New Keeper

[Rambo]

Hi I'm a new keeper of a hatchling leopard tortoise and I wanted to know what you guy's take on my enclosure was. I posted a pic for you guys to see. After reading up on some awesome threads on here I learned that I need to keep his home high in moisture and humidity. I know in the pic. the substrate is only timothy hay, but I'm going to home-depo to get the peat moss and the coconut coir in the morning. I have a double lamp that has both uvb and the heating lamp in it and a zoo med lamp stand i was going to add another uvb clamp lamp so he can have more uvb exposure. I'm making a plastic shoe box for his humidity hide, does the hide need to be under the lamp? I will be coving half of the enclosure with a lid ? Will that be ok for him ? With half the lid do I still need a hide under it. I have a couple of question I wanted to ask. What my number one concern is humidity and keeping his enclosure humid, it's something that confuses me (yes I read the threads and care sheets but still a little confused)

1. To keep his enclosure moist, how often do I need to spray his tank ?
2. Up to what age to I continue to keep up with his high humidity enclosure ? Will mold and fungus grow on the moss if I keep it continually wet ?
3. I know the for the lighting it needs to be on for 12hrs a day, but I was wondering does the basking light need to be on during the day with the UVB light or only at night?
4. Does anyone know any reliable cost effective online stores that they can recommend or reptile stores in Orange County California ?? I love my little guy but I'm also a broke college student lol (not saying I won't fork over the money for him, but discounts are nice)

P.S. I am open to productive criticism,as long as it keeps my little guy alive, so let the comments BEGIN !!!

 

[mainey34]

Try to get temp and humidity gages.

 

[Blakem]

Hi I'm a new keeper of a hatchling leopard tortoise and I wanted to know what you guy's take on my enclosure was. I posted a pic for you guys to see. After reading up on some awesome threads on here I learned that I need to keep his home high in moisture and humidity. I know in the pic. the substrate is only timothy hay, but I'm going to home-depo to get the peat moss and the coconut coir in the morning. I have a double lamp that has both uvb and the heating lamp in it and a zoo med lamp stand i was going to add another uvb clamp lamp so he can have more uvb exposure. I'm making a plastic shoe box for his humidity hide, does the hide need to be under the lamp? I will be coving half of the enclosure with a lid ? Will that be ok for him ? With half the lid do I still need a hide under it. I have a couple of question I wanted to ask. What my number one concern is humidity and keeping his enclosure humid, it's something that confuses me (yes I read the threads and care sheets but still a little confused)

1. To keep his enclosure moist, how often do I need to spray his tank ?
2. Up to what age to I continue to keep up with his high humidity enclosure ? Will mold and fungus grow on the moss if I keep it continually wet ?
3. I know the for the lighting it needs to be on for 12hrs a day, but I was wondering does the basking light need to be on during the day with the UVB light or only at night?
4. Does anyone know any reliable cost effective online stores that they can recommend or reptile stores in Orange County California ?? I love my little guy but I'm also a broke college student lol (not saying I won't fork over the money for him, but discounts are nice)

P.S. I am open to productive criticism,as long as it keeps my little guy alive, so let the comments BEGIN !!!

I can't help you on everything. But, with my 9.5 month old sulcata, I just use coco coir. It will not mold, rot or cause problems as long as you keep it clean (poo/pee, food etc.). To keep humidity (when natural humidity where I live only gets to 20%) up I will use a flower watering container and pour some warm water on it, mix it up and pour more. You don't want the end result to be wet but moist. This will last me a week and a hslf and i do it as needed. Coco coir retains water really well.
My enclosure is almost completely covered to keep humidity and beneficial heat in, which will lower your electricity bill as well!
I only have one 120 watt mercury vapor bulb on one side of my enclosure(MVB), which emits heat, light and UVB rays. In the middle of my enclosure, I have a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter (CHE). My MVB is on 12 hours a day, at an appropriate height to keep that side 95-110 degrees and my CHE is on 24/7 to keep the tank at an ambient temp of 85-95. On the other side of my enclosure, opposite side of the MVB, is my humid hide. My CHE is connected to a thermostat which turns the CHE on and off when it reaches the temp I set it at. The purpose of having the light on for 12 hours is to give the night and day routine, like we do. Always keep the heat up! Always at 85-95. Basking should be 95-110. Cool side no lower than 85-90.
Keep up the good work! I've had my sulcata for 6 months and here's how my care looks, healthy and smooth!

 

[Rambo]

Thank you guys for your time and advice, this is all being taking into consideration. Plus you have a very lovely tortoise there big and healthy. All I just want for my little guy is to be the same.

 

[Zabbi0]

I can't help you on everything. But, with my 9.5 month old sulcata, I just use coco coir. It will not mold, rot or cause problems as long as you keep it clean (poo/pee, food etc.). To keep humidity (when natural humidity where I live only gets to 20%) up I will use a flower watering container and pour some warm water on it, mix it up and pour more. You don't want the end result to be wet but moist. This will last me a week and a hslf and i do it as needed. Coco coir retains water really well.
My enclosure is almost completely covered to keep humidity and beneficial heat in, which will lower your electricity bill as well!
I only have one 120 watt mercury vapor bulb on one side of my enclosure(MVB), which emits heat, light and UVB rays. In the middle of my enclosure, I have a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter (CHE). My MVB is on 12 hours a day, at an appropriate height to keep that side 95-110 degrees and my CHE is on 24/7 to keep the tank at an ambient temp of 85-95. On the other side of my enclosure, opposite side of the MVB, is my humid hide. My CHE is connected to a thermostat which turns the CHE on and off when it reaches the temp I set it at. The purpose of having the light on for 12 hours is to give the night and day routine, like we do. Always keep the heat up! Always at 85-95. Basking should be 95-110. Cool side no lower than 85-90.
Keep up the good work! I've had my sulcata for 6 months and here's how my care looks, healthy and smooth!

Hi. Your sulcata isn't just 6months though right? About how old is he/she?
Just curious about the age comparison to mine. Your baby looks very healthy!!

 

[Blakem]

Hi. Your sulcata isn't just 6months though right? About how old is he/she?
Just curious about the age comparison to mine. Your baby looks very healthy!!

No, he pipped march 17. So he's 9 months. Thank you for complimenting my little guy ...I work hard for Dex to be healthy.

 

[Rambo]

Well here is an update on his enclosure. I have a humid hide box that I spray and I covered half the tube to keep in humidity. they didn't have coconut coir so i got peat moss to use (most likely I will get it next time for his substrate), I have a lid to cover half his enclosure that I keep on all day and night to keep humidity in. Got A few cactus in there as well. Am I doing the right things that I need to do? I have a humidity gauge and a thermometer gauge but they are not in the pic. I'll get the CHE once Christmas is over lol ( still broke after the seasons) for now I'm using the basking bulb to heat his home. My fear is that he will die on me, I was going through the forum and I was reading about how one of the member's tortoise died (Chevy). It looks like the owner did EVERYTHING she as suppose to do but he still died. I don't know if I'm being paranoid but I really REALLY don't want my little guy to have the same fate. I don't think I would take it well. So like I said, all advice are welcome. I will do anything to make him big and healthy.

 

[Cowboy_Ken]

Welcome Rambo,

This is what I have for my baby sulcata.
I use a 50/50 mix of organic screened top soil and organic peat moss. The top soil needs to have none of those little white pellets in it and using organic gets me the clean soil I want. Peat moss is lightly acidic and this aids in it not molding or souring. My humid hide box is a rubber made shoe box with holes drilled in it and I've cut an access hole in the side. This is filled with sphagnum moss which I keep damp to keep humidity up around 90-95%. The temp in the humid hide never falls below 80 f. The entire enclosure is an enclosed enclosure 2'x4'. I have a MVB as my light source which is directed onto a flat orange-yellow rock as a basking area. This spot maxs out about 100f. My heat is maintained using a CHE on the other end of the enclosure. This is on a thermostat set at 85f with the probe at the opposite end of the enclosure. I had been using a pump garden sprayer 4-5 times a day to keep the humidity up but since then I have upgraded to a misting machine that keeps the humidity at 55%. This too is automatic. My lights on in a timer set for 13hr day.
As for where to purchase the items needed I purchase most on eBay from a seller that goes by the name of theboss15gary
Although I'm not a college student, I do support 11 tortoises, 6 cats, 2 horses, 1 uromastix and 1 dog. ( and still paying off parent loan from when my kid was in college).
Keep asking questions and read Tom stickies and posts.

 

[jtrux]

Hmmm...I strongly recommend a taller enclosure and a lid. I'm not an advocate of moist substrate, I prefer to keep it dry and use a humidifier to increase humidity in the enclosure.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

your second enclosure looks much better.

do you still want answers to your questions?

1. To keep his enclosure moist, how often do I need to spray his tank ?
2. a.Up to what age to I continue to keep up with his high humidity enclosure ? b.Will mold and fungus grow on the moss if I keep it continually wet ?
3. I know the for the lighting it needs to be on for 12hrs a day, but I was wondering does the basking light need to be on during the day with the UVB light or only at night?
4. Does anyone know any reliable cost effective online stores that they can recommend or reptile stores in Orange County California ?? I love my little guy but I'm also a broke college student lol (not saying I won't fork over the money for him, but discounts are nice)

1. I typically spray every morning. Then a second or third time throughout the day as I remember to, see it needs it, feel like it etc. Some days (not often) I may not spray more than once. The humidity in your specific enclosure will tell you how much to spray. Keep this in mind, as long as your temps are above 80degrees you can spray as many times as you want to. In the beginning I must have sprayed 20 times a day just cuz I wanted to!
2. a. Size is more of a determining factor than age. I am planning on continuing the humid conditions until 6". I'll reevaluate at that time if I need to continue with the high humidity. I'm assuming (at the 6" size) I'll have my tort outside all day (little humidity where I live in so cal) but sleep inside a humid enclosure indoors for a while.
b. I don't use moss, so I do not know. I only use clean, plain, regular dirt from my own backyard. I do not have mold with my dirt.
3. I have 2 lights. a basking bulb on one end and a 25watt light on the other end for extra light. They both go on at 8am and off at 730pm. I do not use artificial UV lighting because my leopard tortoise has regular outside time in an outdoor enclosure. The recommendation is to have the basking light and UV light on together during the day, and a separate heating element on a night with no UV light. A dark heating element works best so your tort is warm and has lights off for a good night's rest. I use, as well as many others, a CHE (ceramic heating element) for this purpose.
4. We are close to each other. No pet stores or reptile stores are cheap. Places like Home depot, lowes and walmart are cheap and you can get many of the things you need for your lil' one from places like these. If you are curious about specific products ask away and people can give you tips on where to shop for said item.

Congrats on being a leo owner!

 

[Rambo]

Thank you all for your wonderful advice, yeah we are fairly close haha I live in Anaheim. We'll I'v been getting his peat moss from home dept for about $4.60 for a small bag. What I'm trying to get are the expensive bulbs, mazuri tortoise chow, and anything else (god know petco/petsmart cost an arm and a leg for things) since I live in a condo I can't get him out all the time. Only when I go to my boyfriend's house, he has a huge backyard ( dismissing his HUGE gopher problem lol) it's perfect. So I'm trying to find places for the bulbs that I need to replace every 6 months or so, or just extras in case they break. Can never be to cautious you know. And most likely I might get a humidifier so I can keep his home humid, I'v been reading how one of the member has been using a regular humidifier and geting a tube that connects to the humidifier to the enclosure. And of course getting a CHE for nighttimes. BUT yes thanks again so much for the advice keep them coming

---

also can he only be on peat moss or does he need cypress mulch on top as well?

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Does your condo have a patio? If so, does the patio get any sunlight? Before I had my house and yard I was in an apartment until my hatchling was 4months or so. My patio received morning sun. I used a cement mixing tub with dirt and planted it as a mini outdoor enclosure. I had him out for about 2hours a day. He loved it, I loved it (cheap to set up) and he had enough UV from this time to not need artificial lighting. You could consider this option and then not need to spend any $$ on UV bulbs. Just a thought. I'll attach a picture of what I did for an idea...

Mazuri is sold by some members here for less than $10/lb with shipping I believe.

I've heard people buy the CVS or Walgreens humidifier instead of a reptile/baby brand one. I have found that by covering my enclosure top 100% (holes only cut out for the lights) I have great humidity constantly. This saves $$ since I dont have to purchase a humidifier.
My CHE was bought off amazon, free shipping for $15. That's the cheapest I have found.

**There is nothing wrong with buying lots of UV bulbs, Mazuri in bulk at the feed store or buying a humidifier. I only bring this up as alternate ways to not need to buy these things.

and the covered top with holes cut out for the lights.

 

[Rambo]

Oh my god, thank you SOOOO much heather, your advice is so helpful. I'll get right on his outdoor enclosure ASAP.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Glad to help

post pics of what you come up with! have fun!