At PetSmart...what do I need?

[lokenica]

So I am going to give Otis the Russian more heat until his owner decides to keep humor not. I put him in a 40 gallon tank. Took him out of 20 she houses him in. His bulb is not warm enough. At Petsmart. What do I get? I have aflourescent strip for light.m v b with u v b or mercury vapor? Coconut coir for substrate? He currently has reptibark. Do u think i can put him in the enclosure dad and I built until a decision ismade or will that contaminate it if I get a baby? Thx. Lynette

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

I would get a power sun MVB and a CHE. You will need a thermostat as well to control the temps.
Yes, reusing the substrate will potentially contaminate it for the next tortoise to use it.

 

[Vickie]

Hi, I sent you a private message with list of ideas but didn't want to hog you post. Anyway, wish you the very best of luck on this tortoise and to say its great of you to take care of one that the owner doesn't know if she wants it or not. Especially when it puts you in a spot that you are spending good amount of money on it and you have no clue if the next day she is going to show up after you buy all of this and want it back. You must have a HUGE heart.

So I am going to give Otis the Russian more heat until his owner decides to keep humor not. I put him in a 40 gallon tank. Took him out of 20 she houses him in. His bulb is not warm enough. At Petsmart. What do I get? I have aflourescent strip for light.m v b with u v b or mercury vapor? Coconut coir for substrate? He currently has reptibark. Do u think i can put him in the enclosure dad and I built until a decision ismade or will that contaminate it if I get a baby? Thx. Lynette

 

[Jacqui]

While it will contaminate your enclosure, you can still clean and disinfect it for the next animal just fine. Could also help you see areas you may need to work on before you get your future tortoise. One of the very first things I would get is a temp gun. Then you can make sure what temps your getting the enclosure up to or down to, not just be guessing. Those dials and tapes are just not accurate enough, you need the real temperature taking gun to shoot for readings.

 

[EchoTheLeoTort]

i second the powersun mvb. i have a 100 watt and it keeps the enclosure 90 degrees on the hot end, 83 on cool end, with a 102ish basking spot. they last a long time and will work for the next tort you get as well. They provide heat and UVB so you don't have to waste money on another uvb bulb and fixture. I actually use coco coir as a bottom substrate and then repti bark on the top to keep the tort dry but the coco coir damp to create humidity. You don't need a lot of humidity for a russian so you'd be fine with either one, but if you had to choose id say just get coco coir. I would also run to walmart or some store similar and get a shallow plant saucer for a water dish for easy access. Definitely would invest in a temp gun as stated above for accurate readings. You can also raise and lower the lamp fixture to raise/lower the temp

 

[zman7590]

But them online though. If you shop around you can get them alot cheaper

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