Am I doing this correctly?

[H2447INTX]

So I bought a Leo hatchling, and a 3 month old.

Just looking for reassurance that I'm doing this for the most part correctly.

The tank is a the large exo terra 36Lx18Dx12H
Replaces the wire mesh top with a plexiglas top I cut , helps with humidity greatly

Under tank heating pad to keep substrate warm on timer, just to keep a little warmth in the ground and help humidity

3" organic top soil
1/2" to 1" cypress mulch
Some edible plants
Hide with moss warm 88° and humid
Water dish and basking tile
60watt heating element keeps the tank 80°- 81° one end and 85°-86° on the other .
The humidity is lower on warm end 70%+-
Basking area is 95+

Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture, 15 W / 18 IN

Soak them every day around 9AM

Feed spring mix so far this week with cactus , hibiscus leaves . Dusted with calcium/D3

Seam to be doing well.

The hatchling we got last Friday and he is really doing great , eats , poops walks about sleeps, repeat

The 3 month old we got Tuesday of this week and he eats , but sleeps alot ,basks , will eat on his own but few bites and seams like he loses interest.

Both will eat out of your hand and I have a grassland seed pack comekng to plant.

The three month old I'm not sure has pooped yet, if so it's very little.

He popped alot in shipping box but not much now that we have him I am keeping an eye on his weight .
When we got him he was 91.66 grams now 94.26 grams so gained 2.6 grams in 2 days.
So I'm just waiting on a good bowl movement so I know he is good. Just think he may need a few days to settle in?

So I'm thinking over all conditions , look good maybe not perfect but acceptable ! ?

Any feed back or just a simple yes it good would be great.

Really trying my best to make all this work.

 

[H2447INTX]

Enclosure

 

[Melis]

Welcome! You will be receiving advise to separate immediately. Not only should torts not be housed as pairs, but a quarenteen period should occur for any new animal before introduction to another. A few other quick things. That water bowl is not recommended as it can cause a tipping and drowning risk. Most use a terra-cotta plant saucer. Also, those temp gauges are not very accurate. Digital thermometers and hygrometers are more accurate. What are you using for UV?

Have you read the caresheets located in the leopard section?

 

[H2447INTX]

Welcome! You will be receiving advise to separate immediately. Not only should torts not be housed as pairs, but a quarenteen period should occur for any new animal before introduction to another. A few other quick things. That water bowl is not recommended as it can cause a tipping and drowning risk. Most use a terra-cotta plant saucer. Also, those temp gauges are not very accurate. Digital thermometers and hygrometers are more accurate. What are you using for UV?

Have you read the caresheets located in the leopard section?

I have read some of the careshert. Will revisit that .

The water bowl will be replaced with terra-cotta. That was in the plans as was the food dish being replaced with tile .

I do understand the guages are off . I have a temp gun and I use my kestrel hand held weather meter to confirm temp humidity.

As for separation. I'll see about setting up another enclosure, I didnt know that befor I got them

Got one Friday last week and the other Tuesday of this week.

UV
Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture, 15 W / 18 IN

Thanks for the info.

 

[LaLaP]

Hi and welcome! That enclosure is very beautiful with the rocky backdrop and your torts are adorable! I second the info that @Melis gave you. You'll find everything you need on the care sheets plus this thread called Beginner mistakes.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
Can you tell me about the rocky backdrop? Where did you get it? So pretty!
Happy torting!

 

[H2447INTX]

Well I am making some adjustments today as recommended.

As for the rocky backdrop that is an insert that cam with the exo terra tank.

 

[eb318]

Hello

I don't know anything about leopard tortoises, but I do know that UV will not pass through glass or plastic, so if your UV lamp is sitting on top of your plexiglass lid, it will not be reaching the inside of the enclosure.

The visible light does obviously, which is why you can be caught out.

You can buy special UV transmitting plastic sheets (for greenhouses etc) but it's expensive, so you would have known if you'd bought it.

BW

Ella

 

[H2447INTX]

Hello

I don't know anything about leopard tortoises, but I do know that UV will not pass through glass or plastic, so if your UV lamp is sitting on top of your plexiglass lid, it will not be reaching the inside of the enclosure.

The visible light does obviously, which is why you can be caught out.

You can buy special UV transmitting plastic sheets (for greenhouses etc) but it's expensive, so you would have known if you'd bought it.

BW

Ella

There is a space/hole cut in the plexiglas for the light.

 

[eb318]

There is a space/hole cut in the plexiglas for the light.

Ah ok you got it