My first enclosure ever

[reatrocity]

Hey all! So as some of you might know, I recently bought a Hermann's tortoise from Chris. My lil' pal should be coming in on Friday, so I'm slowly setting up my tortoise table from now until then. Most things are coming in the mail throughout the week, but I figured I would go ahead and list the things I've bought and the prices.

I would love suggestions. Mind you all, this is all temporary, and I definitely am looking forward to making a tortoise table from scratch when my baby gets a little bigger. For right now though I think this is a good size. This is a learning process for me.

Hopefully with everyone's advice, this can be helpful to other newbies as well.

I'll list what I've bought so far in my next post! I'll keep updating this as the week goes on. I'll probably ask some questions too along the way. Thanks all!

 

[wellington]

Just remember, no coil bulbs of any kind. They still are damaging tortoises eyes, even though the manufacturer and stores are saying different. We still see a lot of it in torts on here.

 

[reatrocity]

Enclosure:

-Large plastic container - Target - ~$20


Decorations:

-4 small clay pots, 1 larger clay pot, 1 clay dish - On sale at Kmart for less than 1$ total. (Going to use 2 of these as a hide, the rest for plants)
-Half log - Local pet store - ~$11
-Random medium sized smooth rocks, 2 bags - Dollar Store - ~$2
-Plastic plant - Local pet store - ~$5 could probably find some way cheaper at a craft store. Bought it since I was there and I don't mind supporting my local store.
-Zoo Med Combo Reptile Rock Food and Water Dish - Amazon - $5.59 (shipping: $0)


Substrate:

For substrate I'm going to use organic topsoil, with a small amount of sphagnum moss and coconut coir, have yet to decide percentage-wise how much, any advice on that would be appreciated. I've yet to buy the topsoil, I will do so this week, likely tomorrow. So I'm just guesstimating on that because I have no idea how much topsoil is.

-[to be bought] Topsoil - Probably around ~$10
-Mosser 0180 Long Fibered Sphagnum Moss, 100-Cubic Inch - Amazon - $7.77 (shipping: $0)
-Nature's Footprint 650gm Coconut Coir Brick, Medium - Amazon - $6.99 (shipping: $0)


Lighting:

While my tortoise will be getting sunlight, I do live in WV, and winter will be upon us soon enough so I went ahead and bought the lighting I'll need eventually anyway.

-Zoo Med Reptile Lamp Stand, Full Size - Amazon - $19.99 (shipping: $0)
-Zoo Med Deep Dome Lamp Fixture, Black - Amazon - $20.44 (shipping: $0)
-Zoo Med PowerSun UV Mercury Vapor Lamp 100 Watts - Amazon - $41.42 (shipping: ~$6)


Random items:

-Rep-Cal Calcium with Vitamin D3 (4.1 oz) Ultrafine Powder Pink bottle - Amazon - $5.30 (shipping: $0)
-Spray bottle - Rite Aid - ~$1
-Zoo Med ReptiTemp Digital Infrared Thermometer - Amazon - $15.43
-[to be bought] Broadleaf seed mix 1/4 lb - Carolina Pet Supply - $14.95
-[to be bought] Dandelion (organic) Taraxacum officinale 200 seeds - Carolina Pet Supply - $5.25



Total thus far: ~$199.13


Hope I'm not forgetting anything! Just to give someone a rough idea how much is the startup costs to owning a tortoise. Hope it helps someone. My startup costs are more than my tortoise! Ouch! I did save over the course of a couple months so it didn't sting as bad as it probably would have otherwise. So worth it though.

 

[reatrocity]

Alright, I got pretty much everything I need except two things... Amazon messed up my order, so my thermometer is coming tomorrow thanks to next day shipping. There was also a problem getting my mercury vapor lamp, and that is coming early next week. In the meantime I will be using a regular 75 watt incandescent light bulb. Hoping for good weather so my lil' dude won't miss his rays too much!


I have NO clue how to set up my enclosure. I kind of just put everything randomly. Is the food better in the cooler area of the table, or the warmer? Same for the water? I have 3 hides in different parts of the enclosure so I'm not too worried about that.

Also, when I get my thermometer tomorrow, what is the ideal basking temperature for a baby Hermann's tortoise?

Any other tips of course are appreciated!

 

[Chrisbarrett27]

I think it looks really cool!

 

[Yvonne G]

those flower pots are much too open. Try to figure out how to cut them in half lengthwise. Or use plastic pots - easier to cut in half.

I love that great, big plastic bin.

Also, a plant saucer works better for the waterer. Because the sides slope he doesn't have to get straight up and down to climb out. They sometimes lose their center when climbing up a straight side and tip over backwards.

 

[SANDRA_MEISSNEST]

it looks really nice I'm with Yvonne use the saucer plate for the water dish and get a little bit bigger one

Sent from my ZTE N9120 using TortForum mobile app

 

[kathyth]

Looks good.
Make sure your baby can't escape.they will climb on things and boost themselves over. I would not keep anything ip against the walls of the enclosure.
Good work!

 

[65redroses]

How big is the plastic container? I'm trying to find one bigger than 64 quarts. Thanks

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Doing good

I'm wondering about your deep dome being used with a MVB though. I know the MVBs get pretty hot and the deep domes trap a lot of heat at the base of the fixture. Could this be a potential problem?
I use 8" and 10" domes to avoid overheating issues with regular bulbs and CHEs. The 8" is about $6 and the 10" about $13 at home improvement stores.

Sent from my TFOapp

 

[reatrocity]

Thanks all! Yvonne, I completely agree. I do like the clay pots, so I hope I can find a way to cut them in half. His little "basking" area is actually an upside down plant saucer, so I'll make that into his water dish. Good thing I bought it! I hope I can find a little tile somewhere to make it his basking spot.

And I did notice he was messing with one of the plants, so I might move that in case he decides to somehow climb it.

Heather I have no idea about the deep dome and the MVB, I'm hoping that it works out well. Part of the reason why I listed everything I bought here. If anyone has insight on this I would love to know.

I probably won't make these changes until I soak him later today, he seems to be settling in well, but I don't want to scare him. Thanks for the tips, I'll keep you all posted.

 

[reatrocity]

So I went ahead and updated the enclosure. What I did was switch the plant saucer and the plastic water container. The water container I flipped backwards and made it into a flat surface so Morgan can bask there if he wants to. For the flower pot, what I did was wet the pot, grabbed a nail and hammer, and hoped for the best! I think I got pretty lucky because I got two different looking usable hideouts for Morgan.

I don't know how much he likes them yet, but they seem really cozy! Thank you guys for all your tips. I'm sure it'll make Morgan a much happier lil' guy. He is *extremely* active! He is running around absolutely everywhere. Much more active than what I thought he would be, especially for the first day. I'm thrilled!

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Very cool

If your MVB blows out I'd assume its from the deep dome. If that happens (or to be preventative) use a dome at least 10" next time.

 

[reatrocity]

Thanks Heather. Thankfully they are all under warranty. They are all Zoo med products so if anything happens I can just switch it out and try the 10". Even if it doesn't blow out, I might go ahead and get it in a couple weeks anyway just in case.

 

[StarSapphire22]

Your container looks like the one I have! Setup looks great.

How's the light and dome working for you? Wondering what size dome I should get. And are you using any kind of lid? I need to keep 3 inquisitive kitties out of mine and can't figure out how to cover it up and let light in.

 

[reatrocity]

Your container looks like the one I have! Setup looks great.

How's the light and dome working for you? Wondering what size dome I should get. And are you using any kind of lid? I need to keep 3 inquisitive kitties out of mine and can't figure out how to cover it up and let light in.

The light and dome has been working awesome, the original ones I bought. I sent in my warranty paper for my bulb (which covers it for a year) so for now I've kept the dome. I would recommend taking Heather's advice though. Much cheaper and would likely offer you a wider basking spot. If mine does go out, I'll return my bulb and buy a new dome, but for now it's working great.

I'm not using any kind of lid, and I actually prefer an open tort table so I'm likely going to keep it this way. I combat this by spraying the enclosure 4 times or so a day, as well as misting my tortoise. I use sphagnum moss beneath the hides and under the log, and I make sure those are nice and moist (not wet). At night I always spray around the inside of the clay pot, and I place Morgan there to sleep. He would get out the first few days, but now he complies and stays in his hide until he's ready to wake up in the morning. I am planning grow plants in pots and place some in the enclosure to help with the humidity

For covering... I'm not really sure what would be a good cover that is cat proof. It ultimately depends on how naughty your cats are. I think to be honest, for the sake of the tortoise, it might be better for you to create a more closed enclosure. It could be difficult to recommend just because you're the one who know your cats best, and they can be clever at getting somewhere if they wanted to. If it were me I would likely skip the plastic container thing all together, unless it can be put somewhere you're cats are not allowed, and until you finish building a more closed in enclosure, then you can place the tortoise in whatever room you were planning to originally. This is just my opinion though, and I'm a newbie, so maybe someone with more experience would have a better idea on how to cover it.


I think, from looking at my cover that came with my plastic tote, you could potentially cut the inside of the perimeter of it, buy some strong glue, as well as a chicken wire type mesh that has small enough holes that the cats can't put their paws in, and glue it to the underside of the plastic cover. Not sure what tools you could use to cut the inside perimeter of the plastic, hopefully you and your boyfriend are handymen(women) and can figure it out. But here I made a small diagram of what I mean.

Hope this is helpful! If anyone has another idea for her, I think she'd appreciate it. As a newbie it's the best I can come up with, without making it look like a horrible eyesore.

You can do it on both sides, or just one side to help with humidity. lol... excuse my awful drawing. I just had to. But yeah, this is kind of the gist of what I mean. If not, you would probably need some kind of tent structure, and depending on the material you use the cats could potentially scratch into it. I don't own cats so I don't know for sure-- I know my old cat would have found a way in otherwise.

Anyway, hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[StarSapphire22]

HAHAHA that drawing! <3

That's actually a fabulous idea. We are working on it now (saw your response while we were out shopping)...we cut a 1'x1' hole with a box cutter and are using 1/4" screen. We're sandwiching the screen between paint sticks with some liquid nails type stuff, then adhering the sticks to the outside of the lid. No sharp edges to get poked with this way and hopefully its a bit sturdier.

 

[reatrocity]

Cool! Sorry I couldn't give you a better idea. I'm not great with tools. But Yeah, hopefully it works out well! Looking forward to the pictures.

 

[StarSapphire22]

I actually think it's gonna work perfectly. Finished it up today, just waiting for it to cure now. I'll take some pics in a bit and stick em in my thread.