Hello all, introducing my babies

[Moore]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and my quarter of baby MEE are new to me as well. Love the species, full of character already at (approx) six months. I'm keeping them in a custom tank, with half of the tank ranging between 70-100% Humidity the other half is 50-60%. I use a 5.0 bulb for uvb. And a 60 watt bulb on the dry side that keeps the temp in the mid seventies. The humid side is kept in the mid seventies with an under the tank cable. Always fresh food and water available. But I have noticed that the little guys spend a great deal of time partially buried on the humid side, and they tend to take a while to open their eyes when woken up. They're eating and pooping as healthy as can be. Just wondering if there's something wrong with the eyes or if it's a species thing. Pictures just for fun

 

[Rue]

Cute! I am new to tortoises as well...with one baby Hermann's. I'm still new to the jargon as well...what does MEE stand for?

 

[Moore]

Cute! I am new to tortoises as well...with one baby Hermann's. I'm still new to the jargon as well...what does MEE stand for?

Manouria emys emys, they're Burmese brown tortoises. Super fun to work with so far

 

[Rue]

Thanks! That helps!

I'm glad they're fun!

 

[Yvonne G]

I have had success raising these babies in a very humid environment and the whole habitat 80F or a bit more. I keep the substrate not just moist, but actually wet. If you dig down, it's a puddle underneath.

Your eye problem is associated with the low humidity, and could also be due to the light. Is it one of these:

 

[juli11]

Everything ok with the eye? Or do you make the photo "in the wrong moment"?

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome. Very cute babies. I would have suggested the same as Yvonne with the humidity and higher temps. High humidity and lower temps make them sick. Also about the bulb. If you are using the coil type like Yvonne picture, that would be a problem on the eyes and stop using it

 

[Moore]

I am using a regular old school, round incandescent bulb. It's a shallow tank, I fear erring on the side of too hot. Is solely under-the-tank heating acceptable? It's seldom to never that I catch them basking. I will definitely dampen. I'm in the process of designing an abs table for humidity with a small fan included in the top to allow air circulation.

 

[Yvonne G]

You are going to need more than the under the tank heating. Buy a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) and hang it over the middle of the enclosure:



Then cover the whole enclosure to keep the warm air inside. Moist/wet and anything below 80F is a prescription for a sick tortoise. As adults, the Manouria species is quite cold tolerant, but as babies, you need to keep them warm.

I doubt you'll need the fan. I have my baby enclosures covered with no fan and they survive quite well.

 

[Moore]

You are going to need more than the under the tank heating. Buy a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) and hang it over the middle of the enclosure:

View attachment 168383

Then cover the whole enclosure to keep the warm air inside. Moist/wet and anything below 80F is a prescription for a sick tortoise. As adults, the Manouria species is quite cold tolerant, but as babies, you need to keep them warm.

I doubt you'll need the fan. I have my baby enclosures covered with no fan and they survive quite well.

Awesome. What is the hottest sit in your tank, right below the heat emitter. I fear, due to the shallow tank, I will overhear them.

 

[Moore]

Awesome. What is the hottest sit in your tank, right below the heat emitter. I fear, due to the shallow tank, I will overhear them.

* hottest site
* overheat.
Damn autocorrect

 

[Yvonne G]

Awesome. What is the hottest sit in your tank, right below the heat emitter. I fear, due to the shallow tank, I will overhear them.

I don't have a 'hottest site.' The overall heat in the tub is 83F. The light is high enough that the heat isn't concentrated below it. And it's covered so the hot air stays inside.

Make yourself some sort of light stand so you can get the light/emitter up higher, then the shallowness of the tank won't matter.

 

[Moore]

I don't have a 'hottest site.' The overall heat in the tub is 83F. The light is high enough that the heat isn't concentrated below it. And it's covered so the hot air stays inside.

Make yourself some sort of light stand so you can get the light/emitter up higher, then the shallowness of the tank won't matter.

Okay. I'm going to get to work, I have a 60w heat emitter, I'll rig something up. Thanks for your help, I appreciate your patience!

 

[Moore]

Just an update. Using a deep, disposable tin casserole dish. With a hole cut out, and flipped upside down. I've been able to bring up the temps to the mid eighties and 90% humidity throughout. Eye problem solved! Just wondering, since the humidity seems ample. Would it cause any disruption to add live, outdoor moss, earthworms and pill bugs to the enclosure? They can pick them if they desire

 

[SarahChelonoidis]

If you're worried about a CHE making a single hot spot, try a radiant heat panel instead. They work beautifully in restricted spaces.

 

[Moore]

If you're worried about a CHE making a single hot spot, try a radiant heat panel instead. They work beautifully in restricted spaces.

Yea. I'm not a fan of the CHE myself, they seem too intense and a bit dangerous. I use an under the tank heating cable, in conjunction with a couple of 60 watt black light bulbs. The heating cable gets it a bit too warm so I have it on a timer for 2 hrs on 2 hrs off. Under the tank heat also does wonders for humidity.

 

[Moore]

You are going to need more than the under the tank heating. Buy a CHE (ceramic heat emitter) and hang it over the middle of the enclosure:

View attachment 168383

Then cover the whole enclosure to keep the warm air inside. Moist/wet and anything below 80F is a prescription for a sick tortoise. As adults, the Manouria species is quite cold tolerant, but as babies, you need to keep them warm.

I doubt you'll need the fan. I have my baby enclosures covered with no fan and they survive quite well.

Hi Yvonne,
I thought I would follow up with the fan idea. I put it in just to try it, to see if I noticed any changes. It oddly seemed to trigger an immediate feed response from the whole group? Not that I'm concerned about their appetite because they are constantly stuffing their faces. It was interesting to see them sometimes wake up from a sleep and head over to the food dish as soon as the fan clicked on. I have since discontinued it, due to the significant temperature drop (duhh) haha. But it was still an interesting response. Thanks again for your help, the crew is doing great

 

[Marcuslcarson]

I plan to keep a few in the future.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/chambers-my-take-of-the-idea.77044/

I used 54 gallon totes for chambers. In this thread I raised some M.e.p. and in another tote (same thread) I raised some leos.

Please notice there is standing water. The warmest spot was high, but the tortoises spend a great deal of the time in the sweater box hide. There were worms and pillbugs in there which provided them with some enrichment both nutritionally and behaviorally.

 

[Moore]

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/chambers-my-take-of-the-idea.77044/

I used 54 gallon totes for chambers. In this thread I raised some M.e.p. and in another tote (same thread) I raised some leos.

Please notice there is standing water. The warmest spot was high, but the tortoises spend a great deal of the time in the sweater box hide. There were worms and pillbugs in there which provided them with some enrichment both nutritionally and behaviorally.

Thanks for that. The linked thread was a double whammy, my next project is leopards and I love what you have set up. Very practical. Thanks again