New in town!

[Trexant]

Hello! First time tortoise keeper here… I’m in love already and want the best for my new tort!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated I feel that I read something different every time I research something. Attached a photo of my set-up and my Hermann baby (10 months old). I’m so anxious that I’m doing something wrong and I’ve even got a camera set up so I can monitor that he’s ok when I’m away from home haha.

Anyways, thank you all for everything I am certain this website will be a dream!

 

[Maro2Bear]

Hey there. Welcome. You will soon want to change out that substrate with those bits of perlite. Next, you will want to sink that water dish down level into the (new) substrate. You are making your tort crawl up & over to find water. Your tort should be lowering itself down into the water. Terracotta plant saucers work so much better than pet store “water” dishes.

 

[wellington]

If the substrate is sand remove it asap, it causes impaction.
The water dish needs to go asap it's a drowning hazard.
Humidity? Looks to dry to be getting humidity. Needs to be closed chamber with humidity around 80%. Orchid bark or coconut coir is preferred substrate and both holds humidity very well.

 

[Trexant]

Hey there. Welcome. You will soon want to change out that substrate with those bits of perlite. Next, you will want to sink that water dish down level into the (new) substrate. You are making your tort crawl up & over to find water. Your tort should be lowering itself down into the water. Terracotta plant saucers work so much better than pet store “water” dishes.

Evening! Thank you for the message.
Wow ok, I will certainly look in to changing the substrate… it’s so sad that this is the special tortoise substrate being sold in my local reptile house if that is the case! I’ll invest in a terracotta plant saucer tomorrow.

 

[Trexant]

If the substrate is sand remove it asap, it causes impaction.
The water dish needs to go asap it's a drowning hazard.
Humidity? Looks to dry to be getting humidity. Needs to be closed chamber with humidity around 80%. Orchid bark or coconut coir is preferred substrate and both holds humidity very well.

Hello, thank you. If I go tomorrow morning to buy orchid bark from my local garden store and completely swap this out for just orchid bark would that be a good thing to do? In terms of getting a spray bottle should I then mist the orchid bark daily to keep it humid?

 

[wellington]

Hello, thank you. If I go tomorrow morning to buy orchid bark from my local garden store and completely swap this out for just orchid bark would that be a good thing to do? In terms of getting a spray bottle should I then mist the orchid bark daily to keep it humid?

Yes that's what I would do. When you get the bark, soak it in warm water and then just pull it out and put it in the enclosure. Then you can spray/mist it down daily or every several days, before its completely dry, pour some more warm water over it.

 

[Trexant]

Yes that's what I would do. When you get the bark, soak it in warm water and then just pull it out and put it in the enclosure. Then you can spray/mist it down daily or every several days, before its completely dry, pour some more warm water over it.

Ok great. Much appreciated! Other than the dish and substrate is there anything else you would recommend?

 

[TammyJ]

Hi. You need to exchange that food dish for a flat piece of slate or thin tile with the rough side up so he also does not have to climb for his food.

 

[wellington]

A flatter food dish as TammyJ mentioned, I missed and some more plants will make him more comfy.
When s/he is a year or 2 older plan on at least a 4x8 foot minimum enclosure.

 

[TammyJ]

What are the temperatures and humidity levels now? I think the tortoise may be too dry. Can we see some more pictures of him? His shell in particular? Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome to the Forum!

 

[Trexant]

Hello. Update for today;

- Added new orchid bark substrate which I soaked in warm water prior to adding to the table
- Removed old water bowl and added terracotta dish very slightly filled
- Added two new plants

I attach photos here. I hope this will be a much healthier and safer space for my tort to live in. Thoughts?

Humidity has since gone up from 50% previously. I have ordered some new thermometers and a different hydrometer as these ones I have seem useless. I was looking for a temp gun today but no luck, Amazon it is.

 

[Trexant]

What are the temperatures and humidity levels now? I think the tortoise may be too dry. Can we see some more pictures of him? His shell in particular? Thanks!

Hi Tammy,
Temp gun arrived today! It’s 20.5 at one end and ranges from 29-40 at the hot end. Direct under the lamp was hitting 40 and surrounding was 30-35ish. I’ve got the lamp as far away as it can go with the clamp I have.

Humidity level is saying 65 on the hydrometer I currently use. Been spraying the new orchid bark to keep it damp. S/he has been enjoying burrowing down and sleeping a lot!

I got to witness my first white liquid while s/he was having a soak today, rather unexpected!

I truly hope s/he is settling in to their new home!

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. Looks like you got the typical bad pet shop advice and products. There is just so much bad info out there... The good news is that you have now found us and the correct care info.

You are already on your way to making things better. Here is the correct care info:

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

tortoiseforum.org

And here is a simplified breakdown of lighting and heating:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Your questions are welcome. We will not be insulted if you ask WHY. Why was that previous substrate no good? What's wrong with my all-in-one MVB? Why is an open table not so good for a baby? What is wrong with that ramped water bowl? I expect no one to just believe this conflicting info just because I said so. The more you ask, the more we all learn.

 

[TammyJ]

There you go!!!