ParkourMexican
Member
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?
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?