Katiehu
Member
I just assumed they dug when they were older. I didn’t know they like to dig at such a young age. Does that mean his enclosure is too hot?
My 5 month old digs nonstop. Does that mean anything?
- Thread starter Katiehu
- Start date
What are all the temps and how big an enclosure? What is the humidity?
What kind of lighting and heating are you using?
What kind of lighting and heating are you using?
Katiehu
Member
Warm side is 114° Cool side is 85°. Humidity is 80. I use basking light and ceramic heat lamp
114 is pretty darn hot!
Katiehu
Member
I bought a controller but don’t know how to use it. I tried setting it to 94° but it never would stay at 94 would get hotter. I bought a lamp stand so the light is higher up.
Have you read this?
The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise
I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...
tortoiseforum.org
Start there, and then come back with questions, and we will get you squared away. This might help too:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
- Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
- Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
- Light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in bulb types are both fine.
- UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html Here in our climate, you shouldn't need indoor UV.
Please read info Tom gave you. In the mean time get the over all temp to 80 day and night and basking temp 95-100.
Keep humidity at 80%.
What size is the enclosure? If it's too small you will not be able to keep the temps down where they should be.
Post pics of enclosure and finish answering the questions I asked as far as what type of lighting and heating you use.
The answers to the questions we ask are for a reason. We can't give all the correct help without all the info we ask for
Keep humidity at 80%.
What size is the enclosure? If it's too small you will not be able to keep the temps down where they should be.
Post pics of enclosure and finish answering the questions I asked as far as what type of lighting and heating you use.
The answers to the questions we ask are for a reason. We can't give all the correct help without all the info we ask for
