Picture Update! Of My Tortoises Indoor Enclosure!

[Vegas_Leopard]

Hey Tortoise Forum, what's hatching?

It's been about 9 months since I've posted or said anything about my Sulcata's indoor enclosure, not much has changed. Except for the significant things such as, the substrate, the humid hide and the heating & lighting. I also bought a few more accessories to add around in the enclosure. Just this past weekend I bought & replaced my 5.0 UVB fluorescent to a 10.0 & the same goes for the 160W T-REX MVB I bought & replaced instead of the usual 100W. The only things that's been bugging me about the enclosure is when my Sulcata goes into the water bowl & drags in the coir & mulch. I'm always having to replace the water. Anyways here are a few pictures of how much of it has changed.






Thanks in advance,
-SulcataDud3

 

[Livingstone]

I think a 160W mercury vapor bulb is enough for that area, the flourescent might be over kill? How come you decided to use both?

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

I think a 160W mercury vapor bulb is enough for that area, the flourescent might be over kill? How come you decided to use both?

I decided to use both because that's what I read was recommended in the Sulcata book that was published by Russ Gurley & I've read of other caretakers doing this also. I've been using both since day one of having my Sulcata, it hasn't caused any problems for my Sulcata & his shell is as hard as a rock. Since I'm using higher UVB fluorescent I only keep it on 6/12 hours of the day & I have the MVB 12/12 hours of the day.

-SulcataDud3

 

[tortoisenerd]

Interesting approach. I have not heard of this. Has anyone heard of this suggested for any species besides Sulcatas? From what I read on www.uvguide.co.uk it seems like the tube UVB would have such a fraction of the UVB output of the MVB that it wouldn't significantly affect the overall UVB output. One pro would be to have UVB on both sides of the enclosure while still having a cooler side as the tube doesn't have as much heat output as the MVB (haven't used them so don't know how much if any actually).

I like the chain to have your MVB by. Is it easy to adjust the height? Tort looks great! Best wishes.

 

[Stephanie Logan]

Some people on this forum gave me the idea of putting small flat rocks around the edge of his water dish to form a sort of deck, so the substrate doesn't follow the tortoise into the water as much...

 

[Vegas_Leopard]

Interesting approach. I have not heard of this. Has anyone heard of this suggested for any species besides Sulcatas? From what I read on www.uvguide.co.uk it seems like the tube UVB would have such a fraction of the UVB output of the MVB that it wouldn't significantly affect the overall UVB output. One pro would be to have UVB on both sides of the enclosure while still having a cooler side as the tube doesn't have as much heat output as the MVB (haven't used them so don't know how much if any actually).

I like the chain to have your MVB by. Is it easy to adjust the height? Tort looks great! Best wishes.

The chain is easy to adjust, it's a chain used for hanging ceiling lighting. All I have to do is use a pair of long nose pliers & open a chain & unhook it until I reach the desired height. If I want to go ahead & add more length I reattach/hook it again. Very simple.

-SulcataDud3