light/heat help

[KarenSoCal]

(I feed him a decent meal every other day and just a tiny amount on the days inbetween)

This is the first I've heard of this from you. There is no advantage to feeding this way. He needs to eat all he wants of good nutritious food every day.

You've probably read somewhere about "starve" days. Torts roam around grazing all day long. They certainly don't give themselves days of not eating. I don't know where such a ridiculous notion originally came from, but it has zero merit. Feed your tort every day.

 

[rafsmum]

Hi, Maggie!
I know that you successfully travel with your torts, and I'm glad it works out for you.

In this case, the car isn't the problem. The OP frequently goes to mainland Europe from her home in England. Not a good idea to carry the tort around in other countries.

karen i wasnt suggesting we take him abroad. i meant when we go for weekends at pontins. its an hours drive. would he be ok to take there? i think hed miss us left at home. I;d take his orin=ginal home he came in with us as we have a decent sized car. We always took our budgie when we had him! Different i know. easier to take him to a friends house in his cage when gping abroad too, although i still worried about him all week!

The coco shouldnt really be dry on the top, it should be damp most of the time, if it is dry it isnt contributiing much to humidity. And why do you feed different amounts different days, tort should be fed as much as it wants to eat every day?

again, having a go instead of answering my questions. I left it dry on top as another member suggested to me because i am concerned about shell rot, esp as his enclosure isnt terribly warm atm. why is she wrong? i was told to feed him every other day as he is used to, but i give him a little treat on alternating days. Whats the problem with that. if you feed them as much as they want they could overeat! he always leaves some anyway so not starving!

 

[rafsmum]

This is the first I've heard of this from you. There is no advantage to feeding this way. He needs to eat all he wants of good nutritious food every day.

You've probably read somewhere about "starve" days. Torts roam around grazing all day long. They certainly don't give themselves days of not eating. I don't know where such a ridiculous notion originally came from, but it has zero merit. Feed your tort every day.

ive read it in many places and his previous owner only fed him every other day.
by the way he has a lamp now attached to the enclosure which he had when i got him. its in a ceramic E27 fitting with silver dome and has 75watts on it but am not sure exactly what the bulb is. Again i asked his prev owner but she said ask at the pet shop!!

 

[Zoeclare]

@Zoeclare

Would you try to find an Arcadia Forest setup for her? She needs the fixture as well.

I looked on Amazon and Swell and couldn't find a 24 inch one. All sold out. So maybe knowing other places in the UK to order from, you could find one.

Sorry Karen I only just saw this. I got mine from Swell Reptiles, as far as I know there isn't many places online that seem to stock the Arcadia units here but I'll have a dig around. Northampton Reptile Centre is another place I order from but they don't sell Arcadia, they have a brand called Reptile Systems which I have no experience with.

 

[KarenSoCal]

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ive read it in many places and his previous owner only fed him every other day.

Again, not feeding every day is your choice, but I know it would not be your tort's choice.

And I say this with only the best intentions...his previous owner took pretty lousy care of him, since she didn't even tell you about lights and heat. I suggest you don't go to her for advice.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Sorry Karen I only just saw this. I got mine from Swell Reptiles, as far as I know there isn't many places online that seem to stock the Arcadia units here but I'll have a dig around. Northampton Reptile Centre is another place I order from but they don't sell Arcadia, they have a brand called Reptile Systems which I have no experience with.

Maybe you'll find the Reptisun or ZooMed ones. I've heard they're good too. I'm just used to Arcadia.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Yossarian]

again, having a go instead of answering my questions. I left it dry on top as another member suggested to me because i am concerned about shell rot, esp as his enclosure isnt terribly warm atm. why is she wrong? i was told to feed him every other day as he is used to, but i give him a little treat on alternating days. Whats the problem with that. if you feed them as much as they want they could overeat! he always leaves some anyway so not starving!

Dude, grow up. You should have some respect for the other members taking their time to try and help you. Re-read my post, I didnt have a go, I simply told you that something your doing is not correct and I asked a question.

Do you think a grazing animal, literally surrounded by food, would choose to not eat every other day? Why would you do that in captivity then? It is clear that you dont know what your doing or talking about when it comes to your tort. Torts, given enough space and the correct diet, dont overeat, their food is low in nutritional value so they need to graze alot every day to get enough nutrition.

Also, the substrate should be damp on top, otherwise it isnt contributing to humidity in the enclosure. Dont worry about shell rot, it is very rare. People like you post here a few times a week, in 5 years there have been only a few posts with torts that actually had shell rot.

You have experienced owners here, who have have raised healthy torts for many many years, telling you how to correct your husbandry for the sake of your tort and the best you can do is be defensive and pretend like you know something you dont.

Good luck.

 

[rafsmum]

o


Again, not feeding every day is your choice, but I know it would not be your tort's choice.

And I say this with only the best intentions...his previous owner took pretty lousy care of him, since she didn't even tell you about lights and heat. I suggest you don't go to her for advice.

she did give him light and heat. thats what she was advised. i tend to dig more deeply into things i m not sure of. As i have said previously he has a 75 watt lamp for daytime and heatpad at night . he just hasnt had humidity. i have not asked her for advice since, I came on here. This is what she told me when i took him. She also said to sprinkle calcium on each time and gave me a jar of komodo little round balls and said give him some once a week. I keep meanign to ask if thats ok and how much should he have?
I do feed him each day, but just a small amount on the second day as i felt mean not giving him anything. i will feed him each day then, but i think hes actually adjusted to that regime as he never eats everything on the second day!

so is he ok to keep his existring lamp and just add the che? i siliconed his extension today so should be ready for him next week. I did ask on here and was told, I think by Tom that it was ok, but just double checking that silicon is ok for sealing joints as long as it is fully dry?

 

[rafsmum]

Dude, grow up. You should have some respect for the other members taking their time to try and help you. Re-read my post, I didnt have a go, I simply told you that something your doing is not correct and I asked a question.

Do you think a grazing animal, literally surrounded by food, would choose to not eat every other day? Why would you do that in captivity then? It is clear that you dont know what your doing or talking about when it comes to your tort. Torts, given enough space and the correct diet, dont overeat, their food is low in nutritional value so they need to graze alot every day to get enough nutrition.

Also, the substrate should be damp on top, otherwise it isnt contributing to humidity in the enclosure. Dont worry about shell rot, it is very rare. People like you post here a few times a week, in 5 years there have been only a few posts with torts that actually had shell rot.

You have experienced owners here, who have have raised healthy torts for many many years, telling you how to correct your husbandry for the sake of your tort and the best you can do is be defensive and pretend like you know something you dont.

Good luck.

dude. i suggest YOU reread all yourposts to me.
Every single one has been berating me. Whereas karen and others have spent time and effort giving me advice, you havent given me advice, youve just had a go every now and then.

I have not been defensive with karen at all. I came here to ask for advice as i love animals. I worked with dogs for 16 yrs and was a vet nurse for 10. i want to be sure i am doing the best i can given my situation and i am trying. It was a big shock to find that he had very specific needs, and in all honesty i wouldnt have taken him had i known. Not that i cant be bothered but just that his enclosure indoors is not going to be as big as id have liked, having now read up extensively ( although we do take him out for a roam each night and come summer he will have a large area in the garden for daytimes) and i am worried that i will get temps/humidity etc etc wrong and he could get sick. once we had him though we have fallen in love with him. hes so loving and a little character. Considering he didnt get ,much attention in his old place i am amazed how much he seems to love it. Once we had him we could not give him back
he has been on a completely dry substrate for 7 yrs so is not used to sitting in damp.
Once i have my che up and running and can raise temps/humidity i will have his coir wetter, but temps are only just reaching 70 at night in his bed area, possibly 1 or 2 degrees less.
And i repeat. I was told on this thread if you read back, that it should be dmp underneth but dry on top, so i ws following dvice on here. How m i supposed to know who to listen to nd who not? nd sometimes people get things indvertently wrong. hd i not double checked, id hve removed his uvb light nd replced it with n led. Not that anyone ws giving me bd dvice, they just misunderstood my sitution. So i cant just take everything s gospel
I m trying my best and he is taking up a lot of my time at present.
Flippin A button is messing bout again, sorry

Advice help and answers to my questions are gratefully received. having a pop is not. I m trying!!! If I knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be on here. btw it is you're not your in tht context
Remember too it isnt always what you say its the way that you say it

 

[KarenSoCal]

she did give him light and heat. thats what she was advised. i tend to dig more deeply into things i m not sure of. As i have said previously he has a 75 watt lamp for daytime and heatpad at night . he just hasnt had humidity. i have not asked her for advice since, I came on here. This is what she told me when i took him. She also said to sprinkle calcium on each time and gave me a jar of komodo little round balls and said give him some once a week. I keep meanign to ask if thats ok and how much should he have?
I do feed him each day, but just a small amount on the second day as i felt mean not giving him anything. i will feed him each day then, but i think hes actually adjusted to that regime as he never eats everything on the second day!

so is he ok to keep his existring lamp and just add the che? i siliconed his extension today so should be ready for him next week. I did ask on here and was told, I think by Tom that it was ok, but just double checking that silicon is ok for sealing joints as long as it is fully dry?

I'm not familiar with the Komodo food, but I've heard the name. I don't know if it is good for redfoot. Maybe take a pic of the ingredients? That would help.

You just have an LED light in there to be able to see him, correct? If so, yes, have it and add the CHE on the thermostat.

Zoeclare is trying to find a suitable UVB light for you. The one we want is sold out everywhere, so she's still looking.

Silicone is great for sealing, and after a week it should be ready. Sniff it...when it's dry it shouldn't smell, well, maybe just a little bit.

 

[Zoeclare]

Here's a picture I took for another thread but it's shows a couple of my lights. The small one at the back is the LED, it's just a generic one used for aquariums, they are on a timer from 7am to 8pm. The tube in front is the arcadia uv fixture, on a timer in the winter from 10am to 4pm. You can just see one of my ches as well, I have 2 ches and a radient heat panel all set to 84 as you are looking to create an ambient temp without hotspots. Nitros favourite temp seems to be about 82 so I just played about with the thermostats till it was just right. You will know if it's too warm or brightas your tort will probably just hide all day, hope this helps.

 

[Zoeclare]

Also found this

 

[KarenSoCal]

Also found thisView attachment 317754

I'm not sure she will be able to use a 34 inch. I'll ask her how big the new enclosure is.

Thanks so much for finding this!

 

[KarenSoCal]

@rafsmum

How long is your new enclosure? Could you fit a 36 inch long light in there?

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hi, Maggie!
I know that you successfully travel with your torts, and I'm glad it works out for you.

In this case, the car isn't the problem. The OP frequently goes to mainland Europe from her home in England. Not a good idea to carry the tort around in other countries.

Sorry, I didn't realize that.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Hey Yossarian... This poster also accused me of being rude to her. I said then she was one of those noobs who ask for help and then argue against it.

this from her...
Advice help and answers to my questions are gratefully received. having a pop is not. I m trying!!! If I knew what I was doing, I wouldn't be on here. btw it is you're not your in tht context
Remember too it isnt always what you say its the way that you say it

That is just bs, she wants advice that will agree with her crappy care. I did NOT "have a go" at her. But she is rude and argumentative and I wish now I had. Don't waste your time on her. And without spell check or punctuation I don't understand what she means...
what does this mean?

btw it is you're not your in tht context

 

[Yossarian]

what does this mean?

btw it is you're not your in tht context

OP was criticising my grammar. I used [your] where I should have used [you're].

I agree with you on the rest.

 

[rafsmum]

I'm not familiar with the Komodo food, but I've heard the name. I don't know if it is good for redfoot. Maybe take a pic of the ingredients? That would help.

You just have an LED light in there to be able to see him, correct? If so, yes, have it and add the CHE on the thermostat.

Zoeclare is trying to find a suitable UVB light for you. The one we want is sold out everywhere, so she's still looking.

Silicone is great for sealing, and after a week it should be ready. Sniff it...when it's dry it shouldn't smell, well, maybe just a little bit.

Hi no it isnt an led. I hve put a couple of times it is a special reptile bulb. she said it was to give him sunlight as she said if i put him outside in the sun in summer, he wouldnt need it then. However i am not sure exactly what it is!! I did post further back what it says on the ceramic holder.
its 75watt but i am unsure what the exact thing is. I did ask her, as i said previously and she said to ask at the pet shop!

The komodo he loves and i am thinking it may be a protein as she said to feed it once a week but never gave him protein. I have been giving him some mushroom and boiled egg weekly and he loves that too! the komodo is tortoise diet complete holistic & balanced nutrition. dandelion flav. i have just noticed tho it says in small letters suitable for European & Russian torts hhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmm lol. I doubt theyd cause harm though, yeah? the writing is too small for the rest :O I will see if i cn google the ingredients

My heater lead and bulbs came today. Now i have to try and put them somewhere. Then when the silicone is dry he can move downstairs. It hardly smelled anyway tbh, i I used one that seemed "safer IMO lol) but i would always leave a week anyway. Im quite proud of what i have designed! Now i need something to use as a bigger water bowl and also something to retain the humidity, and thats the biggest struggle due to the shape! My t'stat should be here soon too.

it will be about 140cm long and 90cm wide but how on earth would i get something like that long bulb in? Its a sloping roof over it. This is why I am unsure what to do about a cover. But will his existing lamp/bulb not do?

Thanks to you all again for your advice. I am slowly getting there! And thanks to Zoe also, very kind to spend your time helping me.

Found the tort diet on amazon
If i feed him protein once a week does he still need something like this?https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FXLXGX5/?tag=

 

[rafsmum]

Here's a picture I took for another thread but it's shows a couple of my lights. The small one at the back is the LED, it's just a generic one used for aquariums, they are on a timer from 7am to 8pm. The tube in front is the arcadia uv fixture, on a timer in the winter from 10am to 4pm. You can just see one of my ches as well, I have 2 ches and a radient heat panel all set to 84 as you are looking to create an ambient temp without hotspots. Nitros favourite temp seems to be about 82 so I just played about with the thermostats till it was just right. You will know if it's too warm or brightas your tort will probably just hide all day, hope this helps.

Thank you zoe. It looks fab. I am not sure where i could affix mine though, thats the next thing i need to work on! i do have a uvb lamp, am just not sure what type it is

 

[rafsmum]

has maggie been moaning?! haha I unsubscribed from her posts a while back when she was having a go all the time. much like yoss has been doing. I am having enough trouble trying to follow everything nd get everything straight without listening to people who just want to criticise me instead of help, so I chose to have any posts from her hidden, but i can see that yoss mentioned her . he/she may as well be hidden too i guess