be hung straight down, not on an angle and those clams can not be trusted, they have been known to fail and fall, burning the tort or worse, starting fires. Also provide a shallow water dish 24/7
 

Jodie

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Welcome to the forum. There is a ton of good info here. Pet store give bad info. There is a lot of outdated info out there. The people here have a wealth of experience, and have spent years figuring out what works best. Good luck.
 

Yourlocalpoet

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Going to go to the Pet store today and grab whatever else I need. For substrate, would something like this be ok? http://www.petsmart.com/reptile/sub...catid-500013?_t=pfm=category&pfmvalue=faceted

What are you using for night time heat?

Buying a temperature gun was the best thing I ever did in terms of monitoring temperatures.

If you keep the tub to house your leopard, it would be beneficial to cover the top, if only partially for the time being to retain some heat and also in order to retain some humidity, when you add the damp substrate.

If you do this, a lamp stand would work better for you than a clamp, you could also lower or higher it as required.

It's worth noting though, your leopard needs to be warm if you are using damp substrate, so at night for example, be careful he/she is not damp and cold.

Welcome to TFO.


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mike taylor

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The best information is in Tom's leopards care sheet . Before you run to the pet store and waste money read the leopard care sheet . You can find it in the African tortoise section . Welcome too TFO!
 

zalvi

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So I went to a Pet Store and got the things I needed immediately. Eco Earth bedding, some moss for his hide, and a thermometer + humidity gauge. I really hope he doesn't eat the bedding/moss as I've seen him/her peck at it already. At the moment, he/she is chilling inside his hide with the moss and the humidity level is around 75%. But yeah, I really wouldn't want him to have impaction from eating the bedding/moss. The dude I bought it from said lay off of beddings until the tort is a bit bigger, but you guys and your articles told me the opposite. I trust ya'll more, but if something happens in respect to impaction, it's the fault of the advice I got. Still, I'm sure all is fine. He seems to love the new bedding now! Aside from that, should I still leave his food inside the enclosure? He might swallow some eco earth... that's my concern. He isn't tame enough for me to hand feed, but if the bedding consumption is an issue, I could just feed him/her on another platform. Also, the basking area seems to be a bit cooler than it should be, by about 10ish degrees, to cover that up, should I get another bulb of 25watt? Thanks for reading and please answer all of my concern/questions.

-image (5).jpeg
 

mike taylor

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I like the bedding you got . To get it warmer all you have to do is lower the fixture . The little round meters take them back they are no good . Go to Home Depot or Walmart and get a digital one they are only ten dollars .
 

mike taylor

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Here is a picture of the meter I use . Plus this is my little one Clay .
 

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Jodie

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Feed on a rough surface. I use small border stones. A plate would work until you find a flat rock or stone to use. The rough surface helps with beak maintenance. The disk meters are not accurate. You are listening to the right people. I bet the guy at the store doesn't even have 1 tortoise.
 

Jodie

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I haven't seen anything about a water dish either. A terra cotta dish works really well. Sink both the water and food dishes in level with the substrate so it is easy to get in and out of.
 

zalvi

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Here is a picture of the meter I use . Plus this is my little one Clay .
Oh, wow! Just found a similar one to yours for 8 bucks at Walmart. Lets hope Petco allows me to return this, not a huge deal though. Anyways, Clay looks nice! I can't lower my fixture as there's no other lower part in my plastic bin, so that's an issue. The little guy is currently sleeping inside his hide with the moist moss and substrate haha.
Feed on a rough surface. I use small border stones. A plate would work until you find a flat rock or stone to use. The rough surface helps with beak maintenance. The disk meters are not accurate. You are listening to the right people. I bet the guy at the store doesn't even have 1 tortoise.
Oh, good idea. I should probably get some nice stones and feed him there. Should the feeding zone be close to the basking zone? Also, I made a water dish out of this peanut butter jar lid, it's very similar to a terra cotta dish in appearance and structure. Perfect size for him.
 

zalvi

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This is what the enclosure looks like as of right now. The feeding dish isn't in there atm and the little one is sleeping inside of the hide. The hide has the moss inside of it, pretty moist in there. I think I'll get some stones in one area for the food place, also need to find a way to make the fixture more effective... I'll be building on it some more. ALSO, sorry, its dark right now, ik. image (6).jpeg
 

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