Opinions and advice

Violanna

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9FBD4366-F6BE-4F40-B20A-089ABC221C74.jpeg 1FAA14C3-B35C-4D45-A256-216CFCAF7C65.jpeg Well our indoor enclosure is finished! It’s very basic but only meant to be used until Spring when we can start our outdoor enclosure. I’d love some input or ideas. Also any recommendations for more I can add. The very front empty space will have a slate feeding stone for my Children to be able to watch at feeding time. The lamp has a UVB bulb, the room it’s in has 6 bay windows 3 of which are always uncovered so it will get tons of natural UV! The lid is due to the fact I have small children and we don’t want them treating the tortoise as a toy.

P.s please no rude comments on the crude build. My almost 4yo built this with his Dad for his birthday present he doesn’t know he is getting.
 

Sterant

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What a great project for your son. First thing I noted was your comment about natural UVB coming through your windows. Unfortunately your tortoise won't get any UVB - it is completely blocked by glass, so your windows will not allow any UVB through.

If you are planning to set a UVB lamp on top of that screen I see in the top, that will also block most of the UVB. You should put the UVB fixture inside the enclosure so there is nothing between the bulb and the tortoise other than air!

If the lamp you noted is the black fixture inside the enclosure, I wouldn't use that for a UVB bulb. I am guessing you got one of those compact fluorescent spiral bulbs? Skip that and install a straight fluorescent tube fixture in the enclosure. ZooMed and Arcadia make good bulbs.

You will have to set the height of the fixture correctly so the tortoise is getting a useful amount of UVB. Let me know what type of bulb you get and I can provide some height estimates.

What species are you keeping in there? I might suggest you block off the screen totally to retain heat and humidity inside.
 
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Violanna

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What a great project for your son. First thing I noted was your comment about natural UVB coming through your windows. Unfortunately your tortoise won't get any UVB - it is completely blocked by glass, so your windows will not allow any UVB through.

If you are planning to set a UVB lamp on top of that screen I see in the top, that will also block most of the UVB. You should put the UVB fixture inside the enclosure so there is nothing between the bulb and the tortoise other than air!

If the lamp you noted is the black fixture inside the enclosure, I wouldn't use that for a UVB bulb. I am guessing you got one of those compact fluorescent spiral bulbs? Skip that and install a straight fluorescent tube fixture in the enclosure. ZooMed and Arcadia make good bulbs.

You will have to set the height of the fixture correctly so the tortoise is getting a useful amount of UVB. Let me know what type of bulb you get and I can provide some height estimates.

What species are you keeping in there? I might suggest you block off the screen totally to retain heat and humidity inside.
Sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant UVA from the window not UVB, that’s what the heat lamp is for. It’s not a spiral bulb. It’s a 150w UVB which I found recommended on a video I’d watched. As for the height we are a little limited in height as my kids could reach it. The side with the grate is meant to be the cool side, I am however planning to add a tube light fixture in the back after Christmas when we have more funds
 

Minority2

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Sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant UVA from the window not UVB, that’s what the heat lamp is for. It’s not a spiral bulb. It’s a 150w UVB which I found recommended on a video I’d watched. As for the height we are a little limited in height as my kids could reach it. The side with the grate is meant to be the cool side, I am however planning to add a tube light fixture in the back after Christmas when we have more funds

It is my understanding that all light bulbs give off varied amounts of UV(A). Some such as florescent bulbs will contain more than others. Your windows don't really play a factor here since your enclosure is mostly covered.

1. Is the 150 watt UV(B) heat lamp a mercury vapor bulb? Please be specific. Links and picture(s) will be helpful.

A 150 watt bulb, especially a mercury vapor bulb would run very hot, even in an open enclosure. Your inability to adjust the height on your lamp fixture will also be problematic. Some members in this forum, myself included, do not recommend mercury vapor bulbs for young tortoises. Some young tortoises cannot handle the intense brightness and heat it produces. The drying effect of these bulbs are also much stronger than regular incandescent flood bulbs. Some members also claim that they can cause pyramiding even in well hydrated tortoises that are housed in humid conditions.

I suggest running a regular incandescent flood bulb as a basking fixture and a separate linear florescent UV(B) reptile rated bulb.

The top and side mesh gratings will not allow this enclosure to keep stable mid to high humidity levels. 65-70% is what the care sheet for Greek tortoises recommends. 70-80% is what I've used and would recommend for Mediterranean species of tortoises.

A closed chamber style enclosure that is properly sealed will use less wattage and retain more heat for longer periods of time. Converting your current enclosure to a fully closed chamber will give you better control of over your conditions and to also save more time from having to do daily routine maintenance that can otherwise be avoided with closed chamber setups.

Make sure your temperature and humidity levels are correct as described in the care sheet which was already linked to you in a previous thread. An infrared temperature gun and digital thermometer hygrometer reader with probe is highly recommended over the cheaper pet branded mini analog/digital gauges.
 

Tom

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What species is this for? Some need night heat and some need a drop in night temps.

The soil you've used has perlite in it. This is very dangerous and it can kill your tortoise. Its a total pain in the butt, but you need to remove that soil before the tortoise sets foot in their. This is not just guessing. I've paid for necropsy on dead tortoises whose intestinal tract was lined with perlite.

I wouldn't use any bought-in-a-bag soil because you can't know what is in it. Also, sand is a no go. Its been used for decades, and many people still use and recommend it. Its also been killing tortoises through impaction for decades. Best to use something much safer like orchid bark, cypress mulch or coco coir.

The plants and flowers look nice, but if those came from a store and you didn't grow them yourself, they are grown with systemic pesticides that are taken up into the plant's tissues and cannot be removed.

Many of us used to use the mercury vapor bulbs like the one you've got. Here is the problem with using them for tortoises: It severely dries out the carapace due to the type of light and heat it emits. This causes pyramiding. Also, we had a vet member here that started testing them with a UV meter and at least some of them stop producing any UV after only 3 months. There are better bulbs to use for heat and UV.

The OSB you guys built with is likely to disintegrate and rot with the damp substrate. I highly recommend you put something down to protect the floor under it, and be prepared to repair or replace the wood.

Nobody likes hearing this sort of bummer info, but it would be WAYYYYYY more of a bummer if you had to learn these things the hard way down the road at the expense of the tortoise. I hope that after your initial shock of reading all this, that you'll come back an re-read it again and make the necessary changes. Questions and conversation are welcome, and we are here to help! :)
 

wellington

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Sorry I wasn’t clear, I meant UVA from the window not UVB, that’s what the heat lamp is for. It’s not a spiral bulb. It’s a 150w UVB which I found recommended on a video I’d watched. As for the height we are a little limited in height as my kids could reach it. The side with the grate is meant to be the cool side, I am however planning to add a tube light fixture in the back after Christmas when we have more funds
Actually you were very clear on the UV coming from window not the UVB. Just be careful that the sun does not heat up the enclosure. I think everyone else has all other things covered
 

Yvonne G

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If memory serves, the enclosure is for a greek tortoise.
 

Violanna

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Thanks everyone. I knew my lighting wasn’t going to be sufficient for long. We just have to make sure we still have Christmas funds for 3 kids. It has been a ton of fun learning and preparing for this tortoise. I made a mistake we Didn’t get the 150w bulb, that was just just what I told my husband to get. He got a 13w zoomed cool burning UVB and plans to add another lamp to the bar for heating.

Luckily this enclosure only needs to last us 4-5months maximum. Next years cold season we plan to build an actual raised tortoise table.
 

Violanna

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As for the type of tortoise yes the store says it’s a Greek, but I don’t trust a single thing they say. I’m a Veterinary student so I know better. I’m going to post pictures when we get it this weekend to have sub species and gender identified.
 

Tom

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I made a mistake we Didn’t get the 150w bulb, that was just just what I told my husband to get. He got a 13w zoomed cool burning UVB

I wouldn't use that bulb. Some of them burn tortoise eyes, and they are not an effective UV source anyway. Substantial risk with no benefit.

You can use a regular flood bulb form the hardware store for basking. I use 65 watt ones and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. For UV over the winter, the best way to go in your enclosure will be one of these:
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

You can also use one of these, but it will need to be mounted within 10-12" of the tortoise. You'll also need a fixture from Home Depot or Lowes:
https://www.lllreptile.com/products/4193-zoo-med-18-repti-sun-100-fluorescent-bulb


The main safety points are removing that soil and the plants. All else looks good, and a greek shouldn't need any night heat.


One more thing that occurred to me: You can get a much healthier tortoise directly from a breeder and for a lot less money than buying a pet store tortoise of unknown origins and history. The pet store thing often ends badly.
 

Violanna

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Is there anyone really knowledgeable I can PM so I don’t have to keep opening a billion threads? Being a Veterinary student with a passion for small/exotic animals I wanna know every. Even the strange hypothetical.
 

Tom

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Take your pick. Lots of knowledgeable experienced keepers on this site. Maybe pick someone who words things in a way you find agreeable. Some people like my direct approach and some people prefer the eloquence of Yvonne's answers. You can choose from 1000s of members.
 
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