Sulcata Suggestions

[AzAngel]

Hello my Tortoise friends

I just wanted to see if you all could provide me with suggestions on how I can make my indoor enclosure better. I use coconut coir substrate. I have live plants growing, Kale sprouts, Romaine sprouts and my Bermuda grass is just starting to sprout. I have a daytime and night time heat lamp. I mist it between 8-10x per day to keep the humidity up. Are there any suggestions on how to make this an enclosed system? That way the humidity will stay up better. He is doing well and gaining some weight. I also have a small outdoor enclosure that he goes for walk abouts in for 2-3 hours in the morning before it gets blazing hot here. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[AZtortMom]

Hi!
Your best bet is going to be to put a lid on your enclosure. Plexiglass works. Some people use tin foil too.
Covering it keeps in the humidity and the heat.

 

[AzAngel]

How do you put a plexi glass top with the heat lamps?

 

[Tom]

You need a humid hide, and I would suggest buying or building a large closed chamber.

What type of "night bulb" are you using? I would suggest a CHE. Set it on a thermostat and it will maintain the correct ambient temperature all day and night for you. Then your basking lamp can be on a timer.

Note that when you cover the tank it will hold in the heat much better and your current bulb may be too hot.

SAFETY NOTICE: You should never use the clamps that come with those fixtures. They always fail sooner or later and the result can be truly disastrous. Many homes burn down from this practice. Your lamps need to be hung from above so you can adjust them up or down to get the right temps.

 

[Blakem]

As mentioned, get plexiglass. You can buy a 1/4 sheet thickness and cut it based on the dimensions of your top. That will help a lot. Then get a thermostat to use for a ceramic heat emitter

 

[Speedy-1]

I am no expert , but I would put some sort of cover on right away to hold the heat and humidity. Mine has 2 sliding screen covers which were covered with plastic for that purpose. I also have a large flat "I think it is flagstone" rock right under my lamp. I know it warms up and helps to hold the heat in. Speedy loves to lay on his rock and "catch some rays" ! I am sure others with more knowledge then me will join in to help. You might also look at tortoise enclosures here ; http://www.tortoiseforum.org/forums/tortoise-enclosures.7/

 

[AzAngel]

Okay, sorry for all the newbie questions, but I want to get my enclosure just right. I had a piece of plywood that suprisingly just the right size to fit over one of the halves of the enlosure. I put some hooks in the botton and hung the heat lamp that omits no light. My questions is. How safe is plywood with a heat lamp attached? The heat lamp is not actually touching the wood, but now that the topic of safety is in my head I just want to be sure its safe. If this half works well I will get a second piece to cover the other half. Once again, I appricate everyones patience. (Bowser will appriciate it too)

 

[Speedy-1]

How do you put a plexi glass top with the heat lamps?

I don't know what others have done, but I cut a square hole in mine , that the bulb fits through .

 

[Speedy-1]

Okay, sorry for all the newbie questions, but I want to get my enclosure just right. I had a piece of plywood that suprisingly just the right size to fit over one of the halves of the enlosure. I put some hooks in the botton and hung the heat lamp that omits no light. My questions is. How safe is plywood with a heat lamp attached? The heat lamp is not actually touching the wood, but now that the topic of safety is in my head I just want to be sure its safe. If this half works well I will get a second piece to cover the other half. Once again, I appricate everyones patience. (Bowser will appriciate it too)

I just looked at your picture, your light needs to be right above or a bit down in the tank, for the heat and humidity . I just lowered my bulb about 3 inches down and it raised the temperature.

 

[AzAngel]

I have a 60 watt bulb and it is already 88 degrees under the lamp. Should it be warmer than that?

 

[Speedy-1]

If you go here you can see how mine is ; http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/speedys-world.124538/ Wood top will probably absorb moisture rather than containing it , that is why people suggest foil or plastic to line it !

Heat/Humidity Until your sulcata reaches 4" Straight Carapace Length (SCL), you need to regulate ambient temperatures. As hatchlings in the wild, they likely spend much of their first year in burrows. The best rule of thumb is to provide them with an indoor habitat where temperatures range from 80F to at least 100F. The hottest being their basking spot. The coolest being their hide or burrow. Larger sulcata can bear temperatures as cold as 50F (in captivity) and as high as 150F (in the wild). Generally speaking, the 4" rule comes into play with humidity levels, as well. The key to proper humidity levels is relative to the temperatures. As long as temperatures are 80F or above, 100% humidty is acceptable, but anything 50% or above will promote a healthier animal. This can be achieved by keeping your substrate (except grass or hay) moist or by utilizing a humidifier or even a swamp cooler. Again, larger sulcata do quite well with minimal humidity.

You should probably read the whole article http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/african-spurred-tortoise-sulcata-care-sheet.52524/ I found it helpful and you will to . Good luck with it .

 

[AzAngel]

Thank you Everyone. With all your help Im slowly getting Bowsers House up to par. I had alot of drama this weekend with figuring out how to hang lamps from plexiglass top, then with the bulb wattage being to high with the new closed top, but I can tell Bowser is much happier in his new digs. One las question. With the 60w basking bulb, under the bulb temp was reading 105-108 degrees with the temp by his burrow being 90 degrees. Is this to hot? Bowser still liked sleeping under his basking lamp even though it was hot. I got worried and turned the lamp off for a litte while while it cooled. I posted pics of my upgrade