Is this light too close?
- Thread starter Domm
- Start date
You can't use store bough decorative plants. They are grown with systemic pesticides that are taken up into the plants tissues. The toxins last for a year and can't be washed off. You have to grow your own from seed, or take cuttings from long established plants. Plants intended for human consumption should be safe for your tortoise, but make sure those are safe as far as toxicity (I'm talking to YOU tomato leaves...), and I'm don't know how well they'll do under our indoor tortoise lighting.
My tortoises either eat or trample any plants I try to use in their indoor enclosures, including plastic or silk ones, and these are the reasons my indoor enclosures are so barren looking. With encouragement from @Markw84 and many examples from @Yvonne G , I'm working on adding some plants. My wife has been starting lots of cuttings from some of our older houseplants for me, and we will see how it goes. For me, indoor enclosures are just a temporary measure for a year or two to get them large enough to live outside full time. Outdoors is where I do my planting and cultivation.
That did cross my mind that store bought plants have harsh chemicals . I do have some plants I propogated myself from cuttings, as old as 5-10 years old. I have spider plants I grew myself. I might just add some tiny plants in ceramic pots to add scenery . Sadly I live in the tri-state area and my tort will never see a permanent outdoor enclosure. He was incubated to be a male and the breeder said Male Eastern Hermanns only get around 5 inches so i'm hoping to give him the best indoor space since hes so small.
The weather is warming up here so I plan to put his tub on my patio on sunny days (supervised of course)
"Sri-State area"!!! I thought only Dr. Doofenschmirtz said that!
franklin444
Member
I think that will be a little too close. Also havign the light just laying there is risky because it could fall and hurt or even kill your tortoise with just one tiny little bump
Yes I
Yes for sure , There’s about four inches of plastic above the light I might punch some holes and hoop the stand through
Yes for sure , There’s about four inches of plastic above the light I might punch some holes and hoop the stand through
I guess it depends on what the screws are attached to/how they're holding it together, but you should be able to replace 2 of them with screw eyes or eyebolts.
In theory, 63 should be fine as long as the baby can warm up each day. To be safe, you might want to keep it closer to 70 at least for a little while as the baby settles in and gets comfortable.
Yes. I would. Also get a thermostat ands set it to about 70. You don't want it warm at night for a temperate species, just not too cool.
Night heat is not recommended for Testudo species (as per Chris Leone), you would be better off warming the room rather than the enclosure. also, my temps dip into the high 60's from time to time and my tort seems to have no issues. he just gets up and out under the basking light a lot quicker in the morning.
So now it’s summer it’s a tad warmer at night , last night it dipped to 62. Humidity stayed at 80% I live in the northeast so sometimes even in my apartment it hits 50 inside with the heat on . It’s also a hatchling so not sure if that matters.
My western hermanns is less than 1 year and he's survived his first NY winter, I used a space heater some nights in the room he was in. Are you putting a lid or top over his enclosure at night? it will help keep the heat in as well as make the humidity go into the 90's as well.
I use the Zilla. It handles up to 1000 watts. Way better than the other model that only handles 100.
And in most circumstances I agree with him, but not for a small baby, under the stress of transport and a new environment, in a room that is dropping down into the low 60s with damp substrate where the evaporative cooling is probably dropping the temp into the 50s at night.
Chris, and every body else, will recommend night heat in any enclosure that is getting too cold. What he's saying is that we shouldn't be keeping them at 80 degrees at night like a tropical species. That doesn't mean that unusually low temps are good for them. In a normal room, at "room temp" I wouldn't recommend night heat either.
Tom, I wasn't trying to start an argument or a controversy. I was simply saying the overall room should be warmed, not the enclosure (at night) as per Chris' recommendation.
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