Timmy's New Enclosure

[vwchevelle]

So, I am new to the Tortoise Forum and I want to say that I have been lurking around for the past couple weeks and have found a wealth of knowledge from the members on here. With all the knowledge that is out there, it has helped me learn a lot about our new addition Timmy, who is a 3 month old sulcata.

I had Timmy in a small 5 gallon glass aquarium and quickly realized that it was not enough room for him. And trying to find information when we first got him wasn't that easy and it was contradicting. After researching more on the TFO I upgraded Timmy's enclosure and he has been much happier.

What I have now is a 20 gallon long glass tank. I used a 50/50 mixture of coco noir and top soil for the substrate. Before, I was using wood bark and then I switched to Calci-Sand and then realized nothing was better than the 50/50 mix. I was also afraid of impaction and no moisture retention with the Calci-Sand.

I added some rocks for him to climb on and some slate pieces for the basking area and the feeding area. I had some extra slate, so I built a hideout in the corner of the enclosure for him. It will probably only last a little while since he is so small right now, but the enclosure is a work in progress.

I also added some live plants in there to make it interesting for him. I went to Home Depot and bought some small potted plants of romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, and some Mondo Grass and a small palm plant. He loves the romaine and red leaf and walks back and forth in between the two plants as he is eating throughout the day.

The lighting right now is a 50W Heat lamp and a Repti-Sun 10.0 UVB coil bulb. I didn't like this setup with the bigger tank so I have ordered a ReptileUV 100W bulb the other day. But I would still like to know what other type of bulb I should put in there.

I was pretty proud of how the enclosure came out, but I would like to hear what else I should be doing or what I have done wrong

 

[coreyc]

Hello welcome to the TFO where are you located ? I would take that coil bulb out and get a MVB like a Powersun are you soaking him? what are your temps

 

[vwchevelle]

Good Morning,

I am in Southern California, a little different environment than Massachusetts.

I have been soaking him every night for 15-20 minutes in warm water with ZooMed Reptivite.

On the weekends, I take him outside for about an hour a day to play in the grass and soak up some rays. As for the light, I have a Reptile UV 100W bulb on order just waiting for it to come in. The coil bulb I am going to get rid of, but I don't know if I should replace it with anything else.

Good to hear from someone and look forward to everyone's response and advice.

Thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi "vwchevelle:"

I'm guessing that you like cars.

Welcome to the forum!! May we know your name?

You've done a great job with the new habitat, and the tortoise looks very happy in there. Thanks for sharing your pictures with us.

 

[vwchevelle]

My name is Chris and yes I do have a passion for cars. I own a 1967 VW Squareback and had a 1967 Chevelle. So that's how I came up with my screen name.

Timmy does like the new enclosure, and I'm doing my best to keep him healthy and active. This has been a whole new process for taking care of a pet. Timmy is more catered to than anyone else in our family. Spoiled little Sulcata!

Look forward to meeting and learning a lot from everyone.

 

[Becki]

Welcome Chris! Great enclosure! Start making plans now for the bigger one....he will grow super fast.

 

[ChiKat]

It looks great! Love the improvements you made.
I would get rid of the coil bulb asap. They have been known to cause eye problems in tortoises.
You'll definitely need to upgrade within the next year- little Timmy won't be so little pretty soon

Be careful with the plants from Home Depot. Sometimes they are sprayed with chemicals. I personally wouldn't put it directly in with my tort unless I was 100% sure it was safe.
When I buy plants from Home Depot I put them in a pot with new soil and only gave the new growth to Nelson after several months.

Here is pretty much everything you need to know about raising a Sulcata hatchling: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies

Oh and welcome to the forum! Timmy is adorable

 

[Floof]

Great job on the enclosure!! It looks great!

On the subject of whether or not to have a second bulb when you get your MVB-- you might want to get a red/black bulb or Ceramic Heat Emitter for nighttime heat. It's highly recommended to keep baby Sullies at least 80*F full time, especially when they're in a humid environment, to prevent illness. This includes nighttime! I'm guessing you don't keep your house 80 degrees at night, so you should certainly look into investing in some sort of night heat bulb.

Also, if you don't already have one or a couple, get some thermometers... It's important to know what temperature the habitat is to be sure it's warm enough for your baby. Indoor/outdoor thermometers are perfect, as they're technically two thermometers in one: it monitors both the "Outdoor" (probe/sensor) and the "Indoor" (unit) temperatures. Put the probe/sensor on the basking spot and the unit on the cool side, and you're set! Indoor/outdoor thermometers are also available with a humidity (hygrometer) feature, which is useful for checking the humidity level in the enclosure.

Another thermometer option, best utilized in addition to a standard thermometer in the habitat, is an infrared thermometer, aka "temp gun." One example is the PE-1 Temp Gun by Pro-Exotics, usually sold for $25-30. With this, you can know the temperature of any given surface in the habitat at any given time... Just point at the spot, press the button, and look at the display. Definitely a useful tool!

 

[tobibaby]

i love timmy, he is so cute.. arent they the greatest things ever.. im in love w/ mine, i just want to aqueeze him sometimes lol. congrats and have fun w/ his little personality.. they are awesome