morla's new enclosure

[jesst]

This is the new enclosure i got for morla today. It looks homemade and used to house a bearded dragon. I cleaned it well. Please give me any suggestions as to how i can make her new home better. I also planted some seeds from sulcatafood.com in the corner in a little planter so she can graze (if they grow) The last photo is of the air vents, there are two of them. I guess my concerns are if these little vent are enough for her to get the air she needs.

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Also i am using a 100w MVB and my thermometer is reading 105F. is this too hot? The humidity level is high because the glass is fogging up and on the cool end it is reading 88F. i opened the door and it feels hot and humid.....like the usual florida summer. is that good? the enclosure came with a 75w basking light and a reptisun 5.0 uvb should i be using these?

 

[DolanKoops]

Looks abit small and dull what's the measurements?

 

[jesst]

36 by 17, the same size as a 40 gallon breeder. I still have to add decorations but i was just trying to figure out if it was ideal for her. she is 4'' and 105g. what else should i have in there with her?

 

[DolanKoops]

Yeah that's fine that's exactly what I have and my tort is 4 inch too I have a brown pot that my tort loves to sleep in

 

[jesst]

she has one of those half logs as a hide. in her old enclosure she never went into it, but this one is much bigger. Thank you for the speedy reply.

 

[DolanKoops]

Hmm maybe stuff to climb on then I have like a colourful rock that she climbs up and chills on if you wanna see my enclosure go on my profile and there will be a pic I posted somewhere what tort do you even have

 

[Tom]

Is the black thing in the corner a water dish or is that the seedling tray?

She needs a water dish. Is your thermometer the one stuck on the back? You need to know what the temp is right under the hottest part of the bulb. I like to use a flat rock or piece of slate right under the bulb. It makes measuring your basking temp easier too. If that basking spot is 105, and the cool side is 88, you might need a smaller bulb. I'll bet the the 75 will work just fine. If the 5.0 is a coil bulb, I would not use it. If its a tube, then its fine. Don't for get to keep it 80 at night too. You don't want things cooling of at night with all that humidity.

Lastly, that size is not going to last you very long. I use 40's for hatchlings, but they outgrow them in just a few months.

 

[jesst]

She has a water dish it was being cleaned. I went back to the 75 basking and the tube uvb. She seems happier to have a bigger cage thank you for the quick reply

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

 

[jesst]

I was wanting to put some plants in her enclosure, live ones, which are the best?

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Also we keep our house at 78 at night so her temp never really gets any colder then that. That is one of the thermometers I have she has 2 in there.

 

[Floof]

(Completely missed this one when I posted on your other thread... Lol)

It looks great. My biggest issue is the thermometers... Those little stick-on strips aren't worth the trouble. Get a good indoor/outdoor digital thermometer. I got mine for about $10 at Walmart, works like a charm. Or you can get an infrared temp gun. The basic unit (i.e. the PE-1 temp gun) usually runs about $30, and they are so useful.. Point, press the button, and it gives you the temperature of that surface instantly. Great for temperature checks in your enclosure, making sure the ground outside is warm enough for a basking session, checking the temperature of your tortie's soak water... So on and so forth.

As you know, knowing the temperatures of your habitat is vital. The little stick-ons, though, are only going to tell you the temperature where they're mounted: Up on the wall, away from where the tortoise actually is. Like Tom said, you need to know the temperature of the hottest spot, directly under the bulb, and having the thermometer glued to the wall far from directly under the bulb isn't going to help with that.

 

[lynnedit]

I was wanting to put some plants in her enclosure, live ones, which are the best?

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Also we keep our house at 78 at night so her temp never really gets any colder then that. That is one of the thermometers I have she has 2 in there.

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Spider plants, aloe vera, sedum, scotch moss and for more, see
http://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/site/plants_19.asp.
I believe adding plants will help retain humidity. Keep the plants in their pots and bury the pots in the soil. They can sort of trash them, but they may stand a chance if kept in their pots .
Good advice about getting accurate thermometers. Otherwise you may not have the proper temps, your tort won't thrive, and you won't know why.

 

[jesst]

Thank you. I will go and get a digital or gun today. The people i got her from, which was a well known breeding reptile shop told me that those thermometers would do fine. One more question....is it best to plant the seeds i got from sulcatafood.com in a planter or just let them grow within the substrate. My substrate is cypress mulch and top soil.

 

[lynnedit]

I believe the seed will grow anywhere there is some soil. However, those torts do like to walk back and forth, back and forth...So it is hard for the seeds to survive unless the seeds are established before the tort is in there.
If you gets some small plastic containers from a dollar store type place, you can drill some holes in the bottoms of the containers for drainage. Then put one in to 'hold' the spot in the substrate. Have several others filled with soil and seed them every few days. Put in a sunny window, perhaps in a larger flat container to catch water with some gravel for drainage. This way you can rotate them in and out and keep reseeding, etc.
Your round thermometers might be accurate, but you just don't know(plus they don't tend to last), and getting the temps right is crucial.