Please Look At My New Tortoise House Set-Up; I need HELP!!

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Aristotle

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coreyc said:
You should cover part of the top with plexiglass to keep the humidity in is she eating the cypress or nibbling at it ? what are you feeding her ?

When I mixed in the cypress about a month ago, she went at it - this was no nibbling. I posted about it and received responses questioning whether she was getting enough calcium and Vit D - which she was (I sprinkle a light covering of Vit D and Calcium powder on her daily meal(s) [sometimes she eats twice]. She also has a cuttlebone that she uses daily. So I took the cautious route and removed the cypress. She seems happy with the coco coir, and I find it easy to spot clean each day.

As for her diet, I try to feed her a variety of organic veggies: lettuce (romaine, green leaf, red leaf, spring mix), collard greens, kale, shredded carrot (very sparingly). I tried yellow squash, mustard greens and dandelion greens, but she wouldn't eat them (maybe too spicy for a baby?). Outside of veggies once a week as a treat I have tried shreds of apple, tiny pieces of bananas, a tiny piece of mango, and some rose petals - she totally ignored them. I am going to buy some of that Manzumi (I may have spelled it wrong) after reading so much about it on TF, but PetSmart only has it for cats/dogs and I wasn't sure if that was okay for torts. Any diet advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Best,
Kristina
 

gmayor

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very nice like the other people said any tort would be lucky to live in that set up very well done.;)
 

Aristotle

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I don't mean to bombard you all with photos, but I just took this one of a sleepy Ari in her new humid hide. You can see the yellow sponge on the ceiling, which is attached by velcro superglued to the ceiling and top of sponge. It's very handy and easy to remove to get it wet and put it right back in. And it's great at raising and maintaining the humidity. Don't be fooled by how light the picture is, as the hide is dark inside. The light came from the flash of the camera - I hope that doesn't damage torts' eyes.

ariinhide5-19-1.jpg
 

coreyc

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Aristotle said:
I don't mean to bombard you all with photos, but I just took this one of a sleepy Ari in her new humid hide. You can see the yellow sponge on the ceiling, which is attached by velcro superglued to the ceiling and top of sponge. It's very handy and easy to remove to get it wet and put it right back in. And it's great at raising and maintaining the humidity. Don't be fooled by how light the picture is, as the hide is dark inside. The light came from the flash of the camera - I hope that doesn't damage torts' eyes.

ariinhide5-19-1.jpg


Great pic's love it:D
 

lynnedit

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Aristotle said:
Thanks again everyone! I was pleased with how the house turned out, as it was certainly a lot of work (and $!), but it's so nice to receive compliments from impartial tort experts! I really appreciate it.

This morning I switched the CHE (w 100W bulb) and basking light, so now the CHE is closer to the cool enclosed side; I am monitoring the temp and if it gets too high I will turn off the basking light. IF ANYONE KNOWS WHETHER I SHOULD BE USING THE WIRE LAMPS VS DOME LAMPS FOR EITHER THE MVB OR CHE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I still don't understand the difference between the two and am just going with my assumption as articulated in my original post.

@ Lynne: The MVB is 20 inches away from the substrate. I have read so much about the dangers of MVBs being too close, but maybe I am being too conservative? Should it be closer?
The plastic container hide does have a sponge affixed to the roof, which I wet down every morning. I think it is working because Ari sleeps in there all the time, whereas prior to me putting that hide in this week, she slept in the wood log hide constantly (the humidity in that hide comes from the mountain of moist moss/coco coir at the back of the hide). Granted, she didn't have a choice at that time (with the only other hide being in the abandoned warm side), but I think this suggests that the sponge is working. I got the sponge idea here on TF, and I thought it was a great suggestion! Thanks for reinforcing it.
Does your statement regarding "microclimates" mean that if the hides provide the ideal humidity level (for Greeks it is 55-65% I believe), then a lower humidity in the rest of the hot area is okay? Thanks for the hay suggestion - I will definitely give that a try.

Yes, microclimates means several humidity/lighting choices. Young torts overall need more humidity than adults, but Mediterranean torts less than tropical/African torts. Of course, you are also soaking your tort, too. Giving them choices in the enclosure to self regulate is the key.
You can have the MVB as close as 12 inches, to about 18 inches, to get the basking area warm enough. Just go by the basking area temp. Can't remember, do you have a temp gun? Anyway, if you follow those guidelines, your tort will be fine.
The CHE should always have a ceramic base. Officially, the wire cage fixture is the one to use with the CHE (always make sure the wattage allowance on bulb is the same or less than the max allowed on the fixture).
Some use dome lights for the CHE with a wire cage cover,and a ceramic base, like this:
http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-505017 attached to this:
http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/11442-504915.
(I used 'Pet Mountain' for the pictures, just one online store).

Actually, I think what you have for the CHE is fine!
Lynne
 

Yvonne G

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Its called Mazuri Tortoise Diet, and you can order it anywhere Purina products are sold (usually feed dealers). You can also buy smaller quantities from folks here on the forum. Just do a search for Mazuri and you'll find out who sells it.
 

Aristotle

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Thanks to all of you! Everyone here is so nice and validating. My kids think I have gone insane with my obsession with Ari and her tortoise house, but you are "my people" and can totally relate! :) As one of your people, I think I appreciate the house more than Ari, but maybe she has a slight memory of being the glass tank and scratching against the glass for hours, and is grateful for her new digs. Actually, maybe it's best if she forgets the glass tank period!

As for the sponge idea, it was absolutely not my original idea. I'm sure I got it from a thread here on TF. The only thing I did differently was to affix the sponge with velcro so it's easy to remove to clean and make it really wet every day. @ Fernando - you mentioned superglue, which I initially used and didn't like. I didn't like it because I found it difficult to re-wet the sponges, both in the hides and on the walls of the house (I just have them in the hides now). You can buy velcro strips (at Home Depot, CVS, probably Target too) that stick to the sponge and to the surface to which you want to attach the sponge; then all you do is press the two velcro strips together and voila - moisture. I did use superglue to affix the velcro to the sponge, and it's holding up very well. The sponge I used was a regular kitchen sponge - yellow on one side, with the other side made up of a green scouring surface (more rough, sturdy and less porous than the yellow part) - so that is where I affixed the velcro. It's been successful so far.

In my on-going effort to achieve and maintain the proper level of humidity I am putting together a water drip system that will gradually drip water into a dish with moss covered by a few rocks. I'm still thinking about the specifics of setting it up and where I want to put it - the house is already pretty crowded. The wheat grass may have to go - Ari is ignoring it. But I do like how it kind of brightens up the place. (I may have to remodel! ;) !!)

Thanks again for all the positive feedback. It really makes my day!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Best,
Kristina
 

Fernando

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Cool! Thanks for the info....


Try not to remodel TOO much because it can stress a tortoise out. Have fun! :)
 

lynnedit

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yes, your tort will appreciate overall stability of the enclosure now,but a few tweaks like the water dish supply are fine.
you could scatter some flower or mixed lettuce seeds on the subtrate, especially around the edges, to see if it makes it before being mowed over...:p
 

Aristotle

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@ Lynne & Fernando (Andy?) - You're absolutely right about stressing the poor little tort out with more changes. Instead of the water drip I may do the repti-fogger unless it is too intrusive and is a substantial change to Ari's little world. I really need to turn my attention elsewhere - I actually had a dream last night about modifying one of the hides!!! Pretty frightening!!!

So I promise not to even THINK about tortoises all weekend . . . Errrr . . . at least until the Tortoise Show on Sunday . . .;)

Thanks to both of you for the great advice.

Best,
Kristina
 

Fernando

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Aristotle said:
@ Lynne & Fernando (Andy?) - You're absolutely right about stressing the poor little tort out with more changes. Instead of the water drip I may do the repti-fogger unless it is too intrusive and is a substantial change to Ari's little world. I really need to turn my attention elsewhere - I actually had a dream last night about modifying one of the hides!!! Pretty frightening!!!

So I promise not to even THINK about tortoises all weekend . . . Errrr . . . at least until the Tortoise Show on Sunday . . .;)

Thanks to both of you for the great advice.

Best,
Kristina

Make sure you say hi!

Andy is the name of my tortoise (the sulcata)

Android people call the Android system Andy...hence my tortoises name. "Android Enthusiast" Is sort of a two part title :)
 
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