bigballofyarn
Member
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2015
- Messages
- 41
I've had my Russian hatchling for 1 week now. Please confirm that I've taken advice correctly. I really would love to stop worrying about the little guy.
-I discarded the pellet bedding and bought some Zoo Med Eco Earth Loose Coconut Fiber Substrate. I heard that the orchid bark is good too, but he's still too little to try to walk on that in my opinion. I threw some Timothy Hay around the substrate to give it a fun look.
-I returned the coiled UV bulb and the 40W basking bulb. The coiled bulb was returned for obvious reasons and the 40W basking bulb was a joke. It only got the basking spot to about 79*. I purchased a Zoo Med Powersun 100W Mercury Vapor lamp. The basking spot now gets to about 105* The middle of the habitat is about 80* and the cool side is about 71*.
All of this has brought forward new questions.
1. The fiber is a lot smaller than the pellets. The pellets obviously were never accidentally ingested. The fiber may be since he sometimes takes his food off his dish and walks around with it. Is this dangerous?
2. Do the temperatures sound okay? Is the basking temperature too hot? If he sits under it for too long, will he burn himself or his shell?
3. Since I now have an all-in-one bulb, does he need to be directly underneath it (basking) to benefit from the UVB?
The habitat I bought is a glass tank that needed to fit the furniture I currently have. I will upgrade in the future. The habitat is 24"L x 18"D x 12"H. Please note the strength of the bulb and that the light fixture I am using is a 10" Sun Dome. Right now, the light is resting on the screen (all the way to the left) covering the tank because I have nowhere to hang the light. Please note the temperatures I gave you above. Does he have adequate escape from the heat? There is a log hide with a fake plant over it in the cooler side. There is just a plant on the hotter side (behind the lamp).
-I discarded the pellet bedding and bought some Zoo Med Eco Earth Loose Coconut Fiber Substrate. I heard that the orchid bark is good too, but he's still too little to try to walk on that in my opinion. I threw some Timothy Hay around the substrate to give it a fun look.
-I returned the coiled UV bulb and the 40W basking bulb. The coiled bulb was returned for obvious reasons and the 40W basking bulb was a joke. It only got the basking spot to about 79*. I purchased a Zoo Med Powersun 100W Mercury Vapor lamp. The basking spot now gets to about 105* The middle of the habitat is about 80* and the cool side is about 71*.
All of this has brought forward new questions.
1. The fiber is a lot smaller than the pellets. The pellets obviously were never accidentally ingested. The fiber may be since he sometimes takes his food off his dish and walks around with it. Is this dangerous?
2. Do the temperatures sound okay? Is the basking temperature too hot? If he sits under it for too long, will he burn himself or his shell?
3. Since I now have an all-in-one bulb, does he need to be directly underneath it (basking) to benefit from the UVB?
The habitat I bought is a glass tank that needed to fit the furniture I currently have. I will upgrade in the future. The habitat is 24"L x 18"D x 12"H. Please note the strength of the bulb and that the light fixture I am using is a 10" Sun Dome. Right now, the light is resting on the screen (all the way to the left) covering the tank because I have nowhere to hang the light. Please note the temperatures I gave you above. Does he have adequate escape from the heat? There is a log hide with a fake plant over it in the cooler side. There is just a plant on the hotter side (behind the lamp).