Tortoise buried?
- Thread starter Mllx_yy
- Start date
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Hello and welcome!
Don’t worry this is perfectly normal tortoise behaviour, though if it’s something he’s doing constantly during the day, something may be off with the set up. If he’s only done it once and it’s near lights out, I wouldn’t worry.
I don’t suppose you’d mind sharing some more information?
What kind of tortoise is it you have? I’m thinking Herman or Russian judging by the small bit of shell I see?
Is it a baby or adult?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of lighting and heating are you using specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any!
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s your humidity reading? Is that coco coir you’re using for substrate?
A photo of the full set up would be great! Along with one of your tortoise if you have one
Don’t worry this is perfectly normal tortoise behaviour, though if it’s something he’s doing constantly during the day, something may be off with the set up. If he’s only done it once and it’s near lights out, I wouldn’t worry.
I don’t suppose you’d mind sharing some more information?
What kind of tortoise is it you have? I’m thinking Herman or Russian judging by the small bit of shell I see?
Is it a baby or adult?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of lighting and heating are you using specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any!
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s your humidity reading? Is that coco coir you’re using for substrate?
A photo of the full set up would be great! Along with one of your tortoise if you have one
Mllx_yy
New Member
Thanks for getting back to me, he usually buries himself at night but never that much which got me worried he doesn’t do it during the day, it’s a baby tortoise and a Russian, his temp during the day is 30-32 night temp is around 20 i’m not sure what uv or heating im using, I don’t have a checker to check my humidity should I buy one? Yes I use coco coir. I’ll show you my set up and pictures of my lightsHello and welcome!
Don’t worry this is perfectly normal tortoise behaviour, though if it’s something he’s doing constantly during the day, something may be off with the set up. If he’s only done it once and it’s near lights out, I wouldn’t worry.
I don’t suppose you’d mind sharing some more information?
What kind of tortoise is it you have? I’m thinking Herman or Russian judging by the small bit of shell I see?
Is it a baby or adult?
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking spot(directly under the bulb) overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of lighting and heating are you using specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any!
Do you use indoor uv? If so what kind?
How’s your humidity reading? Is that coco coir you’re using for substrate?
A photo of the full set up would be great! Along with one of your tortoise if you have one
sorry about the photos of his enclosure the doors where reflecting me
also that is a hamster wheel he does quite a lot of exercise on it
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Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
No problem! Sounds completely normal for himThanks for getting back to me, he usually buries himself at night but never that much which got me worried he doesn’t do it during the day, it’s a baby tortoise and a Russian, his temp during the day is 30-32 night temp is around 20 i’m not sure what uv or heating im using, I don’t have a checker to check my humidity should I buy one? Yes I use coco coir. I’ll show you my set up and pictures of my lights
Thank you for the photos! They’re super helpful to give you some tips on adjustments, few things of note, for a basking temperature directly underneath your bulb, you want a reading of 95-100f(36-37) then the rest of the enclosure ranging 75-80 during the day, 70 is a fine night temperature.
The basking bulb you’re using is a ‘spot’ bulb, you want a flood bulb, the brand you’re using pro rep do flood bulbs, it’s confusing but they’re labeled as ‘flood spot’ lol. Arcadia brand also does floodlights. I’d switch that up as soon as you can because spot bulbs are bit too harsh.
That uv you’re using is perfect and one of the best on the market!(the t5 one) that can be on its own separate 4hour timer, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs.
You may also need to install a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) these are non light emitting heat bulbs that make up ambient and night temps, we do get pretty cold here.
I would definitely recommend getting yourself some digital monitoring that measures both temperature and humidity yes, humidity is important for babies, they need 80+ 24/7 to aid in smooth growth, the only way to achieve this is a closed chamber(which I believe yours is in?) those gauges are very inaccurate unfortunately, I’d also get yourself a temperature gun.
I think you’ll hopefully find this thread I made handy to read through, I cover correct bulbs, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, there’s lots of visual examples of everything and a good diet link to check out
I explain everything above a little more in depth.Housing young Russian/Herman
Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...
tortoiseforum.org
This one is also really good to familiarise with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I encourage you to double check purchases on here too
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 this helps! Please feel free to ask any further questions
Mllx_yy
New Member
Hello thank you for the help I will change my stuff soon, I got him from a pet shop and they did even tell me he needed humidity! How do I keep humidity? I will also buy that new basking light today as I work next to the shop I bought him at, thanks for all your help!No problem! Sounds completely normal for him
Thank you for the photos! They’re super helpful to give you some tips on adjustments, few things of note, for a basking temperature directly underneath your bulb, you want a reading of 95-100f(36-37) then the rest of the enclosure ranging 75-80 during the day, 70 is a fine night temperature.
The basking bulb you’re using is a ‘spot’ bulb, you want a flood bulb, the brand you’re using pro rep do flood bulbs, it’s confusing but they’re labeled as ‘flood spot’ lol. Arcadia brand also does floodlights. I’d switch that up as soon as you can because spot bulbs are bit too harsh.
That uv you’re using is perfect and one of the best on the market!(the t5 one) that can be on its own separate 4hour timer, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity.
The uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs.
You may also need to install a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) these are non light emitting heat bulbs that make up ambient and night temps, we do get pretty cold here.
I would definitely recommend getting yourself some digital monitoring that measures both temperature and humidity yes, humidity is important for babies, they need 80+ 24/7 to aid in smooth growth, the only way to achieve this is a closed chamber(which I believe yours is in?) those gauges are very inaccurate unfortunately, I’d also get yourself a temperature gun.
I think you’ll hopefully find this thread I made handy to read through, I cover correct bulbs, levels, appropriately maintaining humidity, there’s lots of visual examples of everything and a good diet link to check out
Housing young Russian/Herman
Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...
This one is also really good to familiarise with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I encourage you to double check purchases on here too
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...
Hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any further questions
You have all prerequisites for higher humidity environment: coco coir substrate and vivarium. Just pour a few cups of water in the corners to damp lower substrate layer. Make sure that coco coir is hand packed (press it firmly with your palm).
Don't blame the pet shop for bad advice. They don't know better and in the UK the method of raising of baby tortoises "warm and humid" is still debatable. There are alternative approaches to husbandry and "naturalistic keeping" is more prevalent in EU/UK. However, to make lower humidty setups work you have to replace artificial lights/heating with exposure to natural sunlight, which is not always feasible.
