He said she was hatched around HalloweenSooo cute!! That is definitely a baby and definitely needs a closed chamber, I’m not sure why she’s currently in an open top but I went back and saw a few members had recommended him on your previous thread. Are you sure there’s no miscommunication of how she’s currently being housed?(we say she but obviously she could still turn out to be a cute little boy)
I’m going to tag these folks as they said he starts his babies right, she does look good, I’m curious on your guys thoughts if she really is already been housed with lower humidity at this young baby stage @zovick @Markw84 id also be curious what @Tom thinks.
Awesome, we’ll await some pics
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
For me any baby under a year is a hatchling personally lol, but folks categorise them differently from each individual. Either way they need a higher humidity closed environment for roughly the first 2-3 years of life to help aid in nice smooth growth
I am still insulating and covering the entire enclosure to be on the safe side. Help with lamps will be great too.For me any baby under a year is a hatchling personally lol, but folks categorise them differently from each individual. Either way they need a higher humidity closed environment for roughly the first 2-3 years of life to help aid in nice smooth growth
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Yeah more than happy to help look over things for you lighting wise, there’s some great members I can tag that are really good with the tech side of things too once you post them
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2013
- Messages
- 5,077
@Littleredfootbigredheart
Personally, I would keep the new tortoise in a closed chamber for another year or so. It won't hurt anything to do so and should help to prevent pyramiding.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input, was curious what you guys thought
Ok here we go, I think this is ATA compliant. Got all the substrate. Need input on the lights. Is the 75 watt ok? Can I use the red dome lamp at night? The tube light is going inside. How far should the lamps be away from the Tort? Came with a hanger but was going to sit the dome on the wire covers and surrounded with aluminum foil. Feed and water dishes. Picking up veggies tomorrow.Yeah more than happy to help look over things for you lighting wise, there’s some great members I can tag that are really good with the tech side of things too once you post them
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2013
- Messages
- 5,077
Since no one else has made any statement thus far, I will go ahead and be the first to tell you that sadly, it will be very difficult to provide the proper conditions for your new tortoise with the enclosure which you have pictured.
A closed chamber is really needed for optimal conditions. You could provide that with your current enclosure by putting it inside a pop-up greenhouse or you could purchase an already-made smart chamber from Markw84 (one of our members) or some other source. Doing that would save you a lot of headaches.
@Littleredfootbigredheart can you post some of the pictures you have of good ways to provide closed chamber habitats?
Ok will have to see how it goes, everything is set up. Bringing up the temp and humidity now. Have added water to substrate but not in the water dish yet. Room temp is coming up also.Since no one else has made any statement thus far, I will go ahead and be the first to tell you that sadly, it will be very difficult to provide the proper conditions for your new tortoise with the enclosure which you have pictured.
A closed chamber is really needed for optimal conditions. You could provide that with your current enclosure by putting it inside a pop-up greenhouse or you could purchase an already-made smart chamber from Markw84 (one of our members) or some other source. Doing that would save you a lot of headaches.
@Littleredfootbigredheart can you post some of the pictures you have of good ways to provide closed chamber habitats?
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the photos! I’m very glad you posted them because there’s a few things to give you a heads up on.
So first with the lighting, the coil uvb bulbs aren’t considered very safe to use, they’ve been known to cause eye burns, they concentrate uv light into a very small area which can create uv hot spots, on the flip side they’re very unreliable with their output.
The t8 uvb bulb is more appropriate as it’s a tube bulb(you only need one uvb source anyway) but compared with newer t5 bulbs, can be considered a bit weaker, though if the plan is to rest on the mesh of this enclosure, the height may well be fine for the output it has, I wouldn’t put the tube light under the mesh. I’d use that as your uv source for the foreseeable future(though @Alex and the Redfoot don’t suppose you know anything about this brand?) and look into the t5 bulbs come upgrade time
Spot bulbs are too(as said on the box lol) intense on a tortoises carapace, does this one have a frosted front can you tell? Again maybe Alex can have a look. You want a floodlight like this
Scrap the red bulb altogether, they aren’t appropriate for tortoises, the red light makes everything look like food to them, including the substrate, tortoises need complete darkness at night.
Usually unless your house is partially cold, you don’t need night heat for this species, though if you do want to provide some or boost ambient heat, you’ll need a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) which is a none light emitting heat bulb, this runs on a thermostat 24/7.
I wouldn’t use any of those dishes for water, shallow clay terracotta saucers are the safest and easiest for small babies to navigate, those that lack grip can be hazardous in the event baby flips.
I’d try and have lamps at least 12 inches from the top of the tortoises shell, uvb recommendations vary from product to product
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Yeah there’s lots in the ‘visual inspiration’ thread above, some of the other topper options might work for this one hopefully
Thank you for the photos! I’m very glad you posted them because there’s a few things to give you a heads up on.
So first with the lighting, the coil uvb bulbs aren’t considered very safe to use, they’ve been known to cause eye burns, they concentrate uv light into a very small area which can create uv hot spots, on the flip side they’re very unreliable with their output.
The t8 uvb bulb is more appropriate as it’s a tube bulb(you only need one uvb source anyway) but compared with newer t5 bulbs, can be considered a bit weaker, though if the plan is to rest on the mesh of this enclosure, the height may well be fine for the output it has, I wouldn’t put the tube light under the mesh. I’d use that as your uv source for the foreseeable future(though @Alex and the Redfoot don’t suppose you know anything about this brand?) and look into the t5 bulbs come upgrade time
Spot bulbs are too(as said on the box lol) intense on a tortoises carapace, does this one have a frosted front can you tell? Again maybe Alex can have a look. You want a floodlight like this
View attachment 384847
Scrap the red bulb altogether, they aren’t appropriate for tortoises, the red light makes everything look like food to them, including the substrate, tortoises need complete darkness at night.
Usually unless your house is partially cold, you don’t need night heat for this species, though if you do want to provide some or boost ambient heat, you’ll need a CHE(ceramic heat emitter) which is a none light emitting heat bulb, this runs on a thermostat 24/7.
I wouldn’t use any of those dishes for water, shallow clay terracotta saucers are the safest and easiest for small babies to navigate, those that lack grip can be hazardous in the event baby flips.
I’d try and have lamps at least 12 inches from the top of the tortoises shell, uvb recommendations vary from product to product
Thanks so much, ordered the lights and heater bulb you recommended. The flood I have is frosted but not the 3rd gen. Will be putting the enclosure in a grow tent to. Will use the tube light and the knew bulb for heat. Changing out water dish to terracotta saucer. I have a flat slate stone I can use for feed to. I ordered most of that stuff before finding the forum. Will make it work until we can reinvent the wheel in the next month or so. We are supposed to have a huge polar vortex coming through so planning ahead with the tent.
Littleredfootbigredheart
Well-Known Member
Sure will, and will utilize the Forum for any other questions.Sounds like a good plan! Let us know how everything is getting on
