So...it finally arrived...spoiled the tortoise and spent all our xmas money on a 18 sq ft (upgrade from 7/8 sq ft) Vision plastic tub and the lighting & heating to go with the larger enclosure! We have to wait until a weekend to test him out with the new fake plants I bought (he likes to climb on them and jump off), so it's a bit bare still with just the safe stuff.
New ramp water dish too that we bought awhile back and finally got painted a nice color (with safe paint). Got it at Lowe's and cut it in half (used to be a waterfall). One 100 Watt Mega Ray, one 75 Watt Halogen energy saving (not spiral) bulb, and two 60 Watt heat emitters (have a third to use if needed...thinking yes).
Anyone have tips to encourage the tort to bask under the MVB not the light bulb besides make the MVB hotter and in a more desirable location if possible?
The little guy went straight in and explored...which surprised us as during the three hours it took us to get everything done, he hid in his mini tub (which he's been in probably 10 times). Basking and looks happy! This enclosure is 4 inches shorter so we have a much better view of him. I think another reason he's so adventurous is we can't sneak up on him...with the shorter & larger enclosure, he sees us coming instead of us popping our head in.
We also need to get a board that is a better fit under the enclosure because it hangs off the cabinet (the old tort table was the exact fit), so we can't use just it and the lamp stands as they need support for the "foot". We had to (as planned) take apart his old tort table to use the boards. Eventually he's going to have his own room in the office (not in the middle of the dining room like he is now...pretty awkward), so we planned the enclosure more for that...he'll get a better fit cabinet/table to go under. I had thought the tub was tan, but it turned out clear. Better color for down the road for our black office furniture than the dining room. I plan to contact Vision because the tub has some pretty bad defects in the molding (looks like some parts got burnt as it bubbled)...I expected some defects and the roughness like we got but, but I'm hoping to get a little money off for the unexpected defects. For a $199 + $255 freight shipping product cost, we have pretty high expectations! Nice tub though, for anyone else considering them. I'd ask about the color as I swear all the photos looked tan...I should have asked.
Any comments besides the need for more hides and stuff to break up the space?
New ramp water dish too that we bought awhile back and finally got painted a nice color (with safe paint). Got it at Lowe's and cut it in half (used to be a waterfall). One 100 Watt Mega Ray, one 75 Watt Halogen energy saving (not spiral) bulb, and two 60 Watt heat emitters (have a third to use if needed...thinking yes).
Anyone have tips to encourage the tort to bask under the MVB not the light bulb besides make the MVB hotter and in a more desirable location if possible?
The little guy went straight in and explored...which surprised us as during the three hours it took us to get everything done, he hid in his mini tub (which he's been in probably 10 times). Basking and looks happy! This enclosure is 4 inches shorter so we have a much better view of him. I think another reason he's so adventurous is we can't sneak up on him...with the shorter & larger enclosure, he sees us coming instead of us popping our head in.
We also need to get a board that is a better fit under the enclosure because it hangs off the cabinet (the old tort table was the exact fit), so we can't use just it and the lamp stands as they need support for the "foot". We had to (as planned) take apart his old tort table to use the boards. Eventually he's going to have his own room in the office (not in the middle of the dining room like he is now...pretty awkward), so we planned the enclosure more for that...he'll get a better fit cabinet/table to go under. I had thought the tub was tan, but it turned out clear. Better color for down the road for our black office furniture than the dining room. I plan to contact Vision because the tub has some pretty bad defects in the molding (looks like some parts got burnt as it bubbled)...I expected some defects and the roughness like we got but, but I'm hoping to get a little money off for the unexpected defects. For a $199 + $255 freight shipping product cost, we have pretty high expectations! Nice tub though, for anyone else considering them. I'd ask about the color as I swear all the photos looked tan...I should have asked.
Any comments besides the need for more hides and stuff to break up the space?