new to torts

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

hello, we are getting 2 red foots on the 21 of this month, i have previously had torts but not for a long time. we are getting babies so have a large plastic container to start, we have eco earth substrate, a lamp with basking and heating bulbs, a water dish, a heating pad that goes under the tank, cuttle bone, anything we are missing?

 

[tortdad]

Ditch the heating pad. What are you using for UVB

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! its the light a coil bulb?

 

[bouaboua]

Hello and Welcome ! ! ! !

 

[Jodie]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[gingerbee]

Welcome!!!!

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

welcome to the forum! its the light a coil bulb?

Yes it is a coil bulb

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Welcome!

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

Ditch the heating pad. What are you using for UVB

We are getting this UVB bulb "Exo Terra Repti-Glo 10.0 Compact Fluorescent Desert Terrarium Lamp". It is on amazon. Also, we figured at night the room will go down to about 65-68 degrees so we would get a heating pad for one side of the tank instead of getting a night heat lamp.

Is that temp range fine at night without needing heat? We just wanted to keep them warm.

 

[Tom]

Hello and welcome.

You are headed toward some problems, so I'm glad you found us first.

1. Coil bulbs can sometimes burn reptile eyes. That being the case we recommend against them. Use the long tube type instead.
2. I would not use an under tank heating pad. Many turtles and tortoises are burned by these. They don't understand electric heat the way we do. Better to use over head ceramic heating elements set on a thermostat instead to maintain ambient temps where you want them.
3. Most importantly, tortoises should not be kept in pairs in most cases. We had a new red foot keeper last year that we warned of this and over the course of 6 weeks, one tortoise systematically tortured the other and ended up biting off most of one leg and the tail. Tortoise are not social creatures and do best all alone. They don't get lonely and other tortoises are not seen as "friends". They are seen as competitors for the same resources or territorial intruders. RFs usually do fine in groups, but pairs are much too personal. Here is a thread with more explanation:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/pairs.34837/

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

Thank you for your info on the lights, we will take that into consideration.

We plan on having a group or red foots but for the moment, we plan on getting a male and female then adding more a little down the road. Maybe we will just get one for now until we can get two more at once.

As for the heating pad, would they be fine at night without it? I was talking about a heating pad that you can set temp, to like 80 degress maybe. I don't see how that could burn them.

 

[tortdad]

Tom beat me to it.

That compact bulb is no good.

You don't want a heating pad. They do need night heat but this is best done with a CHE on a reptile thermostat.

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

Is there a bulb you all suggest?

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

The photos above show what we are looking into on Amazon.

 

[Yvonne G]

Don't get the compact fluorescent bulb or the water dish, or the sun glo bulb or the under-the-tank heater, or the dual combo light fixture. Instead, buy two of these:



And place them apart from each other.

Buy one of these:



and one of these:



For water dishes you can use a plant saucer and for a feeder you can use a piece of slate or tile or broken cement.

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

Thank you Yvonne.

Would a solar glo UVA/B and heat light work? On amazon, the one you showed was 53 dollars. The other one is the same wattage and all for 35 dollars.

 

[cmacusa3]

don't pay that much for the food dish, get terra cotta dish at walmart for $1.40 and you can get one for food and water.

 

[Ashley & Anthony DeGilio]

Thank you for all of your input!

Should we wet the substrate a bit to keep the humidity up? I plan on soaking them once every few days as well. The ones we get will prob be young.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

Thank you for all of your input!

Should we wet the substrate a bit to keep the humidity up? I plan on soaking them once every few days as well. The ones we get will prob be young.

yes moisten the substrate. soak baby torts in warm water everyday for 30 minutes.