New Desert Tortoise Hatchling Owner Seeking Advice

[DesertHerd]

You have to cover the enclosure like I

 

[DesertHerd]

Okay thanks for the help, I am trying to figure out how to get all the lighting up and in place and then will cover it. I know you said you use two of the stands to hold lights and hold the cover up, how do you hold the UVB bar up?

 

[MaNaAk]

Okay thanks for the help, I am trying to figure out how to get all the lighting up and in place and then will cover it. I know you said you use two of the stands to hold lights and hold the cover up, how do you hold the UVB bar up?

I was told to put mine on the mesh but be sure to read any instructions about distance from tortoise.

MaNaAk

 

[ZenHerper]

The uvb radiation fixture should be the last consideration at this point.

Higher humidity with yet lower temperatures is certainly detrimental.

Get the habitat covered and up to Optimal temps right away, then engineer a prop for the uvb set up.

 

[DesertHerd]

The uvb radiation fixture should be the last consideration at this point.

Higher humidity with yet lower temperatures is certainly detrimental.

Get the habitat covered and up to Optimal temps right away, then engineer a prop for the uvb set up.

Hey thanks for the tip, I got the temps up and now am working to position the lights to best regulate the temp as it started to get up to 90 by their humid hide so I want to get that down to 85 in the day based on what ive been reading here.

 

[ZenHerper]

There are thermostat boxes that the fixtures plug into to regulate temps for you...a local pet supply or your favorite online retailer would carry them.

 

[DesertHerd]

There are thermostat boxes that the fixtures plug into to regulate temps for you...a local pet supply or your favorite online retailer would carry them.

Yes I have one I am just skeptical about the temp it says and also unsure where to put it. I put it on the edge of their hide box for now and set to 85 but it says the dirt infront of the hide box is 90. When I touch it it barely feels warm so I am unsure if my perception of temp is off or if its wrong

 

[DesertHerd]

Buy two of these:

ZOO MED Reptile Lamp Stand - Chewy.com

Buy Zoo Med Reptile Lamp Stand at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

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and place one at each end of the tote. Then drape a sheet of 4mil plastic over the whole thing. It will look something like this:

View attachment 336881

I tuck the plastic under the tote on the back side and partially on the sides. You can cut a viewing hole or not.

For lights I use the tube type UVB fluorescent bulb and reflector similar to this:

ZOO MED ReptiSun 10.0 T5-HO UVB Fluorescent Reptile Lamp, 54 x 46-in - Chewy.com

Buy Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 T5-HO UVB Fluorescent Reptile Lamp, 54 x 46-in at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

ZOO MED ReptiSun T5-HO Reptile Terrarium Hood, 14-in - Chewy.com

Buy Zoo Med ReptiSun T5-HO Reptile Terrarium Hood, 14-in at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

These pictues from chewy.com of illustrations only. You can probably buy these items cheaper elsewhere.

For heat I use the RHP (radiant heat panel) set on two bricks laying on their edge. The RHP along with what heat comes off the light is all I've ever needed to keep the correct temperature in the covered enclosure.

I add lots of plants because baby tortoises are prey and they feel much more comfy when they're not out in the open. It would look something like this:

View attachment 336883

I feed a nice variety of greens, and because I feed an awful lot of tortoises I can buy quite a nice variety of greens, escarole, endive, radicchio, turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, zucchini, green leaf lettuce, romaine, and I chop it up into bite sized pieces. Into that I'll mix things from outside like fillaree, grape leaves, mulberry leaves, clover, fresh grass, edible weeds. And I buy dried food items from kapidolofarms.com like dandelion, mallow, etc. I mix that all together and put enough on a tile to have a little still there at the end of the day. If they have cleaned it up, I didn't put out enough.

I think once you get rid of the bulb, and add a humid environment, keeping a steady temperature day and night, your sluggish one will perk up and the others will stay perky.

Thanks for the advice. I built a makeshift cover for now and will go to get better hide boxes tonight!

 

[ZenHerper]

Yes I have one I am just skeptical about the temp it says and also unsure where to put it. I put it on the edge of their hide box for now and set to 85 but it says the dirt infront of the hide box is 90. When I touch it it barely feels warm so I am unsure if my perception of temp is off or if its wrong

Our hands are terrible thermometers. lol And an open habitat is subject to drafts.

You set the probe beneath a lamp to insure that the temperature just under the heat source does not exceed a safe value for the species living with it.

Most keepers use a number of thermometers around their enclosures to verify and monitor all of the temperature zones and gradients. Once you've got things calibrated and known, you'll check them less often. But in the beginning they are really necessary.

When you doubt a thermostat controller, the only way to confirm the temperature reading at the probe is to use another thermometer you do trust.

Having the tent in place should help a lot.

 

[Yvonne G]

Okay thanks for the help, I am trying to figure out how to get all the lighting up and in place and then will cover it. I know you said you use two of the stands to hold lights and hold the cover up, how do you hold the UVB bar up?

I sed a n aluminum tube that fit over the light stand, but a PVC would work just as well. Put the tube over each stand, across the length of the enclosure