To tom

[fang.o]

This is the enclosure I was speaking of, to anyone else this is my 8 month old sulcatas setup!

 

[Tom]

You need a closed chamber with the heating and lighting inside. Having the lights outside creates a chimney effect which removes your heat and humidity. Open tops and having the lights outside just doesn't work.

Also, no part of the enclosure should ever drop below 80, day or night.

What are you using for the basking bulb?

All the correct info is here in these threads:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Good uv choice(though t5’s are generally considered more up to date, perhaps keep in mind when it comes to replacing) just to check, is the basking light a floodlight? I don’t have the experience Tom has, but he definitely encourages younger tortoises being in a proper closed chamber set up, humidifiers aren’t the safest or most effective way to maintain a higher humidity for babies, there’s no way to keep it where needed with a mesh top. Is that coco coir you’re using? Avoid any kind of top soils, safest options is coco coir or a lot of people prefer orchid bark. I’m not seeing a second dome for a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) night heat is important for sulcatas so it’s not dropping below 80f. I’d also ditch the analog gauges and get digital ones, you want them at the tortoises levels, not higher up.

Feel free to go over these threads, take all the time you need to do so, it’ll hopefully answer some further questions.

A great one for new comers;

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

tortoiseforum.org

Toms guide;

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes different closed chamber options

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help!