New Baby Yellow Foot Owner Questions About Setup

[RockyBalboa]

Hello,

I am a new owner of a baby yellow foot tortoise (it weighs 65 grams). We got him 12/31/2013

Here is what my baby tortoise is living in:

He is housed in a 40 gallon Zilla terrarium with a screen lid with ZooMed EcoEarth compressed coconut compressed substrate
There is a large dish big enough for him to take a soak in

I have a Zilla incandescent dual bulb fixture with two bulbs installed:

for light: ExoTerra Reptile UVB 200 bulb (was recommended by the pet store) - we keep this on for 12 hours a day
for heat: a Zilla Night Red Heat 75 watt incandenscent bulb - this is always on

On the cool side of the tank I have a Zilla Medium 16 watt heat matt installed on the bottom of the cage and this is always on.

I have a Zilla humidy/temperature gauge on the warm side of the tank.

His cage is a constant 80 - 83 degrees with a humidity level at a constant 50% - 60%

I tried wrapping the lid partly in saran wrap and laying a wet towel on top. Even with misting I can't get the humidity above 65%.

I am worried by 20 inch light fixture is not big enough for the tank or need to invest in another lamp to use in addition to this one.

I just want to be sure I am giving him the best care possible. I have done a lot of reading but I read conflcting things, outdated stories, etc.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Rich

 

[zenoandthetortoise]

Hi there,

Congrats on the new yellow foot. I have a redfoot and from what I can tell, the set ups would be similar. For mine, I use a tube type UVB for daylight (on a timer) and a 2 CHE for heat ( on thermostat).
The coil type CFL bulbs have a nasty rep for causing eye damage, plus I've noticed a red foot preference for low level lighting. I think the yellow would prefer this as well. As for humidity, it varies somewhat, but it generally stays around %80. In the hide with damp spagnum moss, it's 95% +.

Hope this helps. I'd love to see some pics.

 

[FLINTUS]

Hello,

I am a new owner of a baby yellow foot tortoise (it weighs 65 grams). We got him 12/31/2013

Here is what my baby tortoise is living in:

He is housed in a 40 gallon Zilla terrarium with a screen lid with ZooMed EcoEarth compressed coconut compressed substrate
There is a large dish big enough for him to take a soak in
[size=large]40 gallons won't last long if I've got my conversion correct-sorry work in litres in the Uk lol. How big is the tank in length, width and height? Provide moss to dig into.[/size]
I have a Zilla incandescent dual bulb fixture with two bulbs installed:

for light: ExoTerra Reptile UVB 200 bulb (was recommended by the pet store) - we keep this on for 12 hours a day
for heat: a Zilla Night Red Heat 75 watt incandenscent bulb - this is always on
Red heat bulbs aren't natural. Use a ceramic heat emitter for the night and a normal daylight halogen lamp-the spotlight bulbs don't have a wide enough emission- during the day.
If that is a coil bulb for UV, get rid of it. Some have had problems with them. Yellow Foots are DEEP, true forest tortoises. Much more so than red foots. You want 6% MAX, and maybe mount it at 2 or 3ft high-the former for T8 lamps, the latter for T5s. The T5s are much better in performance, so try and find the Arcadia-widely acknowledged as the best lighting on the market at the moment- a T5 kits-controller, bulb and reflector. Some ready made kits are also available using the T5s by Arcadia called the Slimline Luminaire. Finally, don't trust pet shops, most are very poor.
On the cool side of the tank I have a Zilla Medium 16 watt heat matt installed on the bottom of the cage and this is always on.
Heat mats can cause burns. If using them stick it to the SIDE of the tank.
I have a Zilla humidy/temperature gauge on the warm side of the tank.

His cage is a constant 80 - 83 degrees with a humidity level at a constant 50% - 60%
Your temps are quite good. However, humidity is way too low. It would be too low even for red foots, you need 80% MINIMUM constantly for these forest, water loving tortoises.
I tried wrapping the lid partly in saran wrap and laying a wet towel on top. Even with misting I can't get the humidity above 65%.
This is a bit weird. Can you show us a picture of your enclosure please?
I am worried by 20 inch light fixture is not big enough for the tank or need to invest in another lamp to use in addition to this one.

I just want to be sure I am giving him the best care possible. I have done a lot of reading but I read conflcting things, outdated stories, etc.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Rich

Sorry for the long reply but hope it helps.

 

[RockyBalboa]

Thank you for the replies. I am now really nervous that I might have a wrong bulb in the terrarium? I don't want to have anything wrong. I will buy anything that he needs. Expense isn't a factor. So if I need to change something please let me know and I will fix whatever I have wrong.

I have attached pictures. The terrarium lid had saran wrap on it to keep moisture in but now it is covered on the top with a damp bath towel minus where the light is. I took that off so the picture would look better.

The terrarium is 36"L x 18"W x 16"H (91cm x 46 cm x 41 cm)

The heating mat came with rubber feet to keep it a certain distance off the glass. I have touched the glass with my hand and it is warm but not hot and this is where Rocky likes to sleep. You can see him in the front left of the cage in the pictures.

If I need to move the mat then please let me know. I just know I need to get the humidity up in the cage. I have misted the cage down every 3 hours I am awake but I can't get it above 70%. I don't know what I am doing wrong.

---

The lid of the terrarium is screened mesh that slides and locks into place. I am nervous about completely covering the top of the enclosure because I'm worried that Rocky won't have enough air.

I know that the pet shop did not have any humidity in their enclosure at all. I believe their bedding was cedar or pine?


Anyway please let me know what's wrong and what needs to be changed.