Tortoise left outside overnight and health questions.

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Yes lack of roaming room needs to be addressed so whilst im making dietry and lighting changes i am saving up to make a better space for her. Gonna DIY a bookshelf into a table. Roaming space as of now will be a lot of outside time until everything is sorted which will hopefully be sooner than later! Is MDB a life hindering issue? i want her to live a happy pain free life

Sounds wonderful, you’re being a very caring owner❤️

If it’s a mild case of MBD(which yours doesn’t look extreme if there is any imo) correct husbandry changes and diet goes a long way in helping the animal live a perfectly normal, happy, healthy life. I can’t say it will go away completely, but there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever that your girl can’t live a happy pain free life once things are corrected😊don’t worry too much💕

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I do think if you say she struggles eating sometimes, the suggested beak trim would be a good idea, and start feeds off of a large serving slate, it helps naturally wear their beak down😊

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Oh lord thats quite scary. Is there anything i can do to further prevent it worsening or are my planned changes enough?
These photos arent in day lighting as there’s no sunlight where i am, i hope that is okay.

Thanks for the photos. From this point it doesn't look like MBD is present or progressed far. As stated above - the planned changes will prevent metabolic bone disease. This is the condition when tortoise lacks calcium or vitamin D3 to absorb it and bones get soft and porous. Even if it's present in some extent - you timely implement the required changes and with time bones will recalcify. So underbite beak is probably a genetic thing in your case.

Besides feeding off the slate, providing raw, non-cut foods helps to keep the beak in shape. It should be trimmed, yes, to help your tortoise bite foods.

 

[Grxciea]

Quick update to all those interested. I have filled my dad in on my plan for a bigger indoor area and i believe i will get some help. He is very ignorant when it comes to stuff like this so this is a lot more exciting for me than it likely is for you.
This means that roaming space will come sooner than later which will allow me to create a good setup for the correct bulbs and lighting.
I have made a weekly order for recommended grocery greens until i can begin to grow food for her.
For fibre i’m going to buy grass pellets to soak as well as many more food items. I will attach these below as well as my monthly plan.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Quick update to all those interested. I have filled my dad in on my plan for a bigger indoor area and i believe i will get some help. He is very ignorant when it comes to stuff like this so this is a lot more exciting for me than it likely is for you.
This means that roaming space will come sooner than later which will allow me to create a good setup for the correct bulbs and lighting.
I have made a weekly order for recommended grocery greens until i can begin to grow food for her.
For fibre i’m going to buy grass pellets to soak as well as many more food items. I will attach these below as well as my monthly plan.

This sounds great.
1. For installing lights and heats over "bookshelf" enclosure you can use spare shelves and make Π-shaped mounting points (24-30" high). You will need two: for the basking area (UVB light + basking lamp) and another in the cold part for ambient heating in colder months.
2. Instead of grass pellets, Komodo pellets, dried Hibiscus flowers and ProRep pellets you can get smaller packages of Agrobs Pre Alpine Testudo, Arcadia Optimized52, Hikari Mulberrific Delite or ZooMed Grassland toppers/dried foods and mix them with grocery greens (including green lettuce), rotating them when bag is over. This will give more variety and more natural food texture.
3. Coco coir brick is titled as "potting mix" - please check, that it's pure coco coir without amendments.
4. @Littleredfootbigredheart is Wundapets orchid bark is what you use for Squirt?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Wow no this is definitely just as exciting to me!! I myself came up against it when it came to our family red foot, she belongs to my moms partner who had just gone by what the shop had told him, which was completely useless information, it took a lot of back n forth discussion to get the information across, so I’m VERY happy for you! It’s wonderful he wants to help❤️

Yep like Alex said, building your own stands would be good, I think I included some examples in my first post to this thread, just make sure not to solely rely on the clamps some bulb fittings come with, they can fail, so it’s always best to hang them securely via a hook and cable ties, something to that effect🙂

Do double check that coir is just pure coco coir!👍

And yes the wundapets orchid bark is what I’ve used for squirt, it’s taken me through a lot of back n forth research after seeing they’d added pine to their title, generally speaking pine bedding has been considered toxic to reptiles, however after looking into things further from multiple sources, including a very good reptile vet, it seems our pine bedding differs from typical US pine bedding and is prepared differently, making it safe for substrate use.
I’ll admit I’m still in the process of looking into it all, but as it stands, I’ve been told it’s perfectly safe, just something to bear in mind. If any of this makes you feel cautious, you could always go for forest floor instead, however it is much more expensive as their bags don’t run very big. I personally don’t think you’ll have any issues with the orchid bark, we haven’t, but I wanted to make sure you have all that information to consider your choices😊

The orchid bark in the US is made of Douglas fir, but Douglas fir is far more expensive in Europe, hence our orchid bark is different, however it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily unsafe for reptile use👍our pine trees do differ from the US too.

 

[Grxciea]

Wow no this is definitely just as exciting to me!! I myself came up against it when it came to our family red foot, she belongs to my moms partner who had just gone by what the shop had told him, which was completely useless information, it took a lot of back n forth discussion to get the information across, so I’m VERY happy for you! It’s wonderful he wants to help❤️

Yep like Alex said, building your own stands would be good, I think I included some examples in my first post to this thread, just make sure not to solely rely on the clamps some bulb fittings come with, they can fail, so it’s always best to hang them securely via a hook and cable ties, something to that effect🙂

Do double check that coir is just pure coco coir!👍

And yes the wundapets orchid bark is what I’ve used for squirt, it’s taken me through a lot of back n forth research after seeing they’d added pine to their title, generally speaking pine bedding has been considered toxic to reptiles, however after looking into things further from multiple sources, including a very good reptile vet, it seems our pine bedding differs from typical US pine bedding and is prepared differently, making it safe for substrate use.
I’ll admit I’m still in the process of looking into it all, but as it stands, I’ve been told it’s perfectly safe, just something to bear in mind. If any of this makes you feel cautious, you could always go for forest floor instead, however it is much more expensive as their bags don’t run very big. I personally don’t think you’ll have any issues with the orchid bark, we haven’t, but I wanted to make sure you have all that information to consider your choices😊

The orchid bark in the US is made of Douglas fir, but Douglas fir is far more expensive in Europe, hence our orchid bark is different, however it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily unsafe for reptile use👍our pine trees do differ from the US too.

i’ll definitely take a look at the coir then. My only issue is i have not a clue the right way to setup a uv tube and what to hook lights on however im sure my dad will help with that. I’m hoping if i pay for everything he’ll help as its not coming out of his pocket 🤷‍♀️

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Just in case you wanted to do some more in depth reading on the matter, you could skim my thread on it🙂

Orchid bark saga

Hello folks! Hope everyone is well😁 I’m writing this because I’m very intrigued to get some input/information on where to research more into this. Last month a comment made on the forum to the effect of “Have you definitely got orchid fir bark, not pine, because they can be marketed as the...

tortoiseforum.org

As for the uv, the T5 Arcadia comes with everything you need to mount from what I remember when we installed ours, it comes with instructions too, essentially just mount it to a piece of timber and hang it from your stand if you need to adjust the height, if the height of your stand is spot on, you can mount it to that😊 you see the long strip hood thing in the photos? That’s the reflector the uv bulb is in, those are some of the kind of stands you can make to mount it, it’ll be an easy part don’t worry, we can help if you have any questions when it arrives!😁

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

As for your lights, here’s some examples, again they’ll be easy once you figure it out, im sure your dad will help you with that side of things😊

Id personally opt to make the stands for the lights the same shape as the uv one, so you have the option to move your basking bulb more away from the edge if you wish, but hopefully these give you an idea on hanging them👍

 

[Grxciea]

A quick update and a few questions

I’m still in the process of saving up money to build or buy the new enclosure for her. Space wise, i’m tempted to get rid of my set of draws and get a viv around 7ft in length and around 3-4ft in width. Then stand my tv and xbox on it. They never get used with volume as i use my headset.
Would a vivarium be okay for her if i get correct ventilation, hides, heat and uv etc?

I’ve ordered orchard bark as a substrate as it was recommended and have made a wishlist for her on amazon that i’ve sent to family as my birthday is coming up. So whilst i save up for a bigger space, i can improve her quality of living. Until i have a stable income, i’ve found better salad packs that i’ll combine with pellets, dried leaf mixes and dried flowers. Will that be okay?

As for roaming due to her small space, she goes out for most of the day in my garden (which is huge) under supervision or in her outdoor area.

I’m also saving up for a vet trip to get her beak trimmed and have bought a slate for feeding rather than a bowl.

Due to her having the wrong bulb, i keep my room at a higher temperature with the heater, Around 25c, and i turn her bulb off after 2-3 hours so she can bask and get correct uv exposure.

If theres anything more i can do temporarily whilst i wait to afford a better environment for her, let me know! Thanks for all the support.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
Thank you for the update!
7x3 ft. vivarium is less than recommended, but with large outdoors area and proper planning should work. If you can consider brumating tortoise in winter, then space constraints will be even less important.

Using grocery store foods amended with dried leaves, flowers and pellets is fine.

Making her a large outdoor pen would be perfect so you can safely let her walk full day outside. This can be a great gardening/landscaping project too.

Using room heater is redundant. She has access to natural sunlight to get UVB and doesn't need high ambient temperatures. I would just get an incandescent basking lamp (3-7 pounds) instead of mercury vapour and leave it on when she is in the enclosure. Using a basking lamp instead of room heater will pay for itself with the first electricity bill.

If don't mind to share an Amazon wishlist we can check that anything is correct there.

 

[Grxciea]

Hello!
Thank you for the update!
7x3 ft. vivarium is less than recommended, but with large outdoors area and proper planning should work. If you can consider brumating tortoise in winter, then space constraints will be even less important.

Using grocery store foods amended with dried leaves, flowers and pellets is fine.

Making her a large outdoor pen would be perfect so you can safely let her walk full day outside. This can be a great gardening/landscaping project too.

Using room heater is redundant. She has access to natural sunlight to get UVB and doesn't need high ambient temperatures. I would just get an incandescent basking lamp (3-7 pounds) instead of mercury vapour and leave it on when she is in the enclosure. Using a basking lamp instead of room heater will pay for itself with the first electricity bill.

If don't mind to share an Amazon wishlist we can check that anything is correct there.

I’ve seen some outdoor enclosures recently and have been considering making one actually! I do worry about UV as where i live has a very low uv index however she gets her time outdoors so hopefully it is okay.

Heres the list for now, i’ll be adding things later on such a plant decor and hides.
The stones are decorative and for nail trimming

Check out my list on Amazon

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

You want the desert 12% UVB. The one you have on the list is not strong enough, only 7%.

With pebbles you have to be really careful and make sure they don't fit in the mouth of your tortoise.

 

[Grxciea]

You want the desert 12% UVB. The one you have on the list is not strong enough, only 7%.

With pebbles you have to be really careful and make sure they don't fit in the mouth of your tortoise.

I really should’ve thought of that! The larger ones were for walking and the smaller ones were for the water dish as i’d seen it in many tortoise enclosures. Thank you for letting me know. I’ll have a look for the bulb now.

Edit: I’ve added the correct UVB and larger stones.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

The list looks fine to me now!

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I’ve seen some outdoor enclosures recently and have been considering making one actually! I do worry about UV as where i live has a very low uv index however she gets her time outdoors so hopefully it is okay.

Heres the list for now, i’ll be adding things later on such a plant decor and hides.
The stones are decorative and for nail trimming

Check out my list on Amazon

www.amazon.co.uk

With the correct lamp list looks good. You may want terracotta saucers for food and water. And some calcium powder with D3 (to supplement it once a week and correct possible lack of UVB) - some UK tortoise rescues use it. You are absolutely right about low UV index - it's something I often overlook because of living in a region with high UV.

 

[Grxciea]

With the correct lamp list looks good. You may want terracotta saucers for food and water. And some calcium powder with D3 (to supplement it once a week and correct possible lack of UVB) - some UK tortoise rescues use it. You are absolutely right about low UV index - it's something I often overlook because of living in a region with high UV.

I actually currently have D3 calcium powder for her. She gets it every couple days. I’ll have a look at terracotta. I’ve been told to use slate for feeding for beak trims though. Will update the list once i’ve found the correct things!

Happy birthday by the way, hope youre having an amazing day

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

I actually currently have D3 calcium powder for her. She gets it every couple days. I’ll have a look at terracotta. I’ve been told to use slate for feeding for beak trims though. Will update the list once i’ve found the correct things!

Happy birthday by the way, hope youre having an amazing day

You are all set then! Both slate and terracotta saucer will work. With saucer it's a bit less mess though. For keeping beak in shape non-chopped fibrous foods work better from my observations.

Thank you for birthday wishes!