Sheltered temperature too hot?!

Ascott8769

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Hi I have recently got a Mediterranean spur thigh tortoise he has an open vivarium and is being kept in our living room. We have just checked the temperature for the undercover shelter where he sleeps and it is reading at 80F which I am aware is too hot.
Any guidance or tips on how to cool it down?!
 

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wellington

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You need to read the caresheet and make many changes.
After reading it come back with whatever you don't understand.
The water dish and substrate need to be changed asap along with depth of substrate.
 

Ascott8769

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Hi we do have a terracotta water dish which is just toward the bottom of the picture, I will remove the bigger one.
The substrate is hemp bedding which I can’t see in the care sheet it was supplied by the pet shop who said they have found it to be the best but I am happy to make any changes necessary
 

Ascott8769

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You need to read the caresheet and make many changes.
After reading it come back with whatever you don't understand.
The water dish and substrate need to be changed asap along with depth of substrate.
Hi sorry could you please tell me where to find the caresheet?
 

Krista S

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Hi sorry could you please tell me where to find the caresheet?
Hello, and welcome to the forum! I have linked the most up to date care sheet below that will help with caring for your new tortoise. It was written by one of our members, based on his many years of experience. It seems the pet store gave some incorrect information. I would remove the fruit from the food dish right away as they shouldn’t be fed fruit. It upsets their gut flora and can cause all sorts of problems.


Your baby tortoise should be in a closed chamber with high humidity, which is why that particular substrate is not recommended. Please also make sure you have a backup way to reinforce your clamp lamp (at least in the pic it looks like a clamp lamp). Those are known to fail and we’ve seen tortoises die and fires started as a result.

I know this is a lot to take in. Just take it one step at a time and we can help get things on track for your little one.
 

Ascott8769

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Joined
Aug 1, 2021
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7
Location (City and/or State)
Hertfordshire
Hello, and welcome to the forum! I have linked the most up to date care sheet below that will help with caring for your new tortoise. It was written by one of our members, based on his many years of experience. It seems the pet store gave some incorrect information. I would remove the fruit from the food dish right away as they shouldn’t be fed fruit. It upsets their gut flora and can cause all sorts of problems.


Your baby tortoise should be in a closed chamber with high humidity, which is why that particular substrate is not recommended. Please also make sure you have a backup way to reinforce your clamp lamp (at least in the pic it looks like a clamp lamp). Those are known to fail and we’ve seen tortoises die and fires started as a result.

I know this is a lot to take in. Just take it one step at a time and we can help get things on track for your little one.
Thank you so much!! We have removed the big water dish and have just left the shallow terracotta dish in, removed the fruit and ordered some fine orchid bark so hopefully that will help! Thank you for your help
 

Tom

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Hi I have recently got a Mediterranean spur thigh tortoise he has an open vivarium and is being kept in our living room. We have just checked the temperature for the undercover shelter where he sleeps and it is reading at 80F which I am aware is too hot.
Any guidance or tips on how to cool it down?!
How is the hide getting so hot? Is that your room temp?
 

Ascott8769

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Hertfordshire
How is the hide getting so hot? Is that your room temp?
Hi I’m not sure how it is getting so hot. I live in the south east of England in a 1st floor apartment. We don’t have our heating on but the weather has been warm the past couple of days. It is now reading at 75F
 

Tom

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Hi I’m not sure how it is getting so hot. I live in the south east of England in a 1st floor apartment. We don’t have our heating on but the weather has been warm the past couple of days. It is now reading at 75F
If that is just room temp and you are not using a heat mat or something over there, I'd leave it be. Its good for them to have seasonal temperature variation.

The care sheet that Krista linked for you should have lots of helpful tips for you. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you want. We are all here to talk tortoises.
 

Ascott8769

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Aug 1, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Hertfordshire
If that is just room temp and you are not using a heat mat or something over there, I'd leave it be. Its good for them to have seasonal temperature variation.

The care sheet that Krista linked for you should have lots of helpful tips for you. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you want. We are all here to talk tortoises.
Yes this is just the temperature of the room we did purchase a heat mat but haven’t put it on.
Thank you for your help I have had a read through the care sheet and there is lots of useful information I will be using.
 

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