sully enclosure question

[DAC8671]

This doesn't necessarily pertain to me anymore, as I keep Ralph outside.

BUT...

Call me naive, but I"m not so sure what the difference is when owners are advised not to keep hatchlings in a glass aquarium, but to keep them in a rubbermaid tub. This is assuming that the glass is somehow covered so the sully can't see out. I've read several times that it's an airflow and gradient heat thing. But isn't it the same thing in a rubbermaid tub?

I've just been thinking about that lately and not really sure what the difference is? I mean, if they are both open at the top, what difference does it make, assuming the aquarium and tub are approximately the same size.

Just wondering.

 

[BethyB1022]

Well one problem I can think of with aquariums is that they simply aren't wide enough. I am sitting here looking at my 29 gallon and trying to imagine Icky in it and that is the first thing that came to mind.

Having never kept my sully in an aquarium I have no first hand knowledge of the temperature issue, but I can say I have never had a problem keeping a hot side and a cool side in my xmas tree bin. I am sure there are people who may know more about how glass conducts heat and could better answer this question. Personally, physics is not a strong point

I think the rubbermaid is more economical too. Aquariums can be very spendy. I think it is possible to get a tote that is larger for less money than you would spend on a smaller aquarium.

Just my opinions

 

[DAC8671]

"Personally, physics is not a strong point "

hehehe, me either

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Wait! I thought this thread promised photos of Ralph!

Our (mis)use of a 10-gallon glass tank for Taco's first four years still haunts me....I don't have a strong opinion favoring plastic bins or vivariums. I say, Straddle the fence and judge each enclosure on its individual merit!

Now I'm off to find that photo thread...

 

[chadk]

If you are creative and understand the essential needs of the tort, you can make glass work just fine. But it should be considered temporary until you can get a nice roomy tort table and\or outdoor pen.

The biggest issue I see with glass tanks is that folks are usually going by what the pet shop told them. And they end up with:
1) small glass tank (they need room to roam and you need room to provide the right temp gradient)
2) too hot of a heat lamp (I see little torts getting baked by a 160 watt lamp and no way to escape the heat)
3) dry aspen or other substrate (most torts need some humidity in the substrate. )
4) wrong food
5) no water to soak in and drink
6) No temp gradient from hot to cool side
7) No good use of hides - warm and cool
8) No good way to mearsure and tweak temps
9) No good way to measure and tweak humidity
10) wrong diet
11) not enough exercise

If you can address those issues, it really doesn't matter if you are using glass, plastic, plexi, wood, etc.

 

[DAC8671]

I agree 100% about the wrong info that pet shops offer!!!!!!!!!!

Stephanie, no pics here, try the thread with "Ralph pics and shel question" hehehe

 

[Candy]

I myself would say that glass holds more heat then plastic does. I do think that the rubbermaid tubs are wider like the first poster said and therefore you get more ventilation for the tort. Just thinking outloud.

 

[Tom]

At one time or another, all of mine lived in a glass tank. Its just how it was done back in the day. The theoretical problem, other than stress caused by visual stimuli, is the sides on a fish tank are too tall, in relation to the surface area on the bottom to allow for good ventilation. This never caused me any problems, because the area where I live is extremely dry. The other reason is most people use too small of a tank. I always used 100 gal(72"x18") or bigger, so it was easy to set up a thermal gradient with a 50 or 75 watt spotlight and have plenty of room for hides. You can buy a tub with a relatively large footprint for a lot less money than even a medium sized aquarium.

Personally, I don't like tubs OR tanks for anything other than very young or small torts. I just feel they are too small. I have my baby sulcata in a giant horse trough right now and she just seems cramped. I like to build big plywood contraptions. My torts have all started as hatchlings in something 5-6 feet long and quickly moved into 4'x8' plywood enclosures, once they start getting 8-10" I move them outside. Really, I feel even these indoor enclosures are too small, so I build big ole' outdoor pens with wood or slumpstone blocks for use whenever the weather permits. Which is most of the time here.

 

[DAC8671]

Good info. Thanks for answering my question.