New enclosure

[Amanda81]

I got the quads new enclosure set up finally. Oh let me just say it's much nicer. I done a 3" base of Eco earth (cause I had it and it does hold moisture well) and then a 2" layer of repo-bark (my hardware stores only had small bags of the orchard bark and I got a good deal on what I got) so I have real wet Eco earth and I simply mist the bark every morning (don't really need to, but I do) my humidity is staying pretty dang stable at 88-90%. My old enclosure must have really been letting my humidity and heat escape because I was having to soak, I mean soak the Eco earth, I had a 3 tier water fountain running and I would run a fogger numerous times a day, which only jumped the humidity up for maybe 5 minutes. Now I don't have to do anything, humidity is really stable. I am also seeing huge difference in heat. I had a Zilla 250w CHE set on digital thermostat for around the clock heat and a 150w MVB set on timer for basking light. I also run an under the cabinet fluorescent to light the entire enclosure. The fluorescent doesn't put off enough heat to speak about but I am thinking my MVB is just to much now. My CHE hasn't been on all morning and with just the MVB running it's spiked my temp up. It was in upper 90's 2 hours after it switched on. So I am thinking maybe I need a smaller lamp for this area. I also have a high out put t5 10. Tube fixture I can use. I just never hooked it up in the old enclosure cause we are still going out enough to get our rays from the sun. My new enclosure is made of glass and the old one was made of wood so I am also running into the problem of hooking all these fixtures up, another reason I figure just having the high out put running would be simpler. Winter is shortly around the corner and I will need to run it then anyways. I figure it will provide the needed rays and the light for entire enclosure and that will stop the need for the 2 regular fluorescent fixtures and I can get a smaller wattage for the basking light.
Any suggestions on functional ways to mount all this stuff on a glass enclosure. I attempted wood, using eye hooks to mount everything on the inside so I don't have the chimney effect but then it is extremely difficult to move that and not mess up your fixtures when u need access to that area. Any suggestions or advise?

 

[Yvonne G]

What??? No pictures?

 

[wellington]

Yes, I was looking forward to pics

 

[Amanda81]

What??? No pictures?

Sorry, will have to post those later. Don't have any pics on my phone and that's how I'm posting thread since I'm at work. Shhh, don't tell anyone.

 

[Amanda81]

Some other changes I made. I redid my hides. It bugged me that I couldn't see the quads when they were in their hides and when I wanted to add water to the hide substrate if would have to rearrange half their world to do so. So I got a couple Tupperware shoe box w hinged lids, cut a door just big enough for my biggest quad toward the top of the box and sunk it into the substrate. Then I filled the box up to the bottom of the door opening with Eco earth and topped it off with some moist moss. What a world of difference. Arizona and alfie, refused just straight up refused to use the hides they had, wouldn't go in them, I would wait 2 hours after lights went off and stick them in there, they danced their little selfs right back out. But these new hides, they love them. They voluntarily go in and take naps and sleep there all night. I as shocked. Maybe where it's in the ground and they feel like they are below the ground, I don't know but I'm glad. I can peek in and check on them, add water to the Eco earth if I need, it's quick easy, their functional and all the baby's love them. Those was a win.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Wow, that sounds so nice! I can't wait for pics

 

[Amanda81]

Here's one of the new hides. Of course there is a little face looking back at ya. LOL. U can see right through the top, so now I can peek in and make sure everyone is a sleep and well. Plus I can add water to underplaying substrate as needed to make it nice and humid in there.

 

[Amanda81]

Oh and the bark, what a world of difference. No more dirty faces. Now if we could figure out how to get the green stained face cleaned up, tort world would be running a tight, clean show. Guess we can't have it all. Here are some more pics I took just cause their cute and clean. The last one was it, Alfie said no more, he had enough pic taking for the evening, I still snapped it cause it showed his cute extra scute.

 

[Amanda81]

So I sit down, started thinking practical and figured out how to hang all my fixtures. I built me some "canopies". Kinda like what u would put on top a fish tank but not as nice (mainly cause I am no bob villa) so anyhow, I build the canopy out of wood and then lines the entire inside if it with a clear shower curtain then took some heavy duty aluminum foil and covered half the top (on the inside ) so the heat from the basking light and CHE didn't melt the shower curtain. Worked perfectly. I was able to hang my UVB fixture, and was able to position my CHE to where it gives me a cool side and a warm side and the basking light is finally positioned where it needed to be and my basking spots are 98-100 instead of 120. The humidity is great, both enclosures are between 88-96%, figured as long as it's 85 or more I'm ok (my hydrometer said accuracy 5+/-, so just to b safe). I have both enclosures set up just alike. Everyone loves their new humid hides, including me. I finished them up last night and this morning when their sun came up, they were all out, went straight to their food and started eating. I thought maybe they would be a little off where their environments had changed but I guess not.
Now I'm pondering on putting loft areas in, give them some more foot room, something more to adventure around on. Might do a trail run w one enclosure and see if temps and lighting will be affected. Has anyone else done something similar to this? If so did it work out? Did your tort like it?