New here! Rate my setup!

[cdibarra99]

Hi everyone! My name is Christian, and I am a happy dad to my new sulcata named bowser (about a year old).

I have so many questions about the tank and feeding so here goes:

Currently I have a 20 gallon tank full of coco coir, I have some repti-bark coming in soon so I can mix 50/50 repti-bark and coco coir.

The temperatures I have are:
Hot side: 85-100 F and 40% humidity
Cool side: 75-80 F and 70+ humidity

I’ve heard that it’s okay for their tanks to get below 75 but between 70-75 because that imitates like dessert temps. Is this true?

As for feeding, I’ve heard many many different things as to what I’m supposed to feed bowser, but I still have no definitive answer. I use the repti-cal calcium with D3 sprinkled every 2 or 3 days.

So far I have been feeding romaine lettuce with some zoo-med grassland tortoise food sprinkled on top of the leafs and every now and then I’ll sprinkle some flower food.
I also have a mango tree, and a prickled pear cactus. Should I be feeding it more of that instead of romaine lettuce? I want to go and buy a hibiscus flower plant but what do you guys think?

I also try to take bowser out everyday for an hour and let him roam around and munch on some weeds so I know it eats a bit off that.

Nice to meet you all and I’m excited to hear your responses!

 

[wellington]

The disc on the glass, if that's a thermometer, it needs to be at tortoise level. If it's not a digital one, then replace it with digital. The other kind, is not accurate
Also be sure to keep the humidity up to 80% all the time and soak daily. He has already got pyramiding started, you need to get it too stop.
What are you using for a basking area, type of bulb? If it's a mercury vapor bulb stop using it, it will cause pyramiding no matter how high the humidity is.
Be sure he has food all day long to graze on as he pleases. Otherwise I think it looks good. Won't last long, maybe a year or two, so plan for enlarging it or a new one.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

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

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome, no lower than 80° anywhere in the enclosure. Hibiscus, cactus are great. Romaine is ok in a pince, also no fruit at all. Grazing in your unfertalized or other grasses. Should be 80%of his diet. Keep store bought greens to a minimum. You will have to keep your mangos picked up. If he eats one now and then, that's ok.( meaning once or twice in 2 or 3 months. The sugar in fruit will burn up his kidneys. If you are getting Bowser outside for 3 hrs a week. Get the calcium with no D3. The D3 is for torts that don't get enough UVB.
When you put the coco coir in. Pour water, don't spray. Take a handful of the coir and squeeze. If very few drops of water comes out and when you open your hand. It should stay in one clump without failing apart. Pack the coir down to about 2 or 3 inches. Then put 2 inches of reptibark on top. Soak your reptibark in a bucket for awhile.
Here is the type of thermostat/hydrometer Wellington is talking about. Get at least two and place in different areas. If your aquarium doesn't have a solid top. Put tin foil on top to help hold in heat and humidity. 80% humidity and no lower than 80° is a must. Anything lower than 80° with that much humidity. Could cause a respiratory infection. Also get a infrared temp gun, you can get temps instantly anywhere in your enclosure.
Search for outdoor enclosures here on the forum. Tom has pretty much figured out a good enclosure. You will need it soon. Bowser is going to grow like a weed. When outside with Bowser, stay near him. Critters from the sky and ground will be looking. Read what ZEROPILOT text you and come back with questions.

 

[Ray--Opo]

Also this seed was recommended to me.
You can make a plot or plant in trays or pots.

Peaceful Valley Premium Horse Irrigated Pasture Mix

Developed for working horses, mares, and foals. Ryegrass, Orchardgrass, Clover, and Hay & Graze Alfalfa.

www.groworganic.com

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone! My name is Christian, and I am a happy dad to my new sulcata named bowser (about a year old).

I have so many questions about the tank and feeding so here goes:

Currently I have a 20 gallon tank full of coco coir, I have some repti-bark coming in soon so I can mix 50/50 repti-bark and coco coir.

The temperatures I have are:
Hot side: 85-100 F and 40% humidity
Cool side: 75-80 F and 70+ humidity

I’ve heard that it’s okay for their tanks to get below 75 but between 70-75 because that imitates like dessert temps. Is this true?

As for feeding, I’ve heard many many different things as to what I’m supposed to feed bowser, but I still have no definitive answer. I use the repti-cal calcium with D3 sprinkled every 2 or 3 days.

So far I have been feeding romaine lettuce with some zoo-med grassland tortoise food sprinkled on top of the leafs and every now and then I’ll sprinkle some flower food.
I also have a mango tree, and a prickled pear cactus. Should I be feeding it more of that instead of romaine lettuce? I want to go and buy a hibiscus flower plant but what do you guys think?

I also try to take bowser out everyday for an hour and let him roam around and munch on some weeds so I know it eats a bit off that.

Nice to meet you all and I’m excited to hear your responses!

Hello and welcome Christian. Looks like you found all the usual old wrong info that most people find. We will help get you on the right track. All of the following and much more can be found in the thread that ZEROPILOT linked for you, but I'll summarize it here too.
1. 20 gallon tanks are too small for a tiny brand new hatching. WAY too small for a one year old.
2. No need to mix substrates, but you can if you want to. Orchid bark is best (aka: Repti-bark). Coir is safe, but I find it too messy for sulcata.
3. Humidity should be over 80% every where all the time.
4. The temperature should not drop below 80 any where any time.
5. These are NOT desert animals. They come from forest edges and grassland areas.
6. Feed lots of different items. Mostly grasses, weeds, leaves, and flowers. The supplements you are adding are great. Yes on the cactus.
7. Never let him free roam in the yard. You will lose him. Make a safe enclosure for this.

Read that thread!

 

[cdibarra99]

The disc on the glass, if that's a thermometer, it needs to be at tortoise level. If it's not a digital one, then replace it with digital. The other kind, is not accurate
Also be sure to keep the humidity up to 80% all the time and soak daily. He has already got pyramiding started, you need to get it too stop.
What are you using for a basking area, type of bulb? If it's a mercury vapor bulb stop using it, it will cause pyramiding no matter how high the humidity is.
Be sure he has food all day long to graze on as he pleases. Otherwise I think it looks good. Won't last long, maybe a year or two, so plan for enlarging it or a new one.

Hi Ray,
So this tank was a hand me down from my brothers girlfriend and she had that temp disk already set on there, but when I was putting in the coco coir, I didn’t set up the thermometers. I actually have 3 digital ones, one inside the hide, one outside the hottest spit and one just outside the hide.

The disc on the glass, if that's a thermometer, it needs to be at tortoise level. If it's not a digital one, then replace it with digital. The other kind, is not accurate
Also be sure to keep the humidity up to 80% all the time and soak daily. He has already got pyramiding started, you need to get it too stop.
What are you using for a basking area, type of bulb? If it's a mercury vapor bulb stop using it, it will cause pyramiding no matter how high the humidity is.
Be sure he has food all day long to graze on as he pleases. Otherwise I think it looks good. Won't last long, maybe a year or two, so plan for enlarging it or a new one.

as for the basking area, I am using a ceramic heat emitter (150 W) and a heat bulb (80 W). Should the ceramic heat emitter be on 24/7 to keep the temperature always above 80 ?

 

[wellington]

A flood bulb would be much better then the che and bulb. The flood is not as intense on the shell as a che and heat bulb. The flood, floods over a bigger area, not making such a direct heat intensity in one spot. I would change the basking to just the flood bulb and the che can be used when added heat is needed to keep temps 80-85

 

[cdibarra99]

Hello and welcome Christian. Looks like you found all the usual old wrong info that most people find. We will help get you on the right track. All of the following and much more can be found in the thread that ZEROPILOT linked for you, but I'll summarize it here too.
1. 20 gallon tanks are too small for a tiny brand new hatching. WAY too small for a one year old.
2. No need to mix substrates, but you can if you want to. Orchid bark is best (aka: Repti-bark). Coir is safe, but I find it too messy for sulcata.
3. Humidity should be over 80% every where all the time.
4. The temperature should not drop below 80 any where any time.
5. These are NOT desert animals. They come from forest edges and grassland areas.
6. Feed lots of different items. Mostly grasses, weeds, leaves, and flowers. The supplements you are adding are great. Yes on the cactus.
7. Never let him free roam in the yard. You will lose him. Make a safe enclosure for this.

Read that thread!

Hi tom,
I read your extensive write up for the new people joining this forum and I had a few questions about how my lamps should be set up. At the moment I have two lamps (CHE and basking bulb) right next to each other on one side of the tank.

NIGHT TEMPS: range from 93-97 F and the humidity is around 50-58% degrees In the open space. In the hide, the temps are ranging from 80-83 F and humidity is from 79-82%.

DAY TEMPS: range from 95-105 F with humidity between 40-50% in the open space. In the hide, temps are ranging from 82-86 F with humidity still around the same, 79-82%.

My questions are:

1. Should I move the CHE more towards the middle to keep a more even temperature so at night it stays a bit warmer?

2. Should I raise the level of the CHE lamp (stays on all the time) so that it lowers the temp and raises the humidity a bit? (not sure if that will help)

3. I know that the humidity should be at least 80% throughout the whole tank at all times but I am having some trouble keeping the warmer side at that level seeing as I have both lamps there. Will moving the CHE lamp improve the humidity throughout the whole tank? Or is it okay for the humidity on the hotter side to be low like that? I soak Bowser every day so it isn't like he is dehydrated AND I spray the substrate every day as well...sometimes twice because I see the drop in humidity.

Side note:
I did cover the top with tin foil and that did help with the humidity already, so what else can I do? Should I try and makeshift a different lid so that there is minimal loss in humidity/temperature?

Below are some images of my setup and what I mean by the lamps being right next to each other.

Thank you!

 

[Tom]

Hi tom,
I read your extensive write up for the new people joining this forum and I had a few questions about how my lamps should be set up. At the moment I have two lamps (CHE and basking bulb) right next to each other on one side of the tank.

NIGHT TEMPS: range from 93-97 F and the humidity is around 50-58% degrees In the open space. In the hide, the temps are ranging from 80-83 F and humidity is from 79-82%.

DAY TEMPS: range from 95-105 F with humidity between 40-50% in the open space. In the hide, temps are ranging from 82-86 F with humidity still around the same, 79-82%.

My questions are:

1. Should I move the CHE more towards the middle to keep a more even temperature so at night it stays a bit warmer?

2. Should I raise the level of the CHE lamp (stays on all the time) so that it lowers the temp and raises the humidity a bit? (not sure if that will help)

3. I know that the humidity should be at least 80% throughout the whole tank at all times but I am having some trouble keeping the warmer side at that level seeing as I have both lamps there. Will moving the CHE lamp improve the humidity throughout the whole tank? Or is it okay for the humidity on the hotter side to be low like that? I soak Bowser every day so it isn't like he is dehydrated AND I spray the substrate every day as well...sometimes twice because I see the drop in humidity.

Side note:
I did cover the top with tin foil and that did help with the humidity already, so what else can I do? Should I try and makeshift a different lid so that there is minimal loss in humidity/temperature?

Below are some images of my setup and what I mean by the lamps being right next to each other.

Thank you!

Here are the answers to all three of your questions. Don't get too upset. If no one tells you what is wrong, you can't fix it.

1. That tank cannot work. Its far too small and the open top lets all the heat and humidity out. Further, the heating and lighting on top like that creates a chimney effect that draws all the heat and humidity up and into the room. You need a large closed chamber with the heating and lighting inside. Your enclosure needs to be at least 3-4 times that size. I know this sucks to hear, but it simply isn't going to work any other way.
2. The CHE should be over the middle and it needs to be controlled by a thermostat. 93-97 is way too hot at night. It needs to drop to 80 all over at night. 90-93 is okay for daytime ambient, but the enclosure needs to cool to 80ish at night.
3. Humidity needs to be 80% or higher all over all the time. You can't duo that with an open top and the lights outside the tank. Spraying the substrate does very little. You need to dampen the substrate by pouring water into it. How much water and how often varies tremendously and you must go by feel. Again, this will never work in a small tank with an open top and the heating and lighting outside. Its just physics.

 

[cdibarra99]

Here are the answers to all three of your questions. Don't get too upset. If no one tells you what is wrong, you can't fix it.

1. That tank cannot work. Its far too small and the open top lets all the heat and humidity out. Further, the heating and lighting on top like that creates a chimney effect that draws all the heat and humidity up and into the room. You need a large closed chamber with the heating and lighting inside. Your enclosure needs to be at least 3-4 times that size. I know this sucks to hear, but it simply isn't going to work any other way.
2. The CHE should be over the middle and it needs to be controlled by a thermostat. 93-97 is way too hot at night. It needs to drop to 80 all over at night. 90-93 is okay for daytime ambient, but the enclosure needs to cool to 80ish at night.
3. Humidity needs to be 80% or higher all over all the time. You can't duo that with an open top and the lights outside the tank. Spraying the substrate does very little. You need to dampen the substrate by pouring water into it. How much water and how often varies tremendously and you must go by feel. Again, this will never work in a small tank with an open top and the heating and lighting outside. Its just physics.

Hi tom, I will not take offense to you helping me, I just want what is best for bowser.
First off, I realized that what I have is not a 20 gallon, but rather a 40 gallon. I was told it was a 20 gallon and just went with it. It never occurred to me to take the measurements and really find out, but when I did, I found that it is in fact in a 40 gallon tank (obviously will need to be bigger really soon.

1. I was wondering if it is still too early to move him outside? Would it be possible to move bowser outside with a hide that has controlled temp, humidity, and a screen cover? Or is there a certain point (like weight or length or age) that I have to wait until?

2. I was able to move the CHE over to the middle of the tank. I ordered a thermostat that Is now keeping the tank between 80-85 during night time and 90-95 during the day.

3. I was able to make a quick fix on the lid (for now) to keep the humidity and heat! I covered the whole entire lid with aluminum foil, and cut a whole directly under the lamps. Unfortunately I am not able to place the lamps inside the tank (i tried) because the lid slides off, it does not lift off...I tried ...I know the foil will not be that great, so I am going to go over to my nearest hardware store and buy a piece of plexiglass and cut the diameters needed to place it over the tank (what do you think about that Idea?). Also I did begin pouring water into the substrate and that has helped tremendously.

I did have a question however, will the coco coir get moldy by the high humidity and the amount of water?

As of right now (I think, let me know If I am missing anything else):
- The temp is good, daytime and night.
- The size is bigger than I thought (40 gal not a 20 gal).
- Humidity is within the 80-90% at all times now (covering the open lid with foil really helped, but will try and cover with plexiglass soon) and I am pouring water, no longer spraying.

Thank you so much!

 

[Tom]

Hi tom, I will not take offense to you helping me, I just want what is best for bowser.
First off, I realized that what I have is not a 20 gallon, but rather a 40 gallon. I was told it was a 20 gallon and just went with it. It never occurred to me to take the measurements and really find out, but when I did, I found that it is in fact in a 40 gallon tank (obviously will need to be bigger really soon.

1. I was wondering if it is still too early to move him outside? Would it be possible to move bowser outside with a hide that has controlled temp, humidity, and a screen cover? Or is there a certain point (like weight or length or age) that I have to wait until?

2. I was able to move the CHE over to the middle of the tank. I ordered a thermostat that Is now keeping the tank between 80-85 during night time and 90-95 during the day.

3. I was able to make a quick fix on the lid (for now) to keep the humidity and heat! I covered the whole entire lid with aluminum foil, and cut a whole directly under the lamps. Unfortunately I am not able to place the lamps inside the tank (i tried) because the lid slides off, it does not lift off...I tried ...I know the foil will not be that great, so I am going to go over to my nearest hardware store and buy a piece of plexiglass and cut the diameters needed to place it over the tank (what do you think about that Idea?). Also I did begin pouring water into the substrate and that has helped tremendously.

I did have a question however, will the coco coir get moldy by the high humidity and the amount of water?

As of right now (I think, let me know If I am missing anything else):
- The temp is good, daytime and night.
- The size is bigger than I thought (40 gal not a 20 gal).
- Humidity is within the 80-90% at all times now (covering the open lid with foil really helped, but will try and cover with plexiglass soon) and I am pouring water, no longer spraying.

Thank you so much!

1. I don't like to move them outside full time until they are around 10 inches.
2. The CHE should be set at 80. The daytime basking lamp should warm the ambient up during the day time.
3. Plexiglass won't work any better than the foil, and the foil is less of a fire hazard. Just save your money to bu the right type of enclosure instead.

 

[cdibarra99]

1. I don't like to move them outside full time until they are around 10 inches.
2. The CHE should be set at 80. The daytime basking lamp should warm the ambient up during the day time.
3. Plexiglass won't work any better than the foil, and the foil is less of a fire hazard. Just save your money to bu the right type of enclosure instead.

1. sounds good, I will not move outside till then.
2. I have it set to 80 degrees so I am all good on that aspect.
3. Perfect, sounds good, I will definitely do that.

Do I have to worry about the coco coir getting moldy or growing any fungi any time soon? I am assuming I just have to change it accordingly (every 3-4 months or so).

 

[Tom]

Do I have to worry about the coco coir getting moldy or growing any fungi any time soon? I am assuming I just have to change it accordingly (every 3-4 months or so).

If you soak daily, as you should, the tortoise will poop and pee in the soak water. This, in combination with daily spot cleaning of leftover food, should keep your substrate good to go for as the tortoise is still small enough to live in this enclosure.

You will probably find the coir too messy. Orchid bark works much better for sulcata babies. Hand pack the coir firmly to reduce the mess.