ilovekitty666

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Joined
Jul 21, 2018
Messages
8
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Florida central gulf coast
Hey everybody I'm Nick, the handy half of the ilovekitty team. First off, Id really like to just thank everybody on the forum here, without you guys i would probably be telling Katlyyn to just go throw them in the fish tank. Thankfully though I found you guys and i am now working on giving our baby sulcatas/pastas (Linguine,Tortellini,Ravioli) a safe and healthy living environment.

The enclosure is 8'x3'x3', it is built and just got its 2nd coat of drylok now.



The plan is to slap a cheap counter top on it like this.





And do the lattice cap and plexiglass set up seen in tom's inspirational growth experiment thread.
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/2015-growth-experiment.119874/#post-1109504
This is not mine, all credit for this photo and most of the ideas on here to @Tom.



Materials were not counted the greatest but here is what I can remember buying:
2 - 1 gallon cans on drylock
15ish - 2" x 3"x 8' studs
1 - 2" x 6"x 8' stud
4 - sheets plywood (Had the home depot guy run it thru the ripper to the sizes i needed and still have a bunch of scrap left over to use to build them a cool ramp or flower pot or something)
2 - boxes screws (forgot sizes)

Here are some photos of what we have completed already and yes i know we are in no way up to par to compete with toms build. In our defense Jack Daniels was our helper on the build and we spent a lot of time laughing, smiling, and bonding more then I would have thought possible that night. I really recommend building something with your wife guys, I had a blast. Okay here are the photos:

















So here are the things i am looking for feedback on.

1.Heating and lighting. RHP, CHE, MVB, Florescent tubes, ect. what is the best combo gonna be for this? The best height for the lights? Also does anyone have recommendations on specific controllers we can use to control the temps and lighting. A product that could control everything in one would be cool. We keep the house between 72 and 78 at pretty much all times including night and the humidity seems to stay between 30% to 50% sometimes even 60%.

I was thinking of doing a combination of the RHPs same as mentioned in the tom thread above but with adding MVB and CHE in basking areas. I am just unsure of how many of them to get or what sizes or wattage's. Here are some photos and links to the product i've been looking at:


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DJCVN2X/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DZW3NZB/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

CHE and MVB in a combo fixture above the basking rocks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003F6XW56/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20



2. I did not think about this until now but would cutting the holes and adding the vents now negatively affect the drylok?



3. We are not sure if we should apply the caulk now between coats of the drylok or at the end after we have finished. It almost seems like it will seal up with another coat or two.




4. We have 3 sulcatas and i was wondering if we set up 3 identical environments (same humid hide, basking rock, food plate, water dish, and basking light) inside this one enclosure would that help combat bullying? Two are from the same local breeder and about two weeks apart ravioli is 2.5 months & 40g and tortellini is 3 months & 47g and the older one is about 5 months according to pet store &66g.



5. Does anyone have a good source to order the right types of grasses and food for these guys at a reasonable price? What is everyone's opinion on Mazuri? This is a temporary solution until i set up the planter I wanna build with a large assortment of sulcata treats. I will make a thread for that one too.

6. Substrate still hasn't been decided and even though we live in a already very humid climate we do think we should keep it about 7-8in deep to keep the humidity up. Opinions on this and any suggestions about how often to change it would be helpful too.

Again thank you for any feedback as it is greatly appreciated by us. I promise to keep up with updates on my decisions and upload photos as we continue thru this habitat building adventure!
 

Markw84

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Nice job on the build! It looks great.

If using the caulk you are picturing, I would use it now and then put your final coat over the caulk. It will give a better job of sealing and it will also seal the caulk, especially if there is any mold resistant chemicals in the caulk. Caulk like that usually does have that. Otherwise i use GE Slicone 1 to seal seams as it is pure silicone and has no additives. But I do use a caulk like you show as I also put my final coat of paint over it. I use Rustoleum countertop paint rather than drylock.

I would definately use a fine grade orchid bark as substrate. Get it from a garden center and you probably only need about 4-5" deep. Definitely prefer that over any other substrate.

The radiant heat panels are a great choice. However, in a closed chamber like you built with a 3" height and kept indoors in florida, I would personally simply use two 100 watt CHE's mounted towards either end of the enclosure at the ceiling. The IR from a CHE is not that desiccating as a CHE only operates at about 400-600 degrees F. At that height it would be absolutely fine. The heat is only used to keep the enclosure at 80°F min and will rarely even kick on in your situation. I bet it will run the CHE's less than 30 minutes total in a whole day, just kicking on a few minutes at a time late night/ early morning. when the lights are on, the CHE will never kick on. Much less expensive than a RHP as well.

Do not use a MVB. Way too hot and also too desiccating. Will quickly overheat a closed chamber as well. Get a good 4 foot T5 HO UVB. I use lightyourreptile.com for my UVB lights. He has a great 46" fixture with reflector hood and bulb that works great for our tortoises.

I also like to add a good full spectrum double fluorescent fixture for overall ambient light. I get a good grow light T5 fluorescent on Amazon. They come with a nice daylight balanced bulbs and also aid in keeping some plants in the enclosure with the balance of lighting. I thing bright, natural looking light is very important. A double fixture centered in the enclosure will also give a nice light gradient on either end. You can then only need to run your UVB light about 4-5 hours midday. This gives a nice midday very bright peak to the light and extends the life of your UVB to about 4-6 years or so.

Do not get any deep dome fixtures. The retain too much heat and will simply burn out bulbs quicker. Simply get a "brooder lamp" from the hardware store. Put in a 65 watt flood bulb from the hardware store. Hang two of those a few feet apart centered more in the enclosure.

The double fluorescent and the CHEs can be mounted right at ceiling height. The basking flood bulbs and the UVB can be adjusted height wise to give the desired readings for your particular enclosue.

Lighting 3X8.jpg

Add lots of plants in pots to give natural hides and light gradients. your tortoises will do much better and feel much more natural and secure.

3 young sulcatas, in a setting like you are creating, should do just fine together. In the wild, sulcatas actually seem to seek each other out and like to congregate in small groups until they are about 2-3 years old. My personal experience is also that small groups do better than even a single baby when very young.

Hope this all helps. Here's some detail on my suggestions:
T5 Arcadia Fixt & bulb.jpg

T5 Grow light hood.jpg

Brooder Lamp.jpg

65 watt flood.jpg
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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I agree with all Mark's points and wanted to add that the DryLok did not work for me at all. The bottom rotted out of that enclosure after two years. The tiles you want to put down will work if you seal it well and go up the sides a bit with it. I also only use GE Silicone I for caulking. Paint does not stick to it very well, if at all.
 

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