ManAlive85
Member
Hi all, I built a new enclosure for my 9 month old Indian Star a couple of weeks ago and after a bit of tweaking I think it’s ready to share.
I don’t expect it’ll be big enough for more than a couple of years but for now 2’x3’ is as much space as I can give her. She gets daily stretches outside though when the weather’s good.
I’ve had her in a table since I got her in December but really struggled to get humidity above just 40%, even after I fitted sliding polycarbonate doors on top. It was pretty clear that I was going to require a more closed setup so I started work in this. As it was going to be such a big piece of furniture in a fairly modest sized flat, it was important that it was as attractive as possible as well as functional.
Under the hood there’s a 50 watt basking bulb set to be on during daylight hours and a 25 watt CHE hooked up to a thermostat to maintain temps above 80* at night. There’s also a small T5 strip to provide a bit of UVB for 8 hours a day for both the tort and the plants, which I’m hoping will grow to cover the back wall (esp where the varnish has turned milky) over the coming months. We’re now achieving a temperature gradient of 100* basking / 90* hot / 80* cool And a pretty steady humidity of 90%+ at ground level with twice daily mistings.
I’d like to thank the contributors to this forum for all their sage advice and help in making my Star’s life as comfortable as it is. I’ve done a lot of reading since deciding to own a tortoise and in a world of wildly conflicting information, this place has become my one source of the truth on tortoise care.
I don’t expect it’ll be big enough for more than a couple of years but for now 2’x3’ is as much space as I can give her. She gets daily stretches outside though when the weather’s good.
I’ve had her in a table since I got her in December but really struggled to get humidity above just 40%, even after I fitted sliding polycarbonate doors on top. It was pretty clear that I was going to require a more closed setup so I started work in this. As it was going to be such a big piece of furniture in a fairly modest sized flat, it was important that it was as attractive as possible as well as functional.
Under the hood there’s a 50 watt basking bulb set to be on during daylight hours and a 25 watt CHE hooked up to a thermostat to maintain temps above 80* at night. There’s also a small T5 strip to provide a bit of UVB for 8 hours a day for both the tort and the plants, which I’m hoping will grow to cover the back wall (esp where the varnish has turned milky) over the coming months. We’re now achieving a temperature gradient of 100* basking / 90* hot / 80* cool And a pretty steady humidity of 90%+ at ground level with twice daily mistings.
I’d like to thank the contributors to this forum for all their sage advice and help in making my Star’s life as comfortable as it is. I’ve done a lot of reading since deciding to own a tortoise and in a world of wildly conflicting information, this place has become my one source of the truth on tortoise care.