New Enclosure

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Helloooo, I recently upgraded Turtwig’s enclosure so I thought I’d give them a post - both for inspiration for new Tortoise owners & also, for any advice or suggestions from more experienced owners!

Turtwig is around 9 months old and is now in a 5x3 foot closed vivarium, humidity levels remain around 50% in the warmer/basking side and 70%+ in the colder side.

He has two hides - a humid log hide which he uses predominantly at night, and a overturned plant pot that he uses throughout the day for shade.

Because the height of the vivarium is quite high, I’m using a 150w solar flood bulb for a basking lamb, around 30cm above the substrate.

Turtwig has the option of two water pools, one on either side of the vivarium and a selection of edible plants for shade, foraging & assistance with holding humidity in the enclosure.

Let me know what you think!

8D504A48-4721-4435-81F1-3054AB2A8057.jpegC6809D84-8283-457E-8884-BE12E631DDCA.jpeg
 

Lyn W

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Very nice.
Your plants look new, so did you know that if you buy them from shops/garden centres you should wash roots and leaves, repot in chemical free soils and wait at least a year for all pesticides and fertilisers absorbed by leaves to grow out? Or have you managed to get them from safe sources?
 

wellington

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Its looks great. I don't mind the coir so never see that as a problem.
What I do see though is the puck type temp/humidity gauge you are using. Those are junk and not accurate. Get a digital one from any hardware store or store that sells thermometers other than for baking.
Also the probes should be tortoise height. They look to bs hanging a bit high.
Otherwise it looks great.
 
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Messages
66
Location (City and/or State)
Manchester
Very nice.
Your plants look new, so did you know that if you buy them from shops/garden centres you should wash roots and leaves, repot in chemical free soils and wait at least a year for all pesticides and fertilisers absorbed by leaves to grow out? Or have you managed to get them from safe sources?
My plants are all from a reptile friendly company, no pesticides/fertilisers are used luckily! :)
 
Joined
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Its looks great. I don't mind the coir so never see that as a problem.
What I do see though is the puck type temp/humidity gauge you are using. Those are junk and not accurate. Get a digital one from any hardware store or store that sells thermometers other than for baking.
Also the probes should be tortoise height. They look to bs hanging a bit high.
Otherwise it looks great.
The “puck type” (had no idea that’s what they were called so I’m assuming you mean the Komodo circle gauges stuck to the wall?) Those were gifted to me by a friend, rather than throw them away I just placed both of them either end in addition to the more expensive ones - I don’t rely on them solely, I have four separate joint thermometers/hygrometers in each corner of the enclosure from a hardware store, in addition to the probes you can see hanging :)

The probes you see on the picture are higher purely because I have the four mentioned above thermometers on the ground, so rather than have 6 (there’s two probes) thermometer readings I thought I’d have them higher for a reading of the ambient air temperate if that makes sense? but I will move them down as suggested for the sake of accuracy! Thanks for the tip :)
 

wellington

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The “puck type” (had no idea that’s what they were called so I’m assuming you mean the Komodo circle gauges stuck to the wall?) Those were gifted to me by a friend, rather than throw them away I just placed both of them either end in addition to the more expensive ones - I don’t rely on them solely, I have four separate joint thermometers/hygrometers in each corner of the enclosure from a hardware store, in addition to the probes you can see hanging :)

The probes you see on the picture are higher purely because I have the four mentioned above thermometers on the ground, so rather than have 6 (there’s two probes) thermometer readings I thought I’d have them higher for a reading of the ambient air temperate if that makes sense? but I will move them down as suggested for the sake of accuracy! Thanks for the tip :)
Perfect. But don't move them down as long as you have the others at tort level unless they are reading temps to run a heater or heat light. Then they should lowered. . It all totally makes sense.
 

Lyn W

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My plants are all from a reptile friendly company, no pesticides/fertilisers are used luckily! :)
Ah ! Was it you who posted the Bioactive Herps link?
Apologies for forgetting if it was.

I emailed them last week with a query but they've not replied.
 
Joined
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Ah ! Was it you who posted the Bioactive Herps link?
Apologies for forgetting if it was.

I emailed them last week with a query but they've not replied.
Ah yes it was! No worries. I forgot I'd even posted about it to be honest!

Have you tried their FAQ? They answer alot of common questions through there also.
 

Lyn W

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Ah yes it was! No worries. I forgot I'd even posted about it to be honest!

Have you tried their FAQ? They answer alot of common questions through there also.
I've ordered some Opuntia pads from them so hopefully they'll arrive in the next day or so and my tort will like them. I'm hoping I can start growing my own from some of them. I think you just have to put the pad in the right soil/mix for it to root - we'll see.
If this order is OK I'll get my nephew to collect my next and send it on - the postage and vat will be cheaper.
 

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