new Tortoise enclosure

[eajspider]

View attachment 12172Hi

We wanted some advice if this looks ok for a tortoise table set up , Omar who is 5 had a baby tortoise given to him by a friend and who very strangely died the next day is wanting to get the home ready before we buy a new healthy tortoise.

The lamp arrived from the UK and Omar is so excited we have been trying out different positions for the lamp to create a basking spot and have had to move the lamp much lower then the recommend 30cm to create a warm spot as the room has air conditioning as is chilly about 22 degrees will it be too cold at night for the tortoise with the lamp turned of.

I have attached a picture of out table and we would be happy to hear any suggestions to make it better or any parts that look wrong . we are growing some weeds so he will have a good diet and we have plenty of grass growing all year round in the garden. We plan to add some rocks around the water bowl and also plan to put some rocks in so its not so deep.

Thanks Emma and Omar

 

[cherylim]

That looks like a really good set-up, but the light shouldn't be at an angle. It should be aiming straight down to have the effect it needs to have, which should help with your temperatures too.

 

[eajspider]

Thanks I have moved the light and clamped it onto the back wall of the enclosure and it is now pointing straight now and the temperature under it is about 28 degrees , why do they say the lamp should be 30cm from the tortoise as i can't get any heat that way ? Would it be possible to dig up a square of grass and put it in the enclosure to grow or would it die ?
Emma

 

[cherylim]

What wattage is your light? Mine's just over 30cm from Emrys' enclosure and I get the temperatures I need with a 100W bulb.

Is there a possibility it's the location? A draught coming through the doors that affects it?

Also: Live plants should grow in the enclosure, but your tortoise might put a stop to it quickly. I grow salad leaves in Emrys' enclosure, and they're surviving quite well, but he demolishes plants pretty quickly!

 

[blafiriravt]

Maybe you could invest in another ceramic lamp as well, with a heat bulb for the ambient temps. A nice CHE (ceramic heat emitter) should do the trick at around 100W. As long as that light is pointing straight down, and the water dish fixed so it's not so deep, it looks great!

 

[laramie]

Hello Emma and Omar,
Welcome to TFO. The enclosure looks great!

 

[tyler0912]

That looks good!
I agree with the above posts....
BTW WELCOME !

 

[eajspider]

We live in a very hot country Saudi Arabia so there is not a draught from the door but the AC is on 24/7 and all the rooms in the house are chilly because of this. The bulb is a D3 UV Basking lamp and it is 100 watts , I like the idea of getting the other lamp the ceramic one but not sure i could get one till christmas when back in Uk. I hope for now this one will work and creating some heat.
All we need now is a tortoise and finding one here is not that easy saw 3 baby tortoises today in pet shop and they were in such bad condition poor things one would not even put its head or legs out of its shell and its mouth was constantly open, the other had a badly cracked shell and all had dry scaly legs and poor shells. I told the man in the shop to put a small lid of water in for them and when i looked after 30 minutes all three were siting in the water gladly having a long drink. I am going to go tomorrow and look somewhere else but is there anyway to tell if a tortoise has been taken from the wild as I am not sure here that most probably have .
Emma

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Thanks for all the warm welcomes everyone

 

[tyler0912]

Goodluck!

 

[lynnedit]

Tell Omar he has done a great job organizing the proper set up. I remember he made a list after the last tort unexpectedly died.
You may find that you need extra heat to get the basking area temp up. Since you can't get the CHE until you are back in the UK, you could consider just using a regular desk lamp with a 60w bulb for extra heat, to supplement the area until then.
I imagine the whole house is cooled to the same temp? Rather than being able to control individual rooms, and keep one a bit warmer?
Probably most of the tortoises are wild caught there, but many in the US are too, at least Horsfields. Too bad about the torts in the pet shop, I imagine it is hard to find a source, and one that is somewhat healthy, so you don't have to go through this again.

 

[Torty Mom]

Welcome to TFO! It's nice that the guy in the store listened to you about the water dish!

 

[eajspider]

View attachment 12340Thanks for all the messages and i will let Omar read the one about him tomorrow he will be happy.
He spent a long time also earning the things he needed for his tortoise by completing a weekly behavior chart and earning them if he got his target stars. First the lamp and then the seeds and finally the tortoises it helped his behavior improve and made him get everything perfect for the arrival of bubble and squeak who are lovely and seem happy in their enclosure, bit worried about there eating, Bubbles eats ok but squeak seems so quiet and doesn't want to eat but i am sure they will when settled a bit.
We read that its really dangerous to spray anything in the room as it can harm them , Omar said he must not make anymore wee's in his bed as the tortoises won't like the smell bless him so sweet.

I have managed to get temperature warm now the lamp is hanging down but the lamp is so bright to leave on for night time . The AC can actually be changed the bedrooms all have their own controls so i could warm the room a little by lowering the AC .

 

[Tom]

The height recommendation for the heat lamp is a good starting point, but you need to adjust the height of the fixture up or down from there to get the temps right. For most species a basking temp around 37C is about right. For night time, it does need to be dark. Most hardware stores sell "black" light bulbs that should work just fine for you, until you can get back to the UK and buy a Ceramic Heating Element.

You can also get more heat to the tortoises by removing the metal mesh on the underside of the fixture. Just tell Omar not to touch he hot lamp, the same way he could not touch the hot metal grating. And those clamps always fail eventually, so try to find a way to hang the fixture from above the enclosure or at least fasten the clamp part to the wood more securely. Maybe some bailing wire or some screws would work.

For food you might also try some greens from the store. Things like endive, collard greens, cilantro, and the various lettuces are good for them too, until all your weeds really get going. The grass will also be easier for them to eat if you chop it up for them with scissors.

Good luck.