Hello!

New member to the forum here just wanting to introduce myself!

I just recently moved to the Raleigh area in NC so I'm the new guy pretty much everywhere.

As far as tortoise husbandry is concerned I have only cared for gopherus morafkai in the past and even then it was only for a brief period of time (mostly because of my inexperience).

Now, armed with a little more knowledge, I have set my mind on caring for indotestudo elongata (which I believe is one of the better species for the climate of NC) so I have spent the last month or so setting up an enclosure.

It's mostly just grass and other edibles but I also put some springtails and isopod cultures in the dirt in hopes of establishing a bioactive set up.

The light is a zoomed 24" with a 22" 5.0 bulb placed 40cm from the substrate to allow for the uv to fall within zone 2 of the Ferguson zones.

I am planning on setting up a CHE for basking temperatures of 35-40C but I don't need it quite yet as I'm still growing out the plants.

I am also planning on utilizing a mini humidifier with a hygrostat to regulate the ambient humidity to between 80 and 90%RH. I know the open top might prevent this from being successful but I have found that the humidity stays between 70 and 75%RH within the grasses without any additional humidity.

Of course there will be plenty of hides for the tortoise and a shallow water dish.

Lastly this is only meant as a grow out setup and the coffee table underneath the plastic tub will be modified to become a 28"x48"x15" tortoise table for the tortoise's first few years of life.

What do y'all think?

Thank you Yvonne! I'm just trying to do things the right way so I appreciate the help!

I used some springs I had laying around and conveniently placed screws on the light housing. It holds up pretty well.

I like all the plants. Once the tortoise figures out there are isopods, they will find and eat them all. I have Forsten's and they are similar, but not the same.

I'm not sure what utility a humidifier will provide in the wide open space that is currently what I see in the photo. Once enclosed, it easy to maintain high humidity with moist substrate, no humidifier needed.

I'd also suggest a radiant heat panel (RHP) over a CHE. A CHE can get upto 300/400 F on it's surface, while an RHP will never be hotter than what you can touch with your bare hand. They are more expensive but much safer. Either way they should be managed with a thermostat.

I may get into elongated tortoises some time, but right now I got my hands full.

Thank you for reading my post Kapidolo Farms. I figured that the tortoise might feast on the isopods but hopefully by the time I do get a tortoise there are plenty in the enclosure to last a while.

My indoor humidity fluctuates between 50% and 60% so Im going to try and set it up with one of those mini humidifiers and see if I have any luck maintaining the overall humidity between 80 and 90%. My plan is also to have a hide with some damp sphagnum moss for a bit higher humidity.

I had never even heard of an RHP until now. Are they meant to produce basking zones or more of an ambient temperature controller?