Thread for recommended online tortoise supplies?

[Careym13]

I have gotten pretty much everything for my Leopards from either lowes or tortoisesupply.com.

Tortoisesupply is actually where I got my tortoises, too. Fast shipping and excellent customer service.

 

[Lyn W]

If indoors most of the time a mercury vapour bulb (mvb) will provide heat light and uvb in one bulb so very easy to use, I use an Arcadia mini D3 ad I think Powersun is a popular brand but check that with others. At night I use a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) run through a thermostat to keep temps even but I have a leopard in the UK so both those pieces of equipment are essential for him. I don't know what temps Marginated torts need so you may not need night heat and as leigti says if there is a chance your tort can have supervised time out in the sun regularly for uvb you may not need that either.
There are some great ideas in the Enclosures thread that you and your dad may find useful, and of course the bigger the better!! I wish I had a carpenter in the family.

@Jnics10 I saw you just liked my post here but this is an old thread and MVBs have since been found to dry and damage tort shells so aren't recommended anymore and I stopped using them a couple of years ago. Many of us now use T5 HO uvb tube kits, I like Acadia.

CHEs run through a thermostat are still great for night and extra heat.

 

[Jnics10]

@Jnics10 I saw you just liked my post here but this is an old thread and MVBs have since been found to dry and damage tort shells so aren't recommended anymore and I stopped using them a couple of years ago. Many of us now use T5 HO uvb tube kits, I like Acadia.

CHEs run through a thermostat are still great for night and extra heat.

Wow, you're amazing for noticing and then tagging me! Im not sure how I missed that about Mercury vapor bulbs, I'm usually pretty good about keeping up with that stuff (though these past couple years have been filled with a bunch of medical BS for me so I've been a bit more distracted than usual). Luckily my shell baby gets most of his sun outside now that we're in a warmer climate, but I will replace that MVB immediately regardless. Are there any non- tube type bulbs that are recommended? I have a whole fixture setup I built for the current mercury vapor and CHEs in his enclosure right now, and it'd be easier to not have to rebuild everything, ya know?

 

[Lyn W]

Wow, you're amazing for noticing and then tagging me! Im not sure how I missed that about Mercury vapor bulbs, I'm usually pretty good about keeping up with that stuff (though these past couple years have been filled with a bunch of medical BS for me so I've been a bit more distracted than usual). Luckily my shell baby gets most of his sun outside now that we're in a warmer climate, but I will replace that MVB immediately regardless. Are there any non- tube type bulbs that are recommended? I have a whole fixture setup I built for the current mercury vapor and CHEs in his enclosure right now, and it'd be easier to not have to rebuild everything, ya know?

The 'like' just showed up on my alerts when I was logged in so I'm not amazing at all!

I can't think of any other safe non tube uvb bulbs. Coiled and cfl type bulbs can damage tort eyes; some people use them, but it's a risk.

There are flood basking bulbs you can buy (spots are too intense) but they don't give uvb, however if your tort has sunny outside time he should be fine.

Maybe start a new thread to ask for advice where you can post pics of your enclosure and get help with how to mount tubes should you decide to change. There are members with a lot more ideas about heating and lighting than me.

Sorry to hear about your health problems and hope all is well now.

 

[Jnics10]

The 'like' just showed up on my alerts when I was logged in so I'm not amazing at all!

I can't think of any other safe non tube uvb bulbs. Coiled and cfl type bulbs can damage tort eyes; some people use them, but it's a risk.

There are flood basking bulbs you can buy (spots are too intense) but they don't give uvb, however if your tort has sunny outside time he should be fine.

Maybe start a new thread to ask for advice where you can post pics of your enclosure and get help with how to mount tubes should you decide to change. There are members with a lot more ideas about heating and lighting than me.

Sorry to hear about your health problems and hope all is well now.

No worries! I'll do some research and worst case scenario I just rebuild his lighting setup. My health is slowly improving, so it shouldn't be too challenging for me these days. Plus its for the Shell Baby and I always love making new stuff for him, lol!

Thanks again, you've been so informative and kind!! 💚🐢