Help!! (always hiding)

[samluvstorts]

Hi everyone, I could do with some help plz.. my baby horsfield arrived last week, he was in a tiny little box and freezing cold when he arrived, I’m trying to get everything correct for him but I think something is off, he’s buried all day and night, not seeking his basking area and not eaten much since he arrived maybe like for leaves of salad.. I’m worried about him
Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[Tom]

Hi everyone, I could do with some help plz.. my baby horsfield arrived last week, he was in a tiny little box and freezing cold when he arrived, I’m trying to get everything correct for him but I think something is off, he’s buried all day and night, not seeking his basking area and not eaten much since he arrived maybe like for leaves of salad.. I’m worried about him
Thanks in advance for any help!!

Reptiles are light and heat dependent. Temperate tortoise species would normally be brumating, or just coming out of brumation at this time of year, so that is a factor. Heat and warmth will usually bring them out of it. In your pictures I only see one bulb and it's the wrong type to be using. Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:

1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.

Get all the proper heating and lighting going and get the tortoise into a closed chamber where you can control the heat and humidity and things should improve. All the correct set up info is here in these two threads ad questions are welcome:

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

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The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

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[Yvonne G]

Baby tortoises are prey. Right now he's suffering from relocation stress on top of being afraid he's going to be eaten. Set everything up correctly then give him time to settle in and relax.

 

[samluvstorts]

Thank you! Are these products suitable?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

The basking lamp is not of the wrong type as I can tell (but the word "spot" is confusing). But you need to check basking area temperature - leave thermometer probe under the lamp for 1-2 hours, it should read 36-38C.

Try to point the lamp straight top-down if you don't reach desired temperature (no need for more powerful bulb - 150W is more than enough). Also, be careful with clamp - take some measures to prevent lamp from falling if the clamp will slip off.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Thank you! Are these products suitable?

Yes for the Arcadia UVB tube (should be placed at 18-20" over substrate) and ProRep Flood Spot (60W lamp should work fine if you can make a cover over enclosure).

ExoTerra Solar Glow is an MVB (mercury vapour bulb) - don't use them.

 

[samluvstorts]

This is the light that’s on now, I brought it from a recommendation from here, is it ok to keep? Thanks

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

This is the light that’s on now, I brought it from a recommendation from here, is it ok to keep? Thanks

This one is okay for now. But once you put a cover over enclosure to better maintain heat and humidity (it's very important for baby tortoises), this bulb (150W) will overheat the box of that volume.

 

[Tom]

This is the light that’s on now, I brought it from a recommendation from here, is it ok to keep? Thanks

So confusing. That is clearly a "flood" bulb, and the manufacturer/seller has incorrectly labeled it as a "spot" bulb. I agree that this one is fine to use. In your picture, it said "spot", and spot bulbs should not be used. This is not a spot bulb. Here is a chart showing the difference:

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

"Spot" actually relates to the "basking spot" or "spotlight" (a bulb with directed light) and not to the bulb beam width. And such naming is very common (ReptiZoo, ExoTerra, maybe Fluker's, ProRep and some others label bulbs this way).

But "ProRep Flood Spot" above - is where mind really blows up

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

"Spot" actually relates to the "basking spot" or "spotlight" (a bulb with directed light) and not to the bulb beam width. And such naming is very common (ReptiZoo, ExoTerra, maybe Fluker's, ProRep and some others label bulbs this way).

But "ProRep Flood Spot" above - is where mind really blows up

lol the pro rep packaging annoys me so much!!

Great advice above, as well as toms hopefully you might like these, I’m from the uk too so you might find some of my product suggestions easier

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! If going with a greenhouse, the lower the ceiling height, whilst still allowing for recommended bulb height, the better! But I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers, vivs are an ideal choice!

Housing young Russian/Herman

Hello there! In this thread, I’m going to include some information on an effective way to tackle a starter set up/a way you can build a bigger size once your baby is an adult. I know it looks a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered, I’m happy to break down any information...

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This includes different closed chamber options, some do work better than others

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

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Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

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Hope they help! Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new baby!