New 40 gallon tank..

[Hulk and Spidey]

Hello all,

I have 2 sulcata tortoises that will be a year old in March. I live in Phoenix, Arizona and as you may know we mostly have hot summers here and the tortoise's love it!! I've brought the tortoises inside for the oddly cold winter we have been having this year. I just bought them a 40 gallon tank last night to house them till winter is over since they have outgrown the 20 gallon one.

I'm having troubles with temperatures in their new home. I have a 75w Zoo Med basking spot lamp inside of a Flunkers sun dome lamp and a 10.0 uvb Zoo med reptisun fluorescent lamp in a Zilla reflector dome. The thermometer I have is reading 75 degrees and the humidity it kept around 60%. I also have a 60w Ceramic infrared heat emitter that I would use at nighttime but not sure if this is sufficient enough to keep them warm overnight. I just want make sure I'm keeping them comfortable and warm during this winter.

FYI: I normally keep the lamps on separate sides and not how they are in the picture

 

[Dizisdalife]

Welcome to the Forum. From the picture I couldn't see if the top was covered or not. A closed top would make the heat sources you have more efficient. The 60 watt CHE may not be enough, depends on the temp you normally keep your house at and how much heat escapes from the enclosure. I used 2-60 watt CHE's controlled by a thermostat to keep the ambient temps where I wanted them.

The 10.0 UVB is a compact fluorescent light. There are several threads here that warn of CFL's irritating and actually damaging the tortoise's eyes. You may want to investigate to see if your light is one that does this.

 

[Hulk and Spidey]

Welcome to the Forum. From the picture I couldn't see if the top was covered or not. A closed top would make the heat sources you have more efficient. The 60 watt CHE may not be enough, depends on the temp you normally keep your house at and how much heat escapes from the enclosure. I used 2-60 watt CHE's controlled by a thermostat to keep the ambient temps where I wanted them.

The 10.0 UVB is a compact fluorescent light. There are several threads here that warn of CFL's irritating and actually damaging the tortoise's eyes. You may want to investigate to see if your light is one that does this.

The top is covered. Would you recommend just getting another 60 watt CHE to keep the temps up instead of the basking bulb. Also, I've heard mixed reviews on the CFL's but I was unsure what else I could use to provide them some sort of substitute for sunlight since it's too cold for some outside time. any recommendations?

 

[Dizisdalife]

The top is covered. Would you recommend just getting another 60 watt CHE to keep the temps up instead of the basking bulb. Also, I've heard mixed reviews on the CFL's but I was unsure what else I could use to provide them some sort of substitute for sunlight since it's too cold for some outside time. any recommendations?

I used a PowerSun MVB for UVB and basking heat. It was on a timer that ran the light for 12 hours a day. The two 60 watt CHE's were on a thermostat set to about 80°. My tortoise has been living outside for almost 4 years now. So, it has been a while since I have managed an indoor set up. I encourage you to look through the Enclosure Section and in the Sulcata section of the Forum for some of the current setups being used. Lots of good information there.

 

[Pearly]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I keep Redfoots (babies) in 40 glad breeder tank, but my bulbs are 100w each. I have 100w CHE on at night that goes off when the daytime basking bulb goes on (also 100w) and for UVB I have the 30" fluorescent Zilla strip light that's on for about 12 hrs per day now and longer in the summer. With 100w bulbs I keep temps consistently above 80 throughout the tank and never below 80F in the cool end where their hides are.
Be sure your UVB bulb is not one of those coils or skinny looped tubes. Some of our members here have had horrible experience with their torts getting severely burned eyes and even go blind from those.
Also 40 gal seems small for 2 sully yearlings but I realize this is temporary measure for you. My babies are less then 4inches and their 40 gal "bedroom" won't serve them for much longer.

 

[Yvonne G]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but judging from the size of the tortoise I see in that picture, that tank is way too small for just him, let alone two of that size. You would have been better off buying a plastic tub or some sort of trough. I'm not even sure the Christmas Tree Storage bin made by Iris would even be big enough for those two tortoises, and it's 4' long:

 

[Hulk and Spidey]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but judging from the size of the tortoise I see in that picture, that tank is way too small for just him, let alone two of that size. You would have been better off buying a plastic tub or some sort of trough. I'm not even sure the Christmas Tree Storage bin made by Iris would even be big enough for those two tortoises, and it's 4' long:

View attachment 160472

Yes it's a bit tight for them but it's only temporary. The summer will be here in no time and back outside they will go

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome. I'm glad you found us, but I've got bad news for you. Its okay though as the bad news will help you take better care of your tortoises.

1. The coil bulb is potentially dangerous and should not be used. The good news is that is that you don't need any indoor UV for a few weeks over winter since your tortoises get real sunshine most of every year. I'd return that coil bulb and tell them why.
2. A 40 is big enough for a tiny hatchling for a few months, but its WAYYYY too small for even one of your tortoises. You need something much bigger.
3. When Joe asked about a covered top, he didn't mean a screen cover. He meant a solid cover that will hold in heat and humidity.
4. You should have been told this a year ago by the breeder, but some people care more about making a sale than what is best for the animals. Tortoises should NOT be kept in pairs. Especially not sulcatas. They need to be separated, or you need to get a third one. Groups are usually fine until they start getting near maturity, but pairs are not.

These will catch you up to speed:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

This info may contradict what you read or been told before. Please come back and ask for more explanation wherever its needed.

 

[Andy35365]

Hello and welcome. I'm glad you found us, but I've got bad news for you. Its okay though as the bad news will help you take better care of your tortoises.

1. The coil bulb is potentially dangerous and should not be used. The good news is that is that you don't need any indoor UV for a few weeks over winter since your tortoises get real sunshine most of every year. I'd return that coil bulb and tell them why.
2. A 40 is big enough for a tiny hatchling for a few months, but its WAYYYY too small for even one of your tortoises. You need something much bigger.
3. When Joe asked about a covered top, he didn't mean a screen cover. He meant a solid cover that will hold in heat and humidity.
4. You should have been told this a year ago by the breeder, but some people care more about making a sale than what is best for the animals. Tortoises should NOT be kept in pairs. Especially not sulcatas. They need to be separated, or you need to get a third one. Groups are usually fine until they start getting near maturity, but pairs are not.

These will catch you up to speed:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

This info may contradict what you read or been told before. Please come back and ask for more explanation wherever its needed.

What do you mean by solid cover? I’m having the same problem idk how to keep heat and humidity trapped in. Can you give me a link of a solid cover I could buy please.

 

[Tom]

What do you mean by solid cover? I’m having the same problem idk how to keep heat and humidity trapped in. Can you give me a link of a solid cover I could buy please.

You don't need a solid cover, and there really isn't a good way to modify an open topped tank. You need to get a large closed chamber. Buy or build one.

Some members have had success enclosing their tortoise in a large greenhouse type of grow tent. I saw a couple other people make large wooden hood to go over the top of the tank and contain all the lights. Either of these is better than nothing and will help, but neither works as well as a closed chamber.

Here is the current and correct care info:

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

 

[vladimir]

Here are a few examples of the greenhouse style:

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/indoor-enclosure-necessary-2-yr-7-sully.187056/post-1884103 (thanks @KarenSoCal )

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chamber-indoor-enclosure.148545/

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/mini-greenhouse-as-a-closed-chamber.94895/

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pop-up-indoor-greenhouse-enclosure.158683/