Einsteins Home Completed

[ADVANceNA]

hey everyone, its been sometime since my last post where i introduced myself. (maybe one month ago ?) well here is an update, i have finally finished my future Einsteins enclosure. I should be getting him this weekend and im sssooo excited ! Its 4ftx3ftx11in. depth. Substrate is a 50/50 peat moss and coco fiber blend. I have yet to put some scattered timothy hay because he isnt there yet. That is coco bark and peat moss over in the basking, hotter area. Einsteins main house i built up sits in the opposite side and kind of above and behind his hide i have a tray with growing bermuda grass, some dandelions and other weeds i found in the backyard. (i have an equal tray growing in the backyard so i can switch them weeks ata time) The circular dish you see with flat stones in it i intend to fill with water. I thought it might be a little bit deep so thats why i put the flat stones in there and will gradually take out as he grows, hes only 2-3 months now. I have been doing some temperature and humidity observation to make sure all is right and in the basking area temps go up to about 98-102, the mid area usually stays around 85-92 and opposite side usually reads around 76-82. Humidity in there stays around 84-86 percent. Also, the substrate is about 3 inches deep, i figured so he could have some room to burrow his heart out. One questionis if the feeding rock/dish should be closer to his house in the cooler area, or if it should be closer to the hot area and around the middle. Thanks everyone for welcoming me, i have been working hard trying to figure out how i was gonna go all about this, thanks again everyone ! oh yeah, i have no camera so used my phone hahaha hope they arent to bad, hopefully ill get a camera soon. Einstein comes saturday so i shall take pics definitely and post up as soon as possible. Comments and critiques are all welcome, just please go easy on me, i am far from a tort expert, but feel i have picked up on everyones knowledge and tried my best, thanks again !

 

[tortoisenerd]

Very cool! I can see you have put a lot of time and effort into this. Hopefully you don't take my comments as overly critical because that isn't my intention...remember that even the experts (and no I'm not one of them) will have to tweak enclosures after their tort moves in.

Temps are good (edging towards too hot on the basking--I wouldn't go any higher). I imagine in the cooler months of the year your lowest temp will get lower (down to 70 is fine). Humidity is very high, which can be good, but make sure the substrate isn't wet. You want it damp but not wet. I'd have deeper substrate if you safely have the depth for it (3 inches for a tort I'd guess is 3 inches isn't much burrowing space). I like twice as deep as the tort is long, for burrowing. Your table really doesn't have enough depth for later on when the tort is longer, as you need to allow the tort to be on its hind legs climbing on any cage furnishings, not wanting their arms to reach the top nor them to be able to see out (so if you did 6 inches of substrate, once the tort was 5 inches they likely could escape, or at least would really be trying since they would think they could get out). There are some easy fixes like adding another 11 inch high layer on top of the one you have so its 22 inches high.

I wouldn't have a tile under the basking spot because personally it scares me how warm they get. More risk and no benefit (adds heat from below them in addition to above them). I'd add in some fake plants to give some hiding spots between the hides you have (but you did say a hay pile, so maybe that will be enough). I'd have the food in a moderate temperature. The most important temperature zones to have hides are near the basking spot (hot), the food (moderate), and a cold spot. Most enclosures need many more than that due to size. Watch the half buried hides once the tort comes home to see if they are a problem for climbing on the tops and the tort flipping over.

Do you have a UVB bulb and pure calcium powder to give daily? Temp gun? I don't really trust just placing those screen readout thermometers at a spot as they are more ambient air temp, not substrate temp.

A 12 sq ft table is overkill for a 2-3 month old tort. I'd block at least half off so the tort doesn't get overwhelmed (they will not want to move around because there is so much space, especially between the hides, which they like to dart between), and also so you can expand the space later on. No matter how big you make the enclosure, you need to expand the size as the tort grows or else it is essentially shrinking around them. Make sure some of the hides are not much bigger than the tort so it can feel secure--from the scale of the table those hides look big for a hatchling. Fake plants and hay piles are good for that. If you notice your tort never going in the large hides, that is likely why (so you might want to switch them out for something smaller until your tort grows a bit)--just a heads up. If your tort is wobbly walking on the substrate, you may want to change to something with smaller particles like the coconut coir, organic potting soil, etc. The chips can be a bit bumpy for the hatchlings to have footing on (and it can actually mess with their leg muscle development).

Weeds sound great. Don't be surprised if your tort isn't interested in grass or hay--they tend to not get a taste for it until a couple years old, although introducing small amounts into the diet is good (I just want to make sure you offer enough other foods and don't assume they will eat it). Moistened salad style hay is a good thing to introduce in the diet, same with chemical free grass. Check the weeds are organic and safe for torts. Edible flowers, good lettuces, and greens are good too. Variety is key. Cactus pads, squash, and pumpkin are some ideas for treats.

Do you have a vet appointment scheduled for a check up and fecal test? Good luck and congrats!

 

[ADVANceNA]

thanks for the info ! all points duely noted and i shall see what i can work on. Night time temps dip to arbout 72 degress so i, sure that should be good. I do maybe want to add somemore coco fiber for the little guy/girl to get some more of that depth that you are speaking of, maybe another coco brick should help out, thanks ! The substrate is not wet but it is definitely damp. For instance if i take a handful and squeeze tightly, no water comes up, but the fiber clumps together and keeps shape. Under the light is actually a piece of slate rock i have, it isnt a tile, i have heard a bit about tile and decided not to go with it. I also offset the slate a little off to the side, and not directly directly underneath the center of the light so it doesnt get to to hott, even touching it with my own hand i think its nice and warm. Thanks for the tip on the heat gun, i actually planned on grabbing that as my last little tidbit to get haha i like the idea of the hay hides imbetween the bigger one, thanks so much ! i will definitely utilize that as i thought the size was a little overkill also and the hides spaced out. Im going to see how the little guy/girl reacts to everything and if i see they're not liking the size i will definitely trim down the size asap. i do have calcium supplement and a uvb bulb. Actually its a mercury vapor bulb that i got for free from a friend that won one it in a raffle at the reptile expo a while ago. I know mercury bulbs arent great as they are prone to turning off due to heat and such, but it was free and in the past 5 days of leaving it on for 12 hrs a day, it hasnt turned off, so i think ill use it for the time being. One of the cool things also about the box is that the hot side is underneath my window and my room gets a lot of sunlight and will shine directly into the basking area of his box, so i think it can be an added plus. Thankyou so much for your input it is really appreciated. Im sure i will make changes as soon as Einstein is in there so i can really suit everything to how he is. Thanks again and have a great day !

 

[Annieski]

Any Sulcata would be proud to call this home[at least for a year or so] Nice work -now get some rest before the baby gets here!

 

[ADVANceNA]

thanks annie ! i dont know if i can rest tonight though im sssooooo excited, like a kid, the night before going to disneyland for their 1st time haha

 

[tortoisenerd]

Slate rock does the same thing as tile. Personally I'd ditch that no matter what temp it is getting (just based on the fact its heat from below), but of course its up to you. Yes, night temp (I'd do 70-75 until a couple years of age, where 60-70 is good) and substrate moisture sound good. Mercury Vapor Bulbs are the best your money can buy (the T-Rex Active UV Heat and Mega Ray are the best brands). Make sure it hasn't been used, as they have a life of about 12 months when on 12 hours a day. Put it on your calendar to replace it in 12 months with one of those two brands (unless the tort gets out for sun an hour or two most days a week, under which case you don't need UVB indoors, just light & heat). I don't know why someone told you there is an issue with them turning off. If the power goes out then yes they may take 5 minutes or so to turn back on because of their design (to avoid blowing out), but thats it. Some brands are much better than others as far as UVB output--not sure what you have. There is some data here if you are interested in the comparison of MVBs vs. tube lights for UVB output: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercuryvapourlamps.htm & http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubes.htm (compact florescents used to be associated with blinding torts, so most of us on the forum still don't trust them, plus MVBs are better).

Be very careful with the sun shining in the enclosure, as that can raise temps. You need to measure temps with a temp gun both with and without the sun on the enclosure, as they can vary drastically (for example, say you measured temps in a cold part of the day, not knowing that with afternoon sun it is 10-15 degrees higher!). FYI no UVB comes through glass. The one big thing I'd reconsider is blocking off half to cut down from 12 to 6 sq ft, not waiting for the tort to get there. That way too the substrate will be twice as deep (just pile it up). If the tort gets used to that much space its bad to then decrease it. If you start that big, you have to go up from there, so very quickly you are needing an even larger enclosure. Since you spent so much time and money making it and 6 sq ft is plenty for awhile, I'd want to get as much time as you can out of that table.

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Hope we get some photos tomorrow.