Closed Chamber for Young Sulcata?

[KoopaNGoomba]

I rescued a young Sulcata late 2011 who was kept in bad conditions prior to coming to me... spruce wood shavings, iceburg lettuce, cat food, and no soaks. His pyramiding was obvious when I got him and I quickly put him in a high humidity enclosure. Despite my research it's only now that I'm really reading about closed chamber enclosures... he's grown a lot since I got and his growth seems to be smooth since then (but it's hard to tell) but I want to set him up as best I can to ensure he continues to grow properly and smoothly.

His current enclosure is a 90 gallon aquarium. It's in my tortoise room, and the ambient temperature is kept at 80F with an oil heater. His CHE keeps his basking spot at 100F and he has two 10.0 UVB bulbs. I want to make it as "closed" as I can but I have a few questions.

First, I've read that you can cover the top with tinfoil and put the lights closer into the aquarium, but I haven't found instructions on how to do this. How can you do this without making access to the aquarium difficult?

Second, what about air? So much old information on sulcata's say that airflow is vital and they suggest tables, even for hatchlings. After researching on this forum, I'm seeing that's not the case. But surely a completely covered top on an aquarium isn't acceptable?

Thirdly... MUSHROOMS!!! How do I stop mold and mushrooms from growing?! My substrate is coco fibre and sterilized play sand... Even freshly changed, as soon as I wet it down and maintain the proper humidity level, I am constantly harvesting ugly yellow mushrooms and fungus from the enclosure. What can I do? It's gross and I can't imagine it would be good for him to eat!

Thanks in advance for any advice you could give!

 

[Tom]

The humid routine is for hatchlings and babies. Not necessary for a two year old. Show us a pic and we'll tell you what the new growth looks like.

Unless he's tiny, a 90 gallon is much too small for a two year old. How big is he? Is it not possible to make a completely closed chamber with an aquarium. Having the lights outside sort of defeats the purpose. Closed chambers need to be built to suit tortoises. I have no vents or ventilation in any of mine. I don't know where the airflow myth started but it has been completely debunked. Airflow removes the warm humid air the we are striving to create.

It is a mistake to use sand as a substrate, in my opinion. It is can cause intestinal impaction and it can be an eye and skin irritant. Some people use it and get away with it, but I've seen it cause many problems many times. Coco coir inhibits mold and fungal growth. I have never grown mushrooms when using it. I am guessing your mushrooms are taking advantage of the sand to grow.

What sort of 10.0 bulbs are you using? The coil types can damage their eyes. I recommend against them.

If you post some pics we can give you a bit more help.

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

I spent a few hours reading on the subject on this forum and saw aquariums with lamps down inside the enclosure, with tops to hold in the heat and humidity... I know that because he is older he doesn't need quite as extreme of a CC so I thought I could improve his aquarium while he's in it. He is only 5" long but I have every intention to move him into a larger enclosure within this year. I have a large open enclosure that was previously used by my older Sully, who was moved this month into a walk-in enclosure. I am also completely willing to build a CC if that enclosure is too large for his age.

Please keep in mind that he was basically abandoned with a friend of mine in late 2011 who did their best to keep him until I was able to arrange for him to be transported to me months later in 2012 (across the country). The old owner said he was a year old but whether that is true or not isn't clear...

I've had him in a humid enclosure since I got him and have managed to convert him to a healthy diet but I can't tell whether his new growth is okay or not. It seems that he is growing smooth on his sides but I can't see much of a difference on top.

As far as sand goes, the coco fibre is about 80% and the sand was suggested to help with burrowing... but I cleaned out the substrate tonight and only had coco fibre on hand, so there is no sand now. I won't ad it again.

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Oh, and I was definitely aware of the coils..it is a strip light. Zoomed, I believe...

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I only have access to my crappy phone right now so I will post some photos as soon as I can when I get a computer

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

Okay here are a few pics... first one is Goomba as of yesterday...

The non-tort ones are of hhis enclosure after yesterdays experimental CC attempt... I put a sheeet of coroplast on top and cut a hole for the CHE to go beneath so it wouldn't melt the coroplast. A wire panel is on top to hook the CHE to...I used metal hooks and then a ziptie on the cord for backup... the hole is covered in tinfoil then taped with fancy zebra duct tape! The humidity settled at 85. Thoughts?

Be honest. I take criticism well and want to do the best I can for him.

 

[Tom]

That's good with humidity. Now what are your four temps? Warm side, cool side, basking and night? What are you using for night heat? I can't really see the rest of the enclosure. Is there a water bowl and humid hide?

The overhead shot of him looks pretty good. To evaluate pyramiding we need a clear profile shot.

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

I hadn't put any of his furnishings in when I took these photos. He has a humid hide on the cool end which is where he seems to prefer to sleep. He always seeks out the cool end at night. His ambient temp is 80 during the day and goes down to 74 at night, but the CHE is always on at 100 in his basking spot. (in the pics the fixture just has a regular bulb in it because I was waiting for the CHE to cool down in it's old fixture...it is now where it is supposed to be)

He has a water dish of course, a terra cotta tray for under planters.

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Oh, and the warm side seems to stay at around 89 aside from right under the basking spot.

 

[Tom]

All sounds good except your night temp. With all that humidity and dampness I would rather see it closer to 80 at night in the coolest parts of the enclosure.

Your tortoise looks okay, so I don't think anything is drastically wrong.

Does he also have a big outdoor enclosure for sunning and grazing on warm days?

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

Alrighty, that's easy enough with our oil heater! I'll switch it tonight.

Yes, he has a large outdoor pen, but I'm far north in Canada so for 8 months of the year it is too cold for him to go outside, and it is too cold during much of the day still these days... what is the lowest temp he can be outside? Should I set up a basking light?

 

[Tom]

If its sunny and not too windy, they can go outside at 65-70 at that size. Use a temp gun to check the ground temps where you want to put them.

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

Sounds good! My temp gun met an untimely dog related end but I have a new one on order.

 

[Tom]

D'oh! Darn that dog!

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

I know!! Was not impressed!

So, another quick question (thanks for all of your help so far!)...when is he able to go into an open table style enclosure?

 

[Tom]

If you can get them growing smooth to 6-8", they will generally not start to pyramid if things dry out at that point. Pretty soon after this point they are ready to live outside full time, unless your climate doesn't work for that.

 

[KoopaNGoomba]

I wish it did! I mean...two weeks ago, we still had snow, and it's not even warm enough to not cover my tomato plants at night...it got down to 7 degrees celsius last night. These guys are up for adoption but only to a warmer climate...probably the best climate here would be Vancouver island, but Canada is really no place for a sulcata at all.