Pépe's new indoor home. Got a few questions...

[PEEEETE]

Hey all! I just got my baby Sully, Pépe, a new indoor home, which is at least twice as big as his old one, and hopefully much bette for him. After I realize how cheap it really was, I am kicking myself for not doing it earlier.

It's a shallow cement mixing tub, substrate is Coconut fiber, plants are petunias, a couple succulents, and Vinca flowers. The hide is a tupperware that I cut up, and in the pictures, I'm using an old NES game to cover the side from light (I will be replacing that ghetto-nes ASAP) Heat sources are his basking lamp in front of the hide, and right in front of the hide is a 100 watt ceramic bulb, I also have a small stick-on wall heating pad from the old tank underneath the tub directly below his hide. I don't think it's doing a TON of heating, but any bit helps.... You'll also see a UVB lamp over the by the flowers, I still need to make a small bracket to kick that up a bit, so the light is facing outward more. On to the pictures

Tortoise-view

This is a snapshot from my Droid App for my webcam that is on his home 24/7

OK, my questions are as follows... I was worried that it wasn't warm enough in his hide last night, and this morning had those worries confirmed when I found him sleeping just outside his hide, right below the Ceramic bulb. I feel like the Ceramic heater loses so much of the heat with that basket around it, instead of a metal shield. How can I get more heat into his hide for sleeping time? Also, Is there any way to make that Ceramic heat bulb direct the heat more efficiently?

The other question I have is with the plants. I know the Petunias and Succulents are OK for him, but what about the Vincas? I bought them accidentally, thinking they were one that was on the list, only to bring them home and see the label was different than the shelf label at Lowe's. Are these OK for him? He seems to have no interest in eating any of the flowers, but still...

Also, can I just pull the plants (soil base and all) out and put them into my habitat, or do I need to get rid of the soil base?


Thanks guys! Any other tips, changes, or suggestions would be great.

 

[Yvonne G]

Well, heat rises, and with the CHE, the heat is coming out of the flat part. So you need to point it straight down and move it closer to the floor of the habitat. Also, you can partially cover the habitat around the CHE. It doesn't look so hot, but when I have indoor habitats during the winter, I fold a couple sheets of aluminum foil together to make one big sheet and put it over the end of the habitat that has the CHE in it...right over the top of the CHE, and crimp it around the edge of the habitat.

 

[lynnedit]

I think Vinca is on the list of plants not to feed, but the other look great!
You could add a house plant: a Spider plant or Pothos vine as they like to hide under these too.
Some do recommend washing off the soil and replanting in organic potting soil. However, it also works to keep them in the pot and just submerge the pot into the substrate.
Lamp stands are great for light fixtures to allow them to hang straight down:
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=83&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=20

You can find them on Amazon or at most pet stores.

 

[PEEEETE]

Thanks guys, I'll be taking the Vinca out ASAP, and maybe replacing them with more succlents. Only 1 day in, and Pépe has been getting entangled in the tufts of flowers! All in all though, I think he likes the new setup. After letting the CHE sit on all day, the inside of his hide is about 90 degrees, so It should be just fine over night. He loves it in that hide. He'll sit just inside the entrance staring out at me as I look in.

 

[Jacqui]

Sorry about the vinca, it sure did look pretty with them in there. You did a nice job.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Wow, great, great job!!

 

[PEEEETE]

No worries on the Vinca, My g/f just took them and potted them. So now we have nice looking flowers in our room. He was eating the petunias today, so I'm glad I got the Vincas out of there when I did. I'm really glad he's happy in his new home =]

 

[lynnedit]

That is satisfying, isn't it?
This is a good time of year to get deals on annuals, so you could get some pansies, allyssum. They won't thrive inside (altho the light will help), but will probably get eaten anyway!
During winter you could supplement with some safe house plants.
Nice job!