a few questions???

[myssie]

First lighting, I have a fluval osaka double lite strip. Can I purchase the proper blubs for my little tort so that I can use it?? I have two mini tube bulbs, t5 glo life right now is that good for her?

Second, do I put the calcium/d3 on all of her food or just once a day, once a week???

New mommy here nervous and only wanting the best for my little gal.

Thanks all

 

[Jacqui]

Hi! Welcome to the wonderful world of tortoises. If your feeling embarrassed about being a nervous new Mommy, don't be. It's very normal.

I am not familiar with the light fixture, so will leave that entirely to somebody else.

I have a question, what kind and size of tortoise do you have? (It can make a difference to me in how to fully answer your question on the calcium). Will your tortoise be outside? (asking because that and his diet can make a difference on even if he needs the added Vit D).

 

[myssie]

I am getting a leopard tortoise at the end of the month. So she is just a little baby yet. We are just coming into good wheather now so for the next 4 to 5 months she will be outside daily (providing there is no rain) But we do have a long cruel winter here so that time will be spent indoors, *of course* I have decided to go with a MVB for her Viv and a regular blub for additional lighting. Do I keep the mvb bulb on 24/7 as that is her only heat source or do I turn it off at nights??

Thanks for listening to a worried expentant mommy. Just want to make sure all is in place before she arrives.

Myssie

 

[K9KidsLove]

Myssie...You will leave the MVB on about 12 - 14 hours daily unless she is outside. If you need more heat in your enclosure, use a ceramic heat emitter...it gives off no light, only heat. At night if the temp is below 65, use an emitter. You will need a deep clamp lamp for your MVB. Please don't use any coil or compact lights as they have a history of causing eye problems.

Congratulations on getting a baby leopard...you do know one of the requirements of new mommies is to post many pictures!!!
Patsy

 

[Traveller]

Just a word of caution with regards to keeping a young leopard tort outside.
Personally I would only take a young hatchling out for a few hours of sunshine a day when it gets good and hot.
These little guys can be quite fragile and chill easily when small.
He/she will be small enough that it will be quite happy in a large tote at least for the first year if not more.
Just my thoughts.

Oh I love the t-shirt you're wearing, can I ask where you got it?
And oh yes pics please.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Hi! Congrats on your new future tort. Do all the research you can now as hatchlings can be very tough. As a hatchling, you want to sprinkle a pure calcium powder daily over the food. You don't need D3 when the tort has UVB. After the tort is a few years old, you can sprinkle it every other day, and as an adult, a couple days a week. You really can't overdose on the pure calcium though as it is water soluble, so no worries. Do however beware of D3 and vitamin supplements which you can overdose, which is why I don't personally recommend they be used. If you feel a supplement is necessary, chose a natural one such as Total Nutrition for Tortoises form carolinapetsupply.com, which is just natural ground up stuff.

Since you have a yard, I would start now making it a chemical-free graze. Don't put any fertilizer or pesticides on (unless they are natural like a manure type), and you could even plant seeds for edible weeds and greens. If you are not willing to let your whole yard go wild with the weeds, then at least make any areas the tort will have access to be chemical-free, and a little area to plant stuff for it to eat which you could even pick for it and bring indoors. I would not let my tort even walk on grass that has chemicals on it as they can be sensitive to them. I even go so far to only let my tort eat organic, but if you don't go that far, stuff made for humans to eat is still better than flowers and grass not made for human consumption that has chemicals.

If you haven't bought a MVB yet, I recommend going for a 100 Watt T-Rex as you get the highest UVB output and most quality. They run about $50 but they last for a year. Right that year date on your calendar, as after that point they have decayed so bad the tort doesn't get much usable UVB. You need a wide and deep hood fixture with a ceramic socket. The bulb face needs to be parallel to the substrate (you cannot use a clamp lamp and it cannot be at an angle). Since you will need to adjust the bulb up and down based on the room temperature, I recommend an adjustable lamp stand. You clamp the fixture to the stand, or hang the fixture from a hook on the stand if the fixture has a hook for that. ZooMed makes some neat black lamp stands that run under $25, and you can find fixtures all sorts of places. The reptile ones are black, about 10 inch diameter is good. You can also get them for cheaper at hardware stores (just be very careful to get ceramic socket as these get HOT), but they will be a silver color. I like stuff to match, lol.

The MVB should be enough for a hatchling size enclosure, but if your night house temperature is below 65 or 70 F, I would add a ceramic heat emitter to bump up the temperature to that (so even if you don't need it this time of year, keep in mind to buy one before the fall/winter). Once the tort is a few years old, above 60 F is more appropriate. You do want a night temperature drop--keeping them too warm at night is also unhealthy, as is having them be cold, as they have a tough time warming up in the morning and wanting to eat.

I agree that I would want a tort to be say 6-12 months before it spends time outside except for an hour or two under direct watch, and with a hide and water dish. When he tort is a little older and you have a safe enclosure (which means a dug-down fence and it is wired in such as with hardware cloth to prevent predators), then leaving it outside when the temps permit is fine. Do also make sure you have a hide that is sloped so if it rains and you can't get home to get the tort, it won't drown.

What temperatures are you thinking are appropriate for it to be outside? What are you doing for an indoor enclosure and diet? Good luck! Can't wait for pictures.