Height for 2x3’ closed enclosure and lighting

[Mock Tortoise]

Hello,

I’m trying to decide whether I should get 18” or 24” high closed enclosure of 2x3’. I am planning on getting LED for light, a uvb tube and a small bulb for basking. Does anyone have a similar sized closed enclosure? What do you think is the appropriate height? Any advice on the lighting set up?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[Srmcclure]

Hello,

I’m trying to decide whether I should get 18” or 24” high closed enclosure of 2x3’. I am planning on getting LED for light, a uvb tube and a small bulb for basking. Does anyone have a similar sized closed enclosure? What do you think is the appropriate height? Any advice on the lighting set up?

Thank you so much in advance.

I'd do 24 or 30. It would allow you to have a thicker substrate and allow more room to adjust your lights if needed

 

[Srmcclure]

Hello,

I’m trying to decide whether I should get 18” or 24” high closed enclosure of 2x3’. I am planning on getting LED for light, a uvb tube and a small bulb for basking. Does anyone have a similar sized closed enclosure? What do you think is the appropriate height? Any advice on the lighting set up?

Thank you so much in advance.

Mine is 2x4x2h

 

[Mock Tortoise]

Hello,

Thank you for the reply!
Your tort habitat looks very nice. Is it for the lovely tortoise (leopard?) in your avatar?
So you have a fluorescent tube for UV on the right side and incandescent bulb for basking on the left? Does the dome in the middle have a ceramic heater? Do you have any issue with overheating? Do you use thermostats? If you don’t mind, can you tell me what kinds and sizes of bulbs you use?
I was thinking 18” height enclosure using a ceiling mount for Arcadia 12% 22” tube in the center middle so I can have about 3-4” deep substrate and have just about 12” height from the light to the top of my tortoise’s back. And have a little dome fixture for ~30 watt flood incandescent bulb with a thermostat for basking on one side, and have 24” LED parallel to UVB light in the center. I’m worried about overheating. I could go a foot longer like yours. Any advice on how you keep the temp and humidity controlled would be so appreciated!

By the way, why do you have the enclosure covered? Is it to make your tortoise feel undisturbed? Or to keep the heat?

Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Go 24. I have some 18 inchers and they are a pain in the arse.

 

[Mock Tortoise]

Thanks, Tom. I’ll get the 24”.
Have you tried the side or bottom opening swing doors on Animal Plastics cages? Those are made with acrylic and I’m wondering what’s the better option.

 

[Srmcclure]

Hello,

Thank you for the reply!
Your tort habitat looks very nice. Is it for the lovely tortoise (leopard?) in your avatar?
So you have a fluorescent tube for UV on the right side and incandescent bulb for basking on the left? Does the dome in the middle have a ceramic heater? Do you have any issue with overheating? Do you use thermostats? If you don’t mind, can you tell me what kinds and sizes of bulbs you use?
I was thinking 18” height enclosure using a ceiling mount for Arcadia 12% 22” tube in the center middle so I can have about 3-4” deep substrate and have just about 12” height from the light to the top of my tortoise’s back. And have a little dome fixture for ~30 watt flood incandescent bulb with a thermostat for basking on one side, and have 24” LED parallel to UVB light in the center. I’m worried about overheating. I could go a foot longer like yours. Any advice on how you keep the temp and humidity controlled would be so appreciated!

By the way, why do you have the enclosure covered? Is it to make your tortoise feel undisturbed? Or to keep the heat?

Thanks!

Yes it's for my little SA leo Ghido ?

Yea, 18" 10.0 HO uvb strip bulb on the right, 100w che dead center hooked up to a zoomed thermostat and a 45w incandescent flood buld hooked up to a zoomed rheostat. It makes keeping all temps super easy! Dont hook you basking up to the thermostat though. Itll be turning the 'sun' on and off all day and could stress your baby out. The rheostat just dims the wattage and works amazing. With the rheostat and thermostat I have had absolutely no issues with temp control. It stays right were I set it, I just check it every so often and adjust accordingly.

I would definitely do 24. Not only does it allow you to move lights, it also makes it easier for YOU to get in and out lol. I had an 18 at first and like @Tom said it's a royal pain to work with everyday.

And I have it closed because my leopard needs high humidity and higher temps and I got so much good advice from everyone on here and closed chamber is the only way to keep those constant. Semi closed allows the chimney effect to happen and all your heat and humidity is just gone no matter how hard you try...and open top or tortoise table doesn't hold anything. You will constantly be fighting with EVERYTHING just to keep it in range. Not sure what baby you have or are about to have, but closed chamber is definitely my best friend and is recommended by so many here. ?

 

[Srmcclure]

Thanks, Tom. I’ll get the 24”.
Have you tried the side or bottom opening swing doors on Animal Plastics cages? Those are made with acrylic and I’m wondering what’s the better option.

I like swing doors. Makes it easy

 

[Mock Tortoise]

OK, rheostat, not thermostat. Great, thank you!
Maybe I should get the 18” zoomed 10.0 instead of 22” Arcadia? I wonder if 22” Arcadia is too much considering mine will be smaller than yours. Your 100w CHE sounds very strong for your enclosure. Does it ever come on during the day or is it mostly for night? I thought I may not need the heating (CHE or RHP) because it’s going to be in the living room and room temp doesn’t go below 65 at night. And I was mostly worried about overheating. Is your uvb on only for s few hours a day?

The swing doors are acrylic and slide doors are made with glass. Acrylic can warp or scratch, and glass can break. Swing doors, you can open both at the same time, but slide door may be less prone to malfunctioning or breaking....
Argh..

 

[Srmcclure]

OK, rheostat, not thermostat. Great, thank you!
Maybe I should get the 18” zoomed 10.0 instead of 22” Arcadia? I wonder if 22” Arcadia is too much considering mine will be smaller than yours. Your 100w CHE sounds very strong for your enclosure. Does it ever come on during the day or is it mostly for night? I thought I may not need the heating (CHE or RHP) because it’s going to be in the living room and room temp doesn’t go below 65 at night. And I was mostly worried about overheating. Is your uvb on only for s few hours a day?

The swing doors are acrylic and slide doors are made with glass. Acrylic can warp or scratch, and glass can break. Swing doors, you can open both at the same time, but slide door may be less prone to malfunctioning or breaking....
Argh..

What tortoise do you have?
I'm not familiar with Russian care, although I know there temps can drop a bit at night, but if you have a sulcata, leopard or a few others 65 is too low. For them it shouldn't go below 80 at any point.
I dont have any experience with the Arcadia lights, but I like my zoomed...
Mine is in my 'dinning room' in my apartment and with my 100w che on the thermostat it only kicks on a few times during the day and a few more at night, but it doesn't go constantly like it did in my old semi closed enclosure. My thermostat probe is in a back corner so my whole enclosure stays perfect ?
I think with the doors you'll just have to go with your gut. Itll be preference at that point. I'm not sure I've heard ppl having issues with either so long as they were careful, but I might just not have read that feed yet if there is...?

 

[Mock Tortoise]

I have a Spider Tortoise about 15 years old. She (actually probably he) is about 4”. I’ve had him since he was a baby, and he’s lived in an industrial food tub. He’s overdue a better enclosure.
In wild they experience temps ranging high 40’s F to over 100, average high 50’s to low 90’s. I’ve actually been wondering about the temp requirements for some species. I’ve read some posts saying the same as you, no lower than 80 all time. Do you know why the night temp should be so high? I think I’m going to make another post asking that question.

 

[Srmcclure]

I have a Spider Tortoise about 15 years old. She (actually probably he) is about 4”. I’ve had him since he was a baby, and he’s lived in an industrial food tub. He’s overdue a better enclosure.
In wild they experience temps ranging high 40’s F to over 100, average high 50’s to low 90’s. I’ve actually been wondering about the temp requirements for some species. I’ve read some posts saying the same as you, no lower than 80 all time. Do you know why the night temp should be so high? I think I’m going to make another post asking that question.

Omg! I've seen pictures of those and they are so cute! I'm a little jelly lol, but I dont know much on their temp requirements either...

Well, for mine it helps to keep him active and helps to keep an upper respiratory infection away. 84 is like his favorite temp lol. Hes all over the place and it also helps digest his food too.
A cold tortie is an inactive tortie.

There are a bunch of super knowledgeable people on here who have your tortoise and I would definitely start a thread like you were thinking! Something like spider temp requirements?

I know that a lot of tortoises can tolerate lower temps, but tolerate isnt the same as thrive and that's all anyone on here wants for their babies. Happy and thriving ? alot of ppl on here can give you amazing advise and also save you a lot of money by giving you the RIGHT Info the first time lol. I had that problem. I was given all the wrong info and basically had to start all over, spending a few hundred more than if i just found this place and did it properly with all the right things and things to make it SO MUCH easier

 

[Mock Tortoise]

Thanks a lot for your help!
Good luck with your cutie too!!

 

[haydog_99]

Hello,

I’m trying to decide whether I should get 18” or 24” high closed enclosure of 2x3’. I am planning on getting LED for light, a uvb tube and a small bulb for basking. Does anyone have a similar sized closed enclosure? What do you think is the appropriate height? Any advice on the lighting set up?

Thank you so much in advance.

I have a 4’ x 2’ x2’ and i have an 80 watt MVB bulb (on one side) for heat and UV and two 100 CHE’s ( one on each side) on thermostats for night heat. I also have a 24” fluorescent bulb mounted to the top to light the entire enclosure during the day.

 

[Mock Tortoise]

Thanks, haydog!
Wow that’s a lot of strong lights. Maybe I’m worrying too much about overheating and not worrying enough about the enclosure being not warm enough...

 

[Srmcclure]

Thanks, haydog!
Wow that’s a lot of strong lights. Maybe I’m worrying too much about overheating and not worrying enough about the enclosure being not warm enough...

Dont forget it all has to do with your baby ?
After you find and read the care guide on here you'll know for sure what you'll need or you'll know the best questions to ask. I have a tortoise that needs a more tropical environment, yours may not need quite as much as ours. I think @haydog_99 has a leopard as well (I could totally be wrong)

All these great ppl will help to get you all set up ?

If your worried about too hot just keep in mind the rheostat and thermostat. They will help alot to keep temps and ease your mind. Each enclosure is different though so I would recommend reading as much as possible and that'll help with figuring things out. I had to do lot of trial and error lol

 

[Tom]

Thanks, Tom. I’ll get the 24”.
Have you tried the side or bottom opening swing doors on Animal Plastics cages? Those are made with acrylic and I’m wondering what’s the better option.

All of mine have the sliding glass doors. I have not tried the other door types. To this day, I'm completely happy with these enclosures. They are holding up perfectly and are very easy to clean and maintain. They are make providing the right growing conditions for babies super easy. If you don't mind waiting a few months, Animal Plastics provides a truly excellent product at a very fair price.

 

[method89]

Seems like a perfect time to post to pictures of my new AP 60"x24"x24" closed enclosure. Swing doors with a 6" litter dam, as per @Tom advice. Also went with the light fixture mounted by AP, uvb fixture mounted by me and 80W heat panel by vivarium electronics. FYI: AP can but the led light strip in the front so that you don't see it when you are looking in, but you have to ask for it. Thanks again Tom. Fully automated with smart plugs, also done with Tom's advice. The task of maintaining humidity and proper lighting conditions has really been simplified. It has really improved the joy of keep a tortoise substantially. In short, thanks @Tom for the advice.

 

[Tom]

Maybe I should get the 18” zoomed 10.0 instead of 22” Arcadia? I wonder if 22” Arcadia is too much considering mine will be smaller than yours. Your 100w CHE sounds very strong for your enclosure. Does it ever come on during the day or is it mostly for night? I thought I may not need the heating (CHE or RHP) because it’s going to be in the living room and room temp doesn’t go below 65 at night. And I was mostly worried about overheating. Is your uvb on only for s few hours a day?

The regular ZooMed 10.0 doesn't make much UV at all. Mounted to the top of a 24 inch enclosure, no UVB will reach your tortoise. The ZooMed HO 10.0, will work in that application though. I'd set it on a timer for about 8 hours mid day to simulate the great outdoors. The Arcadia 12% HO is even stronger. If mounted to the ceiling, strong UV will reach your tortoise. I only run these on a timer for about 3 hours mid day, which also simulates the strong mid day UV spike that happens outside.

The wattage of the CHE doesn't matter much since the thermostat will keep it off unless it is needed. If you want night cooling: Run the CHE though a thermostat, and plug the thermostat into a timer so its only on in the day time. I like this thermostat. Its all analog so having the power off for 12 hours a day has no effect on the setting. https://www.lllreptile.com/products/13883-zilla-1000-watt-temperature-controller

 

[Tom]

Seems like a perfect time to post to pictures of my new AP 60"x24"x24" closed enclosure. Swing doors with a 6" litter dam, as per @Tom advice. Also went with the light fixture mounted by AP, uvb fixture mounted by me and 80W heat panel by vivarium electronics. FYI: AP can but the led light strip in the front so that you don't see it when you are looking in, but you have to ask for it. Thanks again Tom. Fully automated with smart plugs, also done with Tom's advice. The task of maintaining humidity and proper lighting conditions has really been simplified. It has really improved the joy of keep a tortoise substantially. In short, thanks @Tom for the advice.View attachment 291594View attachment 291595View attachment 291596View attachment 291597View attachment 291598View attachment 291600View attachment 291601

Few people seem to want to make this change, but I continually harp on them anyway. Literally EVERYONE who goes this way, says the same things about how great it is, how easy it is to maintain the correct temperatures and conditions, and how much it improves their tortoises lives and their tortoise keeping experience.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, and your enclosure looks amazing! Terrific info and inspiration for Mock Tortoise.