I need assistance with my heating and lighting.

[EvilBosco]

Hello,

I have two Horsefield tortoise which I purchased last week in one enclosure. I am in the process of building a shed in my back garden to build a second enclosure which will be done in about six months.

To the main point, I have a 10% UVB Desert long bulb from Arcadia with a IP64 controller. It is in the middle of the tank.
I also have a 60W basking bulb 11 inches from the substrate. However, I want to make sure the temperature is properly regulated so I purchased a 100W basking bulb with a habistat Mat Stat today.

Does the habistat mat start work well with the basking bulb?

 

[KarenSoCal]

I see several things that need to be changed. Start by carefully reading these. They will answer most questions. Then come back and ask if there's something you're unsure of.

Are the tortoises adults? You may not have 6 months to get the 2nd enclosure done. Watch for aggression...crowding, following, "snuggling", head bobbing, chasing, biting, etc.

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...

www.tortoiseforum.org

4 elements of heating: By Tom
There are four elements to heating and lighting:



Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer 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.


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. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.


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.


UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html

 

[EvilBosco]

These tortoises are just over a year old so I believe they are still juveniles. Although I've read conflicting information on their classification as a juvenile online. Between me and my girlfriend, they are looked at for a few hours a day as they are young and in a new habitat so we want to give them the best chance in life and hope to keep them for the rest of our lives. So far we haven't witnessed any aggressive behaviour between the two, at that, little interaction.

I have returned the MatStat and upgraded to a 75W Basking bulb kept at 11 inches above the substrate with a small flat rock below.

I am also living in Ireland, even during the summer months, it is hard to even get one nice and suitable day for them to be outside. Perhaps they will be more suitable as they become adults.

I am running both UV and the Basking bulb on a 12-hour timer every day as suggested from multiple sources online.

I can invest a huge amount of time into these guys in the next six weeks as I have work off. I didn't want to buy them until I had a long period of time off as I wanted to make sure they were kept in a good condition at all times.

 

[Minority2]

These tortoises are just over a year old so I believe they are still juveniles. Although I've read conflicting information on their classification as a juvenile online. Between me and my girlfriend, they are looked at for a few hours a day as they are young and in a new habitat so we want to give them the best chance in life and hope to keep them for the rest of our lives. So far we haven't witnessed any aggressive behaviour between the two, at that, little interaction.

I have returned the MatStat and upgraded to a 75W Basking bulb kept at 11 inches above the substrate with a small flat rock below.

I am also living in Ireland, even during the summer months, it is hard to even get one nice and suitable day for them to be outside. Perhaps they will be more suitable as they become adults.

I am running both UV and the Basking bulb on a 12-hour timer every day as suggested from multiple sources online.

I can invest a huge amount of time into these guys in the next six weeks as I have work off. I didn't want to buy them until I had a long period of time off as I wanted to make sure they were kept in a good condition at all times.

Separate both tortoise now and put them in different enclosures before trauma develops and sets in from the bullying/harassing that's likely to happen while the two of you are unaware.

 

[EvilBosco]

It will take me about a week, I can build a second enclosure and get all the right equipment in that time. I was advised by the shop I purchased them from that I could keep them together for a few years and if they began fighting in a few years if they happened to both be males I could build a second enclosure.

 

[Tom]

All the heating, lighting and housing is explained in detail here:

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...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[Minority2]

It will take me about a week, I can build a second enclosure and get all the right equipment in that time. I was advised by the shop I purchased them from that I could keep them together for a few years and if they began fighting in a few years if they happened to both be males I could build a second enclosure.

Pet shops don't tend to pay attention to tortoise care because if they did they wouldn't house their specimens in tiny little aquarium tanks. Their job is to move animals and overpriced equipment/product. They'll tell you just about anything to make you spend more, like say even giving a discount to sell a pair of tortoises instead of a single.

Best to take your advice from tortoise forum. We don't want your money, hell, members usually save new owners money by referring them to buy better items to replace the junky overpriced ones they got from the pet shop. We just want to talk about tortoise and tortoise related care.

 

[EvilBosco]

Yeah, I am an animal person... I have four aquariums and a hamster in my room already if that shows it! I really want to give them the best life possible.

The shop did give me a discount on the two which I feel foolish about now...

I really appreciate the help guys. :/

 

[Minority2]

Yeah, I am an animal person... I have four aquariums and a hamster in my room already if that shows it! I really want to give them the best life possible.

The shop did give me a discount on the two which I feel foolish about now...

I really appreciate the help guys. :/

LOL called it. You find those types of shysters in pet shops, craigslist, as well as Reptile shows. They're always in a hurry to unload their stock.

I do have to warn you that even small species of tortoises like the Horsefield requires a ton of space. The more length and width the better. A single adult horsefield around 5-6 inches requires an 8ft x 4ft enclosure. Small enclosures not only make them inactive but can also causes them to feel trapped and confined, unable to fully relax.

 

[EvilBosco]

I gave them both a twenty-minute soak which I will continue to do every day.

I'm quite annoyed at the shop that sold these guys to me as they said a ten-minute weekly soak would do. How can they pick money over the health of such beautiful animals?

 

[Minority2]

I gave them both a twenty-minute soak which I will continue to do every day.

I'm quite annoyed at the shop that sold these guys to me as they said a ten-minute weekly soak would do. How can they pick money over the health of such beautiful animals?

Use a dishpan next time for soaks. That way you can pour the waste contents in your outdoor garden.

Pet store owners and most veterinarians quote old advice, information compiled from scientific studies decades back when they barely knew much of anything about these creatures. They don't bother looking for new advice because it's worked fine for them. And if they were to change for the "better" they would need to change a lot of things from the products they sell to the amount of space they give to their specimens. No brick and mortar shop has that type of money. And no established dealer like Petsmart would risk it by angering their reptile equipment branded partners.

Honestly how many tortoises do you think a pet shop can sell if they told all their customers that the smallest species of tortoise, single adult, would need an enclosure about the size of a queen bed?

 

[EvilBosco]

I've discussed the situation with my dad. We're going to build two enclosures 1.5M x 2M for them but we won't be able to do this for three weeks. Is it a major problem to house them together for the next three weeks?

 

[Minority2]

I've discussed the situation with my dad. We're going to build two enclosures 1.5M x 2M for them but we won't be able to do this for three weeks. Is it a major problem to house them together for the next three weeks?

That depends on the tortoises. Who knows what they're capable of doing.

If you have to house them together for the time being I suggest placing a physical barrier to prevent one from reaching or seeing the other. Hearing another tortoise can still rile another up but do what you can for the time being. A barrier that can't be climbable or flipped. maybe 2-3 leather bound books tied together.

This means separate feeding areas, water dishes, hides, and if possible, basking areas. If you cannot provide 2 basking bulbs at least put the fixture in the middle of the enclosure directly under the physical barrier so that both tortoises can have access to that higher zone of heat when needed.