Welcome home baby!

[AZSid]

So I will pull it all apart tomorrow and line up the sides with plastic as well to see if that helps. The top actually has that foil insulation lining on it, so I will leave that be.

The settings are at 80% and 80*. The problem I'm having is getting an adequate basking spot without overheating the whole thing! It's currently just after 11 at night and with our air on full blast, our house is still at 82* inside. Yay southern AZ and swamp coolers. so during the day when it's easily 95* in the house... we keep the tank directly in path of a vent so it keeps cooler than the rest of the house ambient, but rarely does the CHE kick on for more than a few minutes. Once I turn that basking light on, the whole tank starts to heat up. After just a few minutes, the temp was up to 86* on the far end from the light. Tomorrow I'll be building a chamber to raise the light without having to revamp the whole lid and I'll see if that works at all. If not, I don't know what to do. The 50w didn't affect the ambient much, but wasn't providing an adequate bask.

 

[Tom]

So I will pull it all apart tomorrow and line up the sides with plastic as well to see if that helps. The top actually has that foil insulation lining on it, so I will leave that be.

The settings are at 80% and 80*. The problem I'm having is getting an adequate basking spot without overheating the whole thing! It's currently just after 11 at night and with our air on full blast, our house is still at 82* inside. Yay southern AZ and swamp coolers. so during the day when it's easily 95* in the house... we keep the tank directly in path of a vent so it keeps cooler than the rest of the house ambient, but rarely does the CHE kick on for more than a few minutes. Once I turn that basking light on, the whole tank starts to heat up. After just a few minutes, the temp was up to 86* on the far end from the light. Tomorrow I'll be building a chamber to raise the light without having to revamp the whole lid and I'll see if that works at all. If not, I don't know what to do. The 50w didn't affect the ambient much, but wasn't providing an adequate bask.

I use lower wattage flood bulbs in summer and move them closer.

 

[Tom]

4' x 2'. Substrate is orchid bark and approximately 3" deep. Have a CHE and the (now 75w) basking bulb. Fogger and CHE are set with with a hygrotherm. All fixtures are taped with heat resistant tape to prevent humidity escape from edges. Front and back are plexiglass, sides, top, and bottom are all wood and there's a sheet of plastic under the substrate to prevent wood rot.

Ahh… I see the cause of both of your issues in the pic. The slanted front and back of your chamber greatly reduce the air volume when compared to a more conventional rectangle style enclosure. This is a contributing factor to your over heating.

Your lights are above and outside the enclosure. Much of your heat energy is just heating up the room instead of the enclosure, AND this also causes a chimney effect. As the hot air rises off of those bulbs and hoods, it draws cooler, drier air into your enclosure. The amount of air movement can be surprising.

It looks to me like you need a re-design/rebuild on your enclosure. Make it taller, with straight sides, and get the lighting and heating equipment inside.

 

[Alexio]

Air conditioning also murders humidity so if you have one pointing directly at or very close too your enclosure that doesn't help either.

 

[Tom]

Air conditioning also murders humidity so if you have one pointing directly at or very close too your enclosure that doesn't help either.

This is true, but AZSid said they use a swamp cooler in their house.

 

[Alexio]

Ah fascinating, I have never heard of that before and after looking it up I see why that would be advantageous in a really dry climate. In central new York where the summers are very humid the only kinds of air conditioning I have seen around here are very drying so my apologies.

 

[Speedy-1]

It's enclosed but a gallon of water keeps the humidity up for about 6 hours... if I'm lucky. And the second I open the tank to feed, grab her for her bath or outside adventures, etc., the air inside is immediately replaced by this disgusting hot air I live in. Humidity literally drops 8-12% each time it's opened. I think my probe was just stuck... I blew it out and now it's regulating the fogger and lights better.

I may be misunderstanding but I don't see how you can regulate 2 things that have a different purpose off of one control ? IE the light is for light / heat and the fogger is for humidity . If you wanted to regulate the light I think a rheostat , or separate thermostatic control might work better ?
I have always just raised and lowered my lights and CHE as Tom suggested , and always kept them within the enclosure also .

 

[AZSid]

Sorry for the delay, my kids like the hospital!

Most people have zero idea what a swamp cooler is unless they've lived in the southern US. I forgot that little tidbit when I was posting, so I apologize.

What was really bothering me with my issues, is that they had been non-issues using this tank for a year and then all of a sudden, everything went haywire. But I think I found, and fixed what was going on. YAY! The fix is temporary until I've got the time to make a better one, but the fogger hasn't turned on once in almost 24 hours now and with the maintained humidity, the tank isn't overheating now either. I don't fully understand how the humidity affects the heat created by a bask, but I'll take the win.

So here's what happened... my plexiglass front warped and bowed. I'm guessing the time passing of constant warmth and moisture combined with not enough support. Anyway, when it bowed, it created a tiny and barely noticeable (but detrimental) gap along the top and sides. I taped it along those edges and voila, humidity and heat leveled out! I will be adding wider supports on each end and installing one in the middle to prevent this problem in the future.

@Speedy-1, I use a HygroTherm that is a dual controller. Here's the link to it, http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=260&SearchID=1

As for raising and lowering the lights inside the enclosure, the original hood allowed that. However, it literally melted from the heat off the back of the CHE over the winter. This one was working out perfectly until suddenly the new 50w bask wasn't putting out the same heat as the old one and we had to upgrade to a 75w. Basking spot is still a little too warm (106*) if left on, so until I can build the fix for it and now the supports for the front, we just turn it on for shorter lengths of time to allow for a cool down before turning it back on.

 

[Speedy-1]

Now I see looks like a really nice unit , thanx for taking the time to explain ! Glad you are getting a handle on the problem ! Sounds like next time thicker plexi glass and some silicone ? We are having a "cool spell" today its only going to hit 101 degrees , but its a dry heat right ?

 

[AZSid]

@Speedy-1, too dry! Our monsoon jipped us a few weeks worth of rain. Hoping it returns soon. It has cooled down though! Only hit 107* today. That unit was a little pricey, but definitely worth it in my book.

I wanted to show off the rest of our homemade tortoise home now. We wanted to utilize our space efficiently, so we raised the chamber on legs and turned the underside into a tort garden with extra storage underneath that. Garden is planted with African grassland and testudo and a couple strawberry seedlings. I have found I need three garden boxes to let 2 grow while Pavona devours the third. I happened to weigh her today before her romp and watched in amazement while she ate more than I have ever seen her eat! So just for fun, I weighed her again before putting her back and there was a 2.7g gain. I know that it's not an accurate and permanent gain for the day, but it definitely shows how much she munched on! Storage holds soak tub, heat pad, unplanted seeds, etc. Excuse the photo bombing dog... he's a bit of a narcissist.

 

[Speedy-1]

You could still put the light on a rheostat ;

between the thermostat and the light . This would allow you to sort of adjust and set the wattage where you need it with the rheostat switch . It would be easier than being a human thermometer / on off switch !

 

[Fredkas]

Ahh… I see the cause of both of your issues in the pic. The slanted front and back of your chamber greatly reduce the air volume when compared to a more conventional rectangle style enclosure. This is a contributing factor to your over heating.

Your lights are above and outside the enclosure. Much of your heat energy is just heating up the room instead of the enclosure, AND this also causes a chimney effect. As the hot air rises off of those bulbs and hoods, it draws cooler, drier air into your enclosure. The amount of air movement can be surprising.

It looks to me like you need a re-design/rebuild on your enclosure. Make it taller, with straight sides, and get the lighting and heating equipment inside.

This is inspiring

 

[Fredkas]

@Speedy-1, too dry! Our monsoon jipped us a few weeks worth of rain. Hoping it returns soon. It has cooled down though! Only hit 107* today. That unit was a little pricey, but definitely worth it in my book.

I wanted to show off the rest of our homemade tortoise home now. We wanted to utilize our space efficiently, so we raised the chamber on legs and turned the underside into a tort garden with extra storage underneath that. Garden is planted with African grassland and testudo and a couple strawberry seedlings. I have found I need three garden boxes to let 2 grow while Pavona devours the third. I happened to weigh her today before her romp and watched in amazement while she ate more than I have ever seen her eat! So just for fun, I weighed her again before putting her back and there was a 2.7g gain. I know that it's not an accurate and permanent gain for the day, but it definitely shows how much she munched on! Storage holds soak tub, heat pad, unplanted seeds, etc. Excuse the photo bombing dog... he's a bit of a narcissist.View attachment 180113

Wow.. pavona grow rapidly. Mine stunned. Well.. all this things really go back to the breeder. You and pavona are lucky

 

[AZSid]

Thank you for pushing that rheostat idea @Speedy-1. After finding one for $40 at the pet store, we went to Lowe's and bought a $10 dimmer switch. Works like a charm!

 

[Speedy-1]

Thank you for pushing that rheostat idea @Speedy-1. After finding one for $40 at the pet store, we went to Lowe's and bought a $10 dimmer switch. Works like a charm!

Glad to hear that ! Its a good tip for saving some bucks also , makes sense since I imagine they are both variable capacitors !

 

[AZSid]

How much variety is enough? I have some small gardens set up for Pavona under her tank, but I was running out of seeds as she eats the entirety of the plants, leaving no roots or shoots for regrowth. I figure her gardens are too small and thus, she gets to everything before it has time to really establish. So I ordered 1lb of testudo mix and 1 lb of African grazer from tortoisesupply.com to toss into a kiddie pool. Hopefully it will be large enough to encourage continued growth as she forages around. That said, she also gets a few pellets of ZM grassland, Mazuri, and her hearts content of milk thistle, goathead, desert mustard, and a few other "wilds" that grow in the Southern AZ desert. I know there is a HUGE list or acceptable foods, I'm just wondering if what she's getting is enough. Here in a few months, we will be losing a lot of her outside forage foods as cooler weather sets in. At that time, we will be about reduced to the testudo, grazer (if I can keep them growing indoors through the winter), and pellet foods. Will this be enough variety to get through the winter months or will I have to depend on the grocery store?

 

[Speedy-1]

I have never had much luck growing enough through the winter , so I do go the grocery store route to an extent. I have always mixed hay , and soaked hay pellets with my Mazuri so Speedy is used to eating the hay ! Our local feed and grain called today to let us know they just got a fresh batch of Bermuda grass hay in , so I will be picking up a bale on Wednesday ! As he gets bigger this will hopefully become the bulk of his diet ! I have a grape vine in a pot , a hibiscus and a cactus . I have 3 parrots , so I plant all the seed they miss , "which is a lot" and have a never ending supply of seed to plant !

 

[Big Charlie]

How much variety is enough? I have some small gardens set up for Pavona under her tank, but I was running out of seeds as she eats the entirety of the plants, leaving no roots or shoots for regrowth. I figure her gardens are too small and thus, she gets to everything before it has time to really establish. So I ordered 1lb of testudo mix and 1 lb of African grazer from tortoisesupply.com to toss into a kiddie pool. Hopefully it will be large enough to encourage continued growth as she forages around. That said, she also gets a few pellets of ZM grassland, Mazuri, and her hearts content of milk thistle, goathead, desert mustard, and a few other "wilds" that grow in the Southern AZ desert. I know there is a HUGE list or acceptable foods, I'm just wondering if what she's getting is enough. Here in a few months, we will be losing a lot of her outside forage foods as cooler weather sets in. At that time, we will be about reduced to the testudo, grazer (if I can keep them growing indoors through the winter), and pellet foods. Will this be enough variety to get through the winter months or will I have to depend on the grocery store?

It seems to me that it would be enough. Can't you grow grass outdoors in the winter in AZ? Here in California, our grass grows all year round. I think your winter temperatures are higher than ours. We even get close to freezing sometimes and it doesn't kill the grass. There is one type that dies in the summer and starts growing in the winter and another that dies in the winter and grows in the summer, plus a lot of other types that grow year round.

 

[Connie L]

. Can't you grow grass outdoors in the winter in AZ? Here in California, our grass grows all year round. I think your winter temperatures are higher than ours. We even get close to freezing sometimes and it doesn't kill the grass. There is one type that dies in the summer and starts growing in the winter and another that dies in the winter and grows in the summer, plus a lot of other types that grow year round.

Our lawn is green year long. Bermuda in the spring/summer. The Bermuda goes dormant in the fall. Winter rye does very well here in the winter. Have to plant it when the nightly temps are under 60 degrees. It does not come back on its own every year. October is usually the time to do it. Have to stop watering for a week then dethatch the lawn (we do that every other year) before planting the rye seed. We do have times when the temps dive down to freezing but our winters are generally very mild. In the spring when the temps are 60 or above at night you once again turn off the water for a week or so. It'l shock the rye grass and the Bermuda will come in and take over. During that time there (if your winter grass did well) still plenty for the tort to eat.

Might be able to get away with dethatching less often if you bag the grass when you mow. We don't. The clippings are a great source of nitrogen for the lawn - free fertilizer

 

[AZSid]

Bribery and store bought Pavona is definitely her own little tort, and a pain in my butt! I have both indoor and outdoor gardens for her. Planted with the exact same seeds. First, she refused to eat outside at all. I assumed it had something to do with a different planting soil and smell? I FINALLY got her to eat outside by bribing her. I smooshed up a prickly pear fruit and smeared the juice all over the plants outside. Now she eats out there on her own. But she has decided that she no longer wants food in her enclosure. She will happily trot around and graze in her gardens all day long, but won't touch anything cut up and put in her tank. Which also means, she isn't getting her calcium sprinkles. She has a cuttlebone, but isn't interested at all! This started about 2 weeks ago and I'm wondering, would this already be affecting her plastron? I noticed today that she is a little squishy on the under rear. I've never noticed this before... doesn't mean it wasn't there, just that I never noticed. So today I bought her some romaine and kale. Just for something new. Mixed it with some chopped grass and sprinkled with calcium. She ate it right up. Also, she won't defecate in her soaks. I've never known a tortoise to NOT poop in the water. But she will go all over her garden and food bowl! Hatched June 5 and today (at 63 days) weighed in at 90g. Not as high as I was expecting as she was already 66g at 25 days. Which leads me to question... maybe the plastron is due to parasites? Is it worth trying to up calcium intake for a bit and see if that firms things up first? If so, how long do I give it?