Pancake Housing Questions

[Brehdy]

I am getting my cage together and am looking forward to getting a couple pancake tortoises pretty quickly. I have a few questions though, that have remained unanswered as I've been reading online.

- What is the best ambient air temp for an indoor enclosure, both during the day and at night? I've heard a basking spot of 95+ is good for the day.

- What other substrates are good beyond coconut fibre and potting soil? I'm looking for something natural looking, but that will also be safe.

- How long do pancakes live, and how long do they reproduce? I saw one place say they only live 20-30 years which seems short for a tortoise.

Thanks!

 

[CourtneyG]

I am getting my cage together and am looking forward to getting a couple pancake tortoises pretty quickly. I have a few questions though, that have remained unanswered as I've been reading online.

- What is the best ambient air temp for an indoor enclosure, both during the day and at night? I've heard a basking spot of 95+ is good for the day.

- What other substrates are good beyond coconut fibre and potting soil? I'm looking for something natural looking, but that will also be safe.

- How long do pancakes live, and how long do they reproduce? I saw one place say they only live 20-30 years which seems short for a tortoise.

Thanks!

My ambient is around 70F and getting warmer the closer it approaches their lights.

Substrate I use a mix of soil, sand and coconut coir. But it's mostly slate stone with a few patches of substrate showing, Which is more for the females to lay in, so it's not that close to their food, which sits in a bowl on top of stone.

Not sure on their reproductive time span, reptiles sorta just keep going till they don't anymore, so the time varies from individual to individual, I have a Leopard gecko that finally stopped laying eggs at 25 years of age, so I can expect most keep going till they are close to the end of their life span. Lifespan is more 30 to 40, 20 might be believed to be the correct average age, I just think that is more from improper husbandry and little knowledge.

I would attach pics of my setup, but this is a new phone and I lost them with the transfer, I can post later when I get home though.