Long weekend away

[Wendy Proulx]

How do you all handle a long weekend away from your tort? I don’t feel like we will be gone long enough to get someone to tortoise sit, but how do I leave the lights. Day time lights on or night time lights? Obviously I will place tons of food and soak my 4 month old YF before leaving and as soon as we get back. Any ideas or thoughts would be great. Thank you

 

[Melis]

I don't have experience with YFs or leaving babies, so hopefully someone else can speak on that specifically. But for my adults I have all their lights on timers. And a thermostat would guarantee proper temps. Soaking before and after is a must. And as mentioned I'm not familiar with YF diet, but is there any food that will last longer than the typical fruit/veggies that would dry out? My sulcata was easy as I could just load her up with grass hay.

 

[JoesMum]

You buy timers for the daytime lights.

YF, like redfoot, need constant warmth and should have a CHE on a thermostat to provide that 24/7. This will only cut in when needed due to the thermostat. It should therefore never be switched off completely.

Use timers for the daytime lights by default. You can have a lie in or go out late with a clear conscience!

Ideally you get a neighbour to pop in and check your tort is the right way up and to top up water bowls. Leave food, but your tort will be fine going hungry for a couple of days. If it’s more than 3 nights away, get someone in to feed.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Agree with @JoesMum on this. Daylights on a timer, Replace "night bulb" with a CHE connected via a thermostat. Remove anything in ur enclosure that enables flipping.

 

[Wendy Proulx]

Great thanks I will get my lights on a timer today!! I thought I read that CHE isn’t the best for Redfoot and Yellow Foots?

 

[JoesMum]

Don’t have it too close to the substrate. It’s for ambient heat not basking; up high is fine as long as you have a closed chamber. Make sure the thermostat is at the opposite end of the enclosure. Make sure the humidity is high enough and a CHE is fine.

 

[Redstrike]

I use Ceramic Heat Emitters hooked up to thermostats as others have mentioned. I also have all my lights on timers. My closed chamber is a "set it and forget it" setup for the lights, humidity, and heat. I chose to use a large, ceramic plant saucer that can hold ~1/4 to 1/2 gallon of water. This allows me to replace the water every couple days but it will remain for 3-4 days without issue (just gets a bit dirty).

When I leave for 3-4 days, I refill the tortoises water and leave whole cactus pads (I grow them in summer for the holidays) and mangoes or papaya in the enclosure. This allows them to consume food over a 2-day period. If I leave for a week or more, I have a friend stop in to replace the water and provide more food.

Recall that tortoises have a slower metabolic rate than mammalian and avian pets so they can go a couple days without food and there is no issue. Just be sure the habitat parameters are set and there is water available.