I've tried to raise leopards without a basking lamp, and the result is always... wait for it... very slow growth in spite of good appetite and a good diet. Sulcatas too. And stars.
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I've tried to raise leopards without a basking lamp, and the result is always... wait for it... very slow growth in spite of good appetite and a good diet. Sulcatas too. And stars.
Ambient and night temp should be around 26-27C. 30C during the day is pretty good. But they still need a basking area around 36-37C. If you basking lamp is overheating the entire enclosure, then you need to do one of two things: 1. Use a lower wattage bulb, or 2. Run your current bulb through a rheostat, aka: dimmer, and dial down the wattage a bit to get the correct temps. In an open table (not good for leopards), a person could also raise up the fixture a bit, but the bulb would be over heating a table since all the heat would just go up and into the room.
When you say it is overheating the whole enclosure, what temperature are we talking about? Its okay for it to get up to 30-33C during the day. I mean ambient in the whole enclosure.
What type of basking bulb is it and what wattage?
What type of UV bulb?
What are you using to maintain ambient heat?
Hemp is not a suitable bedding. Its too dry and can't be kept damp. You need to use orchid bark and keep it damp. Humidity should be 80+% or you will see pyramiding.
Calcium supplements should only be used twice a week.
Babies under 100 grams need to be soaked every day. Only after they surpass 100 grams do I start skipping an occasional day.
In addition to the thread that Barb left, here is more care info:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
Thank you!I've tried to raise leopards without a basking lamp, and the result is always... wait for it... very slow growth in spite of good appetite and a good diet. Sulcatas too. And stars.
Ambient and night temp should be around 26-27C. 30C during the day is pretty good. But they still need a basking area around 36-37C. If you basking lamp is overheating the entire enclosure, then you need to do one of two things: 1. Use a lower wattage bulb, or 2. Run your current bulb through a rheostat, aka: dimmer, and dial down the wattage a bit to get the correct temps. In an open table (not good for leopards), a person could also raise up the fixture a bit, but the bulb would be over heating a table since all the heat would just go up and into the room.
When you say it is overheating the whole enclosure, what temperature are we talking about? Its okay for it to get up to 30-33C during the day. I mean ambient in the whole enclosure.
What type of basking bulb is it and what wattage?
What type of UV bulb?
What are you using to maintain ambient heat?
Hemp is not a suitable bedding. Its too dry and can't be kept damp. You need to use orchid bark and keep it damp. Humidity should be 80+% or you will see pyramiding.
Calcium supplements should only be used twice a week.
Babies under 100 grams need to be soaked every day. Only after they surpass 100 grams do I start skipping an occasional day.
In addition to the thread that Barb left, here is more care info:
Info For New People. Please Read This First.
Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...
I know this was not your question, and this is a tortoise forum, but I don't like orchid bark for snakes. I find it causes snout problems as they root around in it. I prefer coco chips for most snake applications. Monitor lizards and skinks too. But orchid bark is best for tortoises.
Haha, no problem. Thank you for your input. Our snakes are all very healthy and we haven’t found any problems with them rooting in their bark over many years. Perhaps we’ll try out a different substrate in the future.
Yes. That is explained here in this thread that I think you have already read:
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