Yeah, those Repti-Glo CFL bulbs come in 13 watts and 26 watts, so I'm betting thats what it is. I'm with Tom; I would switch it out for a MVB or a tube florescent bulb.
Tom said:Is your repti-glo one of the coil type CFL bulbs? Those can damage tortoise eyes. He's not hiding from the heat. He's hiding because that bulb hurts his eyes. I'd shut it off right away.
What are you using for heat? My suggestion is to use a Mercury Vapor bulb or a regular incandescent flood bulb, if your tortoise gets regular sun, on a timer for 12 hours a day. Then use a Ceramic Heating Element on a thermostat to maintain the ambient temp around 80 all the time. 68 will be too cold.
I never answered you before about the feeding. In the wild they hatch during the rainy season. Its hot, humid, wet, and there is green stuff everywhere to eat all day long. I think they should be able to graze all day in our enclosures too. Outdoor sunshine and grazing on weeds and grass is best, but if you can't do that then I'd feed him a pile in the morning and another pile in the afternoon if he ate up all the morning stuff.
His growth is just a little on the slow side. Offering more food, or offering some Mazuri might pick things up a bit.
Tom said:You are getting a lot of mixed information from a lot of sources. It can all be very confusing, I know. All I can do is share with you my opinion and what I do.
The idea behind a heat lamp is to heat up one spot in the enclosure. You need to measure the temp DIRECTLY under that bulb and right around 100 works for me. 90 is not warm enough in my enclosures. At 90 mine just stay under them all day because they can't get warm enough. The idea is for them to get under or near the hot spot, warm up and then move away.
My temps are over 100 everyday here. In phoenix they are 110+ nearly all summer long. You have to build a suitable enclosure in a suitable place. There should be lots of shade available and I like to make little underground retreats for them too. Nothing beats the heat like going underground. They need sunshine and exercise. If need be you can put them out in the early morning or late afternoon when things are cooler. If predators are an issue in your area. Build a wire cover for you enclosure.
The powersun is a good bulb, but it does get hot in a small enclosure. These are really only needed for winter if your tortoise doesn't get sun for months at a time.
Slow and steady growth has nothing to do with pyramiding or not. Slow growth in a sulcata often indicates a problem. If they are kept warm, humid and hydrated, it does not matter how fast they grow. It will be smooth. If they are kept dry and dehydrated, it won't matter how slow and steady they grow, it will be slow steady pyramided growth.
In 20 years of keeping sulcatas of all ages, I have never once buried anything to keep them from digging out. Mine will occasionally try to dig, maybe once or twice a year. I just fill in the hole and put a block there for a couple of weeks and they stop trying. Most of them don't try to dig most of the time, in my experience. The bigger and more interesting the enclosure, and the better your shelter, the less likely they are to try to dig.
brandi2546 said:Ok, Tom...I just went through the entire post. I didn't realize it was SOOOO old. Your babies aren't babies anymore. I also understand now about the mixed information. Some of the info is very old and outdated. I will be keeping him much wetter now.
Do you sell babies often? Mine came from CA.
Tom said:Your welcome. I hope you make your own thread, post all the details for your set up and show pics of the results. Every time someone does this it is one more nail in the coffin for the old "dry" method. Remember too keep temps warm day and night. I shoot for 80.