Juvie Sulcata (basketball size) indoor pen photo

[Morla_theancientone]

We've had Morla for about a week now. I posted about her originally here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread...zed-sully-new-to-this-and-need-advice.107759/

It was only a day or two later that we made her indoor tort pen, but I was lazy and didn't take any photos. She was being very friendly tonight and enjoyed a bit of a head massage so I took a photo while I was at it. Her hide box is an old desk that we wrapped the legs of in plastic to protect them from the humidity and her shell scuffing. There is a bed sheet that hangs down over it and some plastic wrap that we can stretch over the pen to control humidity, She was doing great for a few days, but last night and today she's done nothing but sleep, really. Didn't eat much today. Her UVB bulb wasn't working so I replaced it today and we'll see if that had anything to do with it in the coming days.

I just wanted to post this image as some inspiration for those like myself with a basketball-sized tort and no outdoor pen (as of yet). She seems to be doing much better in this arrangement than the vision cage we had her in. It is a work in progress, as we want to give her more plant life to explore. But for now, it's better than 90% of other homes might have done *I* think. AND, it's sustainable for a bit - until we can get a yard for her.

The whole thing cost about $100. Some 12"-wide flat pieces of wood, a brown painter's tarp, and some "plastic" (maybe linoleum?) shower paneling. We simply bought (3) 2"x8'x12" panels, cut one in half to make an 8'x4' pen, laid a tarp inside of the frame to protect against moisture, folded the edges inward, put the shower paneling inside to protect against digging, folded the tarp edges back out, stapled them to the wooden frame, and filled it with mulch. She has a water bowl big enough to sit in - which she often uses as a toilet *rolls eyes* - a yucca tree which we'll eventually transplant for her, some aloe and other misc tortoise-safe plants strewn about, the light of the daytime hours streaming in through the windows, the (newly fixed) UVB bulb shining down on her, and a basking spot of 100*(ish).

I know it's not ideal, but, as I said, probably better than most would have done for her. She is still battling a minor respiratory infection - having been kept outside in 40* weather with only a cardboard box for a hide - but she has been eating, and I'm hopeful that she will get better soon,

The white electrical thing is a space heater I put in there for the bit of time when I'm on the computer at night. She seems to really appreciate it. I don't leave her with it unattended.

 

[Jodie]

What is the overall ambient temperature for her? No lower than 80F is ideal, 85 would be better to help her get better. My first guess would be it is too cool and that is why she is not eating. Good job being creative. I think this is adequate temporary enclosure.

 

[Robertchrisroph]

oh first thank you for helping this poor tortoise. i have a winter set up sorta like this. he will need a basking light to get his temp up enough to digest food needs to be at least 80 under the light. the heater you have should be oil filled and heat the hole room if your going that way . there are other things. i have read thread after thread , hundreds of pages of information right here. just look up sulcata

 

[tortdad]

Great job taking it in!

What are your 4 temps? What humidity level? What equipment are you using?

 

[Morla_theancientone]

Sorry for the late reply here. I have since gotten an extra basking bulb so she has two on during the day, both reach about 95-100 directly under them. The ambient temp of the pen is in the 80s during the day. At night, with the lights off, the ambient temps drop to a pretty consistent 76, but I purchased a CHE and have that in the corner near her hide area. If she gets right up under it, it sits at 85. If she goes to the middle of the hide area, it's 80, and if she goes to the far corner it's the ambient 76. She stays somewhere between 80 and 85 usually. I am measuring these temps with a temp probe that I move around to check temps and also with one of those laser temp guns. They usually match within a degree or two.

The next step is to get more substrate for her so I can sprout things in the pen. I saw most use organic top soil, but the only organic soil I can find near me has organic fertilizers in it, like chicken manure for example. That doesn't seem safe - is that really ok? What are my other options?

I gave her radish tops yesterday and she got so excited she stood up really tall and made this grunting noise and came over as fast as she could. It was very cute. She still was watery eyes and nose bubbles so I'm going to see if I can get some medicine for her, but she is eating and thermo regulating and pooping so I am still hopeful.

As for humidity, I keep forgetting to move the hygrometer in here to check, but I mist her pen in the mornings to simulate dew (I spray the whole pen except her hide area) and she has a water dish big enough to soak in, and at night I use the kitchen sprayer to make it "rain" so that I can water her yucca tree. I am going to be making a humid hide for her tomorrow. I bought her a cuttlebone tonight so we'll see how she reacts to that tomorrow.

And someone had asked about her UVB bulb - was it a coiled one - no, it is not. It is a 24" long one that goes in a black case of sorts. Are those alright?

 

[Blakem]

I saw on your profile that you're from southern US. Where might that be? You might be able to save yourself some money setting up an outdoor enclosure, depending on the area/what kind of weather you get. I have my tortoise in an insulated house with heat provided by a mini oil heater that is set on a thermostat.

 

[Morla_theancientone]

I covered that in my other thread - we live in an area where we are not allowed to put up fences or keep outdoor animals. So until we move, she has to be an indoor tort with walks outside.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I covered that in my other thread - we live in an area where we are not allowed to put up fences or keep outdoor animals. So until we move, she has to be an indoor tort with walks outside.

Hey, a 4'x8' is better than what most people provide, so that's good.

I'm curious (I missed your other thread, too) are you planning to move soon-ish? A Sulcata can only go so long being an indoor pet. At some point (probably sooner than you think) you'll have to have a whole backyard to give this girl

 

[Morla_theancientone]

I have no idea when we'll actually be able to move. We had planned to be in a house last year but family things came up that prevented it. We are still trying and all I can say is I am doing my best.

Here are some new pictures of her pen, which I upgraded slightly yesterday. Her hide box is now a vision cage (finally dug it out of my mother-in-law's shed) with one glass door on it to help trap humidity and heat. The entire right half of the vision is filled from floor to ceiling with substrate for her to burrow in. I also added organic peat and more mulch to the main pen and planted her aloe and whatever those other things are (I forget). Her CHE is in the built-in area in the vision cage for lights so she can get right up under it. The hide box holds a steady temp of 80* unless she's right up under the heater, then it gets up to 86ish.

She was out exploring every nook and cranny today. She likes that she can circle the tree - she did that a few times before taking a snack break.
*please excuse the dirty water bowl. She'd already tracked dirt and debris through it when I took these photos. I don't leave it sit like that.

 

[gingerbee]

It's nice she's by the windows!! Depending on the glass maybe she gets uv throught them. I think they'd need to be old glass for that to happen though. Anyway your doing a great thing taking her in and working so hard to get things right for her.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

I like that you moved the potted plant out of the corner

And the vision cage hide seems nice, too.

 

[Juan V]

Some UVA rays will pass through the glass, but most of them wont. And UVB lights will not get through at all, this enclosure must have an UVA/B light.
and It looks as if the tortoise is pyramiding a bit, maybe you should check the enclosure again and it's diet?

 

[Morla_theancientone]

She has a 24" UVB light installed in the enclosure, and she does have pyramiding. She was a rescue - she was dumped unexpectedly on a friend of a friend and we took her in. We've only had her about two weeks. The pyramiding is not my doing.

 

[Morla_theancientone]

Some small updates made to her enclosure. I took some "weeds" from outside that she likes to munch on and potted them in her enclosure. See the thread about it here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/taking-outdoor-grasses-plants-indoors-to-tort-table.109696/ . She really seems to like them. I don't have a cover over the area to retain moisture as I tried it once but the cat and dogs kept messing with the plastic sheeting, plus, Morla herself actually got tangled in it once and we had to cut it. It also got REALLY hot and stuffy in there. I spray down the entire table every day with the sprayer from the kitchen sink. If you dig down one inch, the substrate is moist. I also keep her vision cage "hide box" moist so she can burrow. We are in Florida so I don't think lack of humidity is a problem. The hygrometer reads 60 - 70% humidity most days. The cat has ruined the blinds, but I am sprouting lettuce, onions, radishes, spaghetti squash, and spider plants on the sill.

This photo shows the inside of Morla's Vision Cage "hide box" which was, at one time, piled floor to ceiling with substrate. She has since kicked it all around and dug a half-burrow. I will be adding some organic potting soil to it tomorrow. Her CHE hangs down in the built-in space for a heat lamp in the vision cage. She often sleeps right under it. Temps in the box today were 78* in the deepest part of the substrate and exactly 100* directly under the CHE where she is sitting. She usually sleeps there. She is utterly filthy from digging in this photo and has requested that we all not dwell on that fact...

She has a few potted plants in the enclosure - all of them edible. This is what remains of her aloe plant, which was huge when I bought it... She has yet to touch her cuttlebone. I dust her veggies with calcium and mineral supplements once a week or so.

 

[Robertchrisroph]

Hello and good day to you, wonderful it all is. Might turn your cuttlebone over so the hard side is down. And through it out every now and then and put a fresh one if not eatin. they may not like that one. have a great tortoise day

 

[Morla_theancientone]

She rolls it around on her own and has pretty much obliterated it at this point. She'll be getting a new one this week.

Also, please enjoy my public service announcement: adoption of tortoises may or may not activate your previously-dormant green thumb gene. Please see photographic evidence:

 

[Morla_theancientone]

I have been doing so much reading up on gardening and plants lately - something I've always thought was interesting, but something I never spent time on. And I learned that most gardeners nowadays use grow lights to start their seedlings indoors as it makes them stronger and thicker. After reading PLENTY of evidence, I decided I needed to go that route. Having Morla, gardening and tortoising go hand-in-hand so I wanted to do it in such a way that would benefit her as well. I spent roughly $40 at Home Depot today to get TWO plant lights, plus the brackets and mounting hardware and the fixture for the bulbs. As soon as I installed it she came running! I'm pretty sure she was hoping I'd let her "trim" the parsley, which I do on rare occasions. Not tonight, sorry, Morla!

Anyway, that makes THREE UVB lights she has now. She really seemed to like the upgrade. And now that makes so much more room for MORE plants on the windowsill!! Yay!

 

[taza]

I'm going to try to grow some stuff this winter too. Is there a particular type bulb to use as a grow light?

 

[Robertchrisroph]

Yes. They come in sizes from a simple bulb to a t-5 to a 1000 watts. Lol. Pends on what your growing. Some need a ballast or some already have them. I have t-5s foe seedlings and little plants then when they get about 4 inches 5 I through them into a higher wattage. The t-5ss I think are like 52 watts each 4 feet long. I just ordered 1 pound of Italian weeds to grow for mine. Lol

 

[Morla_theancientone]

I bought the shop light fixture for $12 and then installed two 4-foot T12 plant and aquarium lights. Everything I read for plants seemed to indicate that T12 bulbs were the perfect output. I figured that whatever was good for plants would be good for tortoises. The T8 bulbs are MUCH easier to find but they have like half the output for almost the same price. So, I dont know very much about all this yet, but I know Id rather get MORE for the same amount of money!!