Tinytortmama
Member
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm pretty versed in many animals, but this entire process has been extremely stressful, all due the reasons you have stated here that everyone has different ways to do things and so much conflicting advice. It is much the same in the small mammal rehab world.Coir is too messy for sulcata. Get fine grade orchid bark. Sold as "Repti-bark" in pet channels.
I don't like those water bowls. Too slick. Get terra cotta saucers and sink them into the substrate for wood and water. Start with 6 inch saucers, and get bigger saucers as your tortoise grows.
No dual hoods. You want separate hoods so you can spread out your heat and light. Get the ceramic based hoods at Home Depot for about $13. Get rid of the clamps that come with them.
Reptile thermometers suck. Get other ones that record the highs and lows. Look for Accu-Rite or Therm-Pro brands. Like this:
View attachment 359448
For UV get the Arcadia Pro T5 Kit from Lightyourreptiles.com or from Kapidolofarms.com.
No heat mats for tortoises. Use overhead RHPs or CHEs set on a thermostat for that.
The LEDs look good for light.
The floods look good for heat.
The enclosure that you posted in the top left is the only one I would use, IF it is not made of wood. If it is wood, then its no good. Any wooden enclosure will rot in short order with all the necessary moisture and humidity. You need a closed chamber. All of the other ones are open on top. You need something made of expanded PVC material and it needs to be 24 inches tall inside to have room to hang your lights. If you want to save your self a lot of time, trouble and expense, just order a smart enclosure from @Markw84 It is everything you need and its already assembled and done. Its cheaper than buying everything separately and building it yourself, and it is the perfect tortoise life support system. You can easily add on the inexpensive "expansion pack" in a few months when your tortoise outgrows it.
Where are you getting the baby? Almost no one starts them correctly. You will be lucky if it survives the way most breeders do it. I think you should delay shipment until AFTER you have the enclosure all set up, running, tested and adjusted to perfection. You don't want to be making adjustments after thereby is in there, and it takes time to get everything perfect. There will be many unexpected delays between now and August 4th.
The enclosure you mentioned is not wood, but a composite material, which I would still line the bottom I think and I considered removing the wire mesh at the top, and putting the entire thing in a greenhouse and stringing the lights above. I see this done with those greenhouse things and I assume the bulbs, as long as not touching any of the surround, would be safe and not a huge fire hazard.
I did reach out to Mark about pricing on an enclosure.
I purchased the baby from someone in Missouri who breeds about 6 kinds of tortoises. I do plan to have the enclosure set up, temp and humidity tested and ready to go before she comes home.