POSSIBLE PYRAMIDING?

[Blackdog1714]

Sorry forgot to attach the photo

 

[Avuwyy]

Msg 2/2 I accidentally hit post reply so there's 2 msgs
All day 24/7 because it dries the shells out.he said to use radiant heat panels but I figured the mat would do the job. I think I'm just gonna purchase a 18inch tube fixture and keep the heat lamp as his source it heats his nalew tank to the perfect temperature and if it's to hot for him he has 2 places to hide. I have this wooden hide in the bottom right corner of this picture you think I should just drape it over that?

I mean, you can give two soaks during the day, one in the morning, and one just before you go to bed to ensure that they are fine with the heat and light, plus with humidity it won’t cause so much an issue drying out.

And yes that should be fine, just make sure the tortoise can’t get to it.

 

[Tseeman]

Well honestly it depends on the heat lamp situation, I myself live in the murky north of the UK so it’s quite chilly over here, and my tortoise is in a table so it’s a lot more difficult to contain the heat hence why my heat lamp is on 24/7. It won’t cause no harm to the tortoise if you do have it on all day, it’s just a matter of whether it radiates colour or whether the temperatures stay too high for long periods of time. For a young tortoise it is easier to maintain the correct temperature with a heat light, but again I guess it applies mostly to your conditions and whether your heating is appropriate for maintaining a baby tortoise of a desert species. Monitor typical room temperature, if it’s struggling to stick to 20°c then definitely use a heat lamp at least until the temps warm up a little.

I don’t habe much knowledge on coiled bulbs so I can’t give input on that. I myself have been recommended to have a 10% uv strip though instead of a bulb (for reasons unknown to me tbh). Keep it for now and every few days when soaking your tortoise, see if the shell is stiff and not soft, if it’s soft then make sure to get a uv strip instead.

Okay, I thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping me out. His shell is never soft it's not supposed to be right?

 

[Tseeman]

View attachment 263775
Sorry forgot to attach the photo

Nice I didn't even think of heat tape I used foil I'm gonna get some heat tape today, what're you using for substrate? I wanna be able to grow inside mine as well. A UVB 10.0 wouldn't allow them to grow would it?

 

[Avuwyy]

Okay, I thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping me out. His shell is never soft it's not supposed to be right?

No, It’s meant to be hard, if his shell ever turns soft it’s because of a lack of calcium or an issue absorbing calcium (Which is what uv light helps the tortoise with). If you ever find your tortoise with a soft shell, it means that your uv light has expired, the uv isn’t working efficiently, or there isn’t enough calcium in their diet. Keep an eye out for a while after moving them into their new enclosure with this. And if you haven’t already, buy some cuttle bones! Tortoises love them, helps keep their beak trim and allows them to supplement themselves with calcium

 

[Tseeman]

Just use the domed fixtures with ceramic base from hardware stores. And use tape to seal them up. Here is mine with a CHE on each end and 6000k LED for the plants in the middle. 83 on the cool end and 95 on the warm end with 83% humidity. Good luck and try not to get frustrated. There is way to much bad info being offered by people you think you should trust. That is why I love TFO honest and can back it up

Also are you using a thermosts for the Che?

 

[Tseeman]

No, It’s meant to be hard, if his shell ever turns soft it’s because of a lack of calcium or an issue absorbing calcium (Which is what uv light helps the tortoise with). If you ever find your tortoise with a soft shell, it means that your uv light has expired, the uv isn’t working efficiently, or there isn’t enough calcium in their diet. Keep an eye out for a while after moving them into their new enclosure with this. And if you haven’t already, buy some cuttle bones! Tortoises love them, helps keep their beak trim and allows them to supplement themselves with calcium

Yep bought a Cuttlevone last night never heard of them until finding this site so glad I did I've learned a tremendous amount in the past 2 days

 

[Toddrickfl1]

You can get the 18" fixture at Walmart for like ten bucks, just throw away the bulb that comes with it and replace it with a UVB tube.

 

[Tseeman]

You can get the 18" fixture at Walmart for like ten bucks, just throw away the bulb that comes with it and replace it with a UVB tube.

OH nice, I was gonna say the ones on Amazon are like 50 bucks

 

[Tseeman]

You can get the 18" fixture at Walmart for like ten bucks, just throw away the bulb that comes with it and replace it with a UVB tube.

How are you hanging them inside? Or should I cut a hole out for it

 

[tinytortoise]

Might need to ditch the coiled bulb, not good for tortoises eyes. And the tube bulb doesn't heat it's only uvb so you might need a day basking bulb (normal flood or spot lamps work great) just get your temps right.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

How are you hanging them inside? Or should I cut a hole out for it

You can hang it inside

 

[Tseeman]

You can hang it inside

Right the one I was looking at from Amazon doesn't come with anything to hang so I was just curious what you did to get it to hang

 

[Tseeman]

Might need to ditch the coiled bulb, not good for tortoises eyes. And the tube bulb doesn't heat it's only uvb so you might need a day basking bulb (normal flood or spot lamps work great) just get your temps right.

Alright thank you for your help. I got humidity and Temps perfect so I'm just gonna ditch the coiled get a flood and a 18 inch uvb and be done he should be perfect

 

[Tseeman]

Just wanted to say a hinge THANK YOU from me and Lenard and my family for all of your help and constant replies for my million questions I just wanna get it right and keep him healthy.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Right the one I was looking at from Amazon doesn't come with anything to hang so I was just curious what you did to get it to hang

Usually there's screws on the top of the fixture. Just screw the screws thru the top of the plastic into the fixture inside the enclosure. So basically the light is mounted to the bottom (inside) of the lid.

 

[Tseeman]

Awesome thank you!!

 

[Blackdog1714]

Nice I didn't even think of heat tape I used foil I'm gonna get some heat tape today, what're you using for substrate? I wanna be able to grow inside mine as well. A UVB 10.0 wouldn't allow them to grow would it?

I use the 6000k to help the plants and the cheap 10 tube fixture inside the setup for my UVB

 

[Tseeman]

I use the 6000k to help the plants and the cheap 10 tube fixture inside the setup for my UVB

But what substrate / bedding are you using to allow the plants to grow and tortiose to be safe

 

[Avuwyy]

But what substrate / bedding are you using to allow the plants to grow and tortiose to be safe

Most earth based tortoise substrate can be used to grow plants (avoid ones containing sand).