Hatchling habitat example

[turtlesteve]

Just showing newest iteration of a hatchling habitat. This is a hydroponics tank and the lid is 3 pieces cut from 1/2” PVC board. I’ve done similar for a long time with smaller tubs and plywood lids but I decided to upscale it. The PVC lid hopefully will resist mold growth.

Now, I just need to do at least two more of them…

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

That's so simple idea! Can you share more details on setup?

1. What heating/lightning is there? A CHE and a LED?
2. The substrate is coarse orchid bark and, it seems, there is a layer of coco coir or top soil underneath?
3. What are tank dimensions? How many tortoises do you keep per habitat? When they "graduate" to a larger enclosure?
4. Do they have any hides there? Or low ceiling and an opportunity to burrow are enough for them to feel secure?

 

[turtlesteve]

Lighting is a CHE 75 watt and a coil UVB bulb / compact fluorescent. These get a bad rap but most of them are fine, I check them with a UV meter as a precaution. I am debating adding a LED strip too.

Substrate is coarse pine bark. I am trying out different sizes and I like the medium to coarser because it is less appealing to the roach nymphs I am always trying to eradicate. There is no soil under it, only bark.

It is 34x54 inches outside dimension at the top, the actual floor space is probably 26x50 or close to that. Right now I’ve got 14 hatchlings in there and it’s ample space, but I’ll have to either sell some off or split the group into more bins as they grow. Some of these I’ll raise up to 5-6” so they are sexable, and then sell them, so that I get feedback on my incubation methods. So far I can reliably hatch mostly female Indian stars and expect these to be easy too. The first 3 I raised were all female, which is what I predicted based on the Indian stars.

For small hatchlings I usually do no hides, they bury themselves for security. Once they grow a bit, their behavior changes and they stop digging and instead look for places to hide. At this time I’ll add some decorations and hide boxes.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Great, thank you!
What CFLs you use? What UVI do you get/aim for hatchlings?