Is my Tortoise Enclosure Good Enough For my Indian Star?

[PattyK789]

I am new to keeping tortoises, hence me asking this question,
My mum and I made the enclosure our selves,
There is a heat mat under the pot, where he sleeps, that we turn on every night,
It is bioactive with springtails and clay balls for drainage. The plants are safe for him, but he tends to ignore them unless it is aloe vera,
The humidity stays around 60%
Feel free to ask any questions

 

[wellington]

Is it an enclosed enclosure? How big and old is he?
Heat from the bottom is dangerous unless there is some heat from above. Tortoises heat from the sun, above not from the bottom. They can easily burn if heated from the bottom.

 

[PattyK789]

Yes, it is,
There is a heat lamp that is on during the day,
I only turn on the heat mat at night.
Are you able to see the photo?

 

[PattyK789]

It doesn't get too hot with the heat mat, It is just to provide some heat at night.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I think that overall you and your mom did a very nice build! For me, it looks like it's really hard to get to, but I'm an old lady with an old back.

We in the USA do enclosures differently than you UK folks. We favor closed chambers for babies because heat and humidity are so much easier to maintain when there is a top. Temps are much more stable and you can make it as humid as your tort needs it.

For example, your humidity runs around 60%. To prevent pyramiding, most all babies or young torts should have at least 80% at all times. You won't be able to get it that high without a cover of some sort.

To cover it, it could be as easy as draping a plastic sheet over the whole enclosure. Several members use these, portable greenhouses. They come in multiple sizes.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076HJH7ZB/?tag=

Here's a copy of our star caresheet. Read it and come back with questions and concerns. And welcome to TFO! We have other members with Indian Stars so hopefully they'll chime in. I have an almost 3 year old Burmese Star.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? 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. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[PattyK789]

Ok
Thank you,
I will bear that in mind
Sorry, I didn't say that my tortoise is 6 years old, so he is an adult or just coming up to be an adult.