Good evening

[Akuma]

Hej.

My name is Marty and I am an owner of a Pancake Tortoise.
His name is Peter and I have no idea how old he is.

Peter is a fully grown male African Pancake Tortoise. He is 15 cm long and weighs around half a kilogram.


I've currently finished building his new home - a tortoise box.

The box is basically a crude build of plywood.

The box dimension is 190 x 75 x 30 cm.
Total area is around 1 meter squared.

The box is empty right now for 2 reasons.
One is that I painted the inside of the box with varnish and it still has not dried and since the solvent in that is very toxic to animals I have to wait until it has completely dried before putting him in there.
Second is that I have not the bloodiest idea what to fill it with. I have no idea what sand, substrae nor dirt I should buy for Peter so if you care to help him and me out, please point me in the right direction.
I also have no idea which lamps to buy either.

Right now Peter lives under the bathtab in my house since it is the hottest place that he can find but as soon as I get his new home ready he should be more comfy.

Cheers.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Marty:

to the forum!!

Are you in Sweden? I think you might be our first member from that country! I don't keep pancake tortoises, so I can't offer you any advice on the substrate for your new tortoise table, however, I wanted to say that there is nothing "crude" about the table. You've done a wonderful job with it. Most people line the table with either an old shower curtain or some plastic film. This, along with the varnish you've already used, will help to protect the wood. You have to staple it down to keep the tortoise from digging under the plastic. I can't wait to see your finished table.

Yvonne

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

Welcome! Please post pictures of the finished enclosure as soon as you can. Looks great

 

[terryo]

Welcome Marty! So far your enclosure looks fantastic!

 

[tortoisenerd]

Awesome! Thanks so much for sharing. Your tort is cute, and I think you have done an amazing job with the table so far. I have the same webcam program as you do.

I agree with Yvonne about a plastic liner. I like my shower pan liner. It's a gray plastic that is very thick. It is sold on a roll in home improvement stores in the U.S., so no idea what you have there. Pond liner is another option. The thickest plastic you can get will last the longest. It should be difficult to fold, cut, and staple to the wood (use a staple gun).

 

[chadk]

Welcome!

Nice looking tort and start of a great tort 'table'. You may want to consider laying down something under it to avoid scratching up the flooring under it. Maybe even put in on wheels/casters?

You can partition the tort table into various designated areas. For example, a feeding area that is kept free of loose substrate and might be a slate or tiled surface. Next an area filled with nice deep (4 to 8 inches) of substrate (organic soil or coir mixed with a little play sand). This area can be used for digging, provide moist soil for humidity needs, and should have a hide on top to proived a nice dark secure area for sleeping, burrowing, napping. You may want to add some areas to climb adn explore. A water dish that can be easily entered and exited. Basking spot for heat and UVB.

Just some things to consider. Looking forward to seeing pics of your progress!

 

[Jacqui]

Welcome Marty! Peter is a handsome fellow.

 

[Isa]

Welcome to the forum Marty!
Peter is beautiful

 

[Tim/Robin]

Welcome Marty. Your Pancake is a very nice looking tort. There are a few of us with Pancakes. We have been very fortunate and produced 7 little ones this last year from our 1.2 trio. Pancakes are certainly unique in many ways. We adore ours.

 

[egyptiandan]

Welcome to the forum Marty

Danny

 

[Crazy1]

Marty I so not have pancakes either so no help here but I want to wish you a warm welcome to both you and Peter. Congratulations on getting a pancake.
Here are some sites to check out for info: http://www.empireoftheturtle.com/malacochersus_tornieri.htm
http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Mtorniericare.htm

 

[DoctorCosmonaut]

New pictures?