Pictures! Got the hatchling enclosure set up! Need help with the lights!

[erdavis]

Hello! I have been a Sulcata owner for 2 days now and I think its just the most exciting thing.
Kind of a longish post but I want to make sure everything is right.
I'm attaching pictures of the enclosure that I've set up. Keep in mind that it is only temporary for about a week until I build the new one.
I have planted an aloe plant and a spider plant in there. In between the plants I have sunk in a flower tray that have lawn fescue and hollyhock seeds growing. The blue sandwhich lid that I have in there is filled with water to drink. In the yellow bowl there is his mud bath. I have a small peice of tile under the lights to bask on. I have a larger hide and smaller one. They both have coco coir to hide in. The small one I've dug into the ground to simulate a real hole. I am worried about this though. She likes to climb to the top and I've seen her do it 3 times and she seems very careful. But I am still worried that she might fall off and get stuck on her back. The drop is about 2inches. But she really lovesss the hide so I feel bad taking it out. Do you think this is a concern?
Another concern is my lights. I have been using the lights that the person I got them from had. One is a coil-type I dont know anything about lights and I see that you guys say no to floresce coil lights. I don't think its florescent? It says UVB. But this morning she woke up when i turned the light on and started wiping her eyes. Idk if this is like rubbing your eyes when you wake up or not so I turned off the light. I took a picture of it.
Then I have the CHE light, it was working fine until yesterday when I re set up the light. It seems to be on, I can feel that the bulb is hot. But its not getting to the ground. I'm going to buy new lights today, what kind would you recomend that works well?
Also, I want to make the enclosure that I'm going to make as low as possible to keep in heat and humidity but am concerned about how high it needs to be for the lights. So what do you recommend? What bulb should I use and how low can I use it?

Now here's the pictures. Thanks for reading all of that and help will be much appreciated!

Playing king of the mountain on her hide
Chillen in her hide


Yawning
Resting her chin on arm
"Reptiglow 5.0 UVB"

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Oh and someone also told me not to put water in there, but I heard that I should. Should I take it out?
Also I'm saying she because shes so pretty, but I haven't come up with a name yet! This is what I was thinking:
Turbo
Tortuga(turtle in spanish)
Dino(for dinosaur)
Koopa(like koopa troopa, the turtle in Mario)
Kabibe(means little lady in Africa)
Or tiny

And yes, I do know what I am getting myself into. I have been following this forum for a couple months now. I know that they turn into big dinosaurs and eat like a horse and live forever.

 

[Dizisdalife]

I think you should always have water available for them. It does get messy as they will walk through it several times. Very nice looking enclosure. I know that you said this is a temporary enclosure while you are making a permanent one, but I suggest you find some way to enclose the top. It is really the best way to hold in the heat and especially the humidity that these younger ones need. Also recommend a temp gun if you don't already have one. It really helps get the temps set up accurately in any enclosure.

 

[erdavis]

I think you should always have water available for them. It does get messy as they will walk through it several times. Very nice looking enclosure. I know that you said this is a temporary enclosure while you are making a permanent one, but I suggest you find some way to enclose the top. It is really the best way to hold in the heat and especially the humidity that these younger ones need. Also recommend a temp gun if you don't already have one. It really helps get the temps set up accurately in any enclosure.

Yeah that's what I thought about the water. I actually have half of the enclosure covered, but I can't figure out how to cover the other half with the lights there.
And I am getting a temp gun today.

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

Hello! I have been a Sulcata owner for 2 days now and I think its just the most exciting thing.
Kind of a longish post but I want to make sure everything is right.
I'm attaching pictures of the enclosure that I've set up. Keep in mind that it is only temporary for about a week until I build the new one.
I have planted an aloe plant and a spider plant in there. In between the plants I have sunk in a flower tray that have lawn fescue and hollyhock seeds growing. The blue sandwhich lid that I have in there is filled with water to drink. In the yellow bowl there is his mud bath. I have a small peice of tile under the lights to bask on. I have a larger hide and smaller one. They both have coco coir to hide in. The small one I've dug into the ground to simulate a real hole. I am worried about this though. She likes to climb to the top and I've seen her do it 3 times and she seems very careful. But I am still worried that she might fall off and get stuck on her back. The drop is about 2inches. But she really lovesss the hide so I feel bad taking it out. Do you think this is a concern?
Another concern is my lights. I have been using the lights that the person I got them from had. One is a coil-type I dont know anything about lights and I see that you guys say no to floresce coil lights. I don't think its florescent? It says UVB. But this morning she woke up when i turned the light on and started wiping her eyes. Idk if this is like rubbing your eyes when you wake up or not so I turned off the light. I took a picture of it.
Then I have the CHE light, it was working fine until yesterday when I re set up the light. It seems to be on, I can feel that the bulb is hot. But its not getting to the ground. I'm going to buy new lights today, what kind would you recomend that works well?
Also, I want to make the enclosure that I'm going to make as low as possible to keep in heat and humidity but am concerned about how high it needs to be for the lights. So what do you recommend? What bulb should I use and how low can I use it?

Now here's the pictures. Thanks for reading all of that and help will be much appreciated!

Playing king of the mountain on her hide
Chillen in her hide


Yawning
Resting her chin on arm
"Reptiglow 5.0 UVB"

---

Oh and someone also told me not to put water in there, but I heard that I should. Should I take it out?
Also I'm saying she because shes so pretty, but I haven't come up with a name yet! This is what I was thinking:
Turbo
Tortuga(turtle in spanish)
Dino(for dinosaur)
Koopa(like koopa troopa, the turtle in Mario)
Kabibe(means little lady in Africa)
Or tiny

And yes, I do know what I am getting myself into. I have been following this forum for a couple months now. I know that they turn into big dinosaurs and eat like a horse and live forever.

---

I like the mud bath idea you should keep it and see if she uses it but you need to also have just clear water bowl that she can drink out of and soak in.
You do daily soaks too
and yes do not use the coil bulb,
best bulbs are mercury vapor bulb and ceramic heat emitters. You need to get 100 watts in each probably and ceramic heat emitters last a really long time and I am going to say the mercury bulbs go for a year till need replacing (not positive about that though so I would read the info that comes with the bulb)

And i would make your new enclosure one and half feet tall to two feet, I am a one foot tall one and its just way to short.
I personally think this enclsoure is awesome

It has a way you can adjust the lights up and down without have a huge hole in he top and you can cover up angle sides with clear plastic or plexiglass so you can always see him even though you have a covered enclosure, which is perfect for keeping in heat and humidity.
I am going to be changing up Gupta's cage to look like this. My Greeks are going to get a cage that looks just like this
My blue tongue skink that I am going to get is going to have an enclosure built for him that doubles as my deck and fits into a corner

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Sorry I had a typo in their , its going to double as my desk lol
and don't be worried about him climbing on his hide, all of my tortoises do it and they love it. They like to climb and explore , I would maybe put little balls in their because i have seen many tortoises push them around.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi erdavis (did we ever learn your name?):

That's a very nice-looking habitat. Don't use that coil bulb, and try to find something to set it up off the floor on. Maybe you can find some of those big milk crates or a couple cinder blocks set up on end. It will be warmer up off the floor.

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

Hi erdavis (did we ever learn your name?):

That's a very nice-looking habitat. Don't use that coil bulb, and try to find something to set it up off the floor on. Maybe you can find some of those big milk crates or a couple cinder blocks set up on end. It will be warmer up off the floor.

walmart has twenty dollar coffee tables

 

[erdavis]

Hi erdavis (did we ever learn your name?):

That's a very nice-looking habitat. Don't use that coil bulb, and try to find something to set it up off the floor on. Maybe you can find some of those big milk crates or a couple cinder blocks set up on end. It will be warmer up off the floor.

walmart has twenty dollar coffee tables
[/quote]

My name is Erin, I'm from Florida
I'm going to move this enclosure on top of my dresser I think. And the enclosure I'm builind is going to have a stand

 

[Tom]

Okay, here's my input. Just understand that everyone does things a bit different, and these are just MY thoughts on the matter.

1. My first concern: I see a good size, shallow, open topped, wet tub, on the ground and the first thing that I think of is cold and damp. Temps are critical. What are your four temps and how are you checking them?
2. That is exactly the type of coil bulb that I recommend against. In my opinion, the best set up is a CHE on a thermostat somewhere near the middle of the enclosure to maintain the ambient you want. Then a MVB on a 12-13 hour timer and set at the right height to give them a warm basking spot. There is nothing wrong with adding a tube type florescent bulb to this set up to brighten things up.
3. I worry that your water "lid" might be too shallow. Tortoises need to submerge their mouth and nostrils to drink. I can't tell from the pic how deep it is, but I prefer terra cotta plant saucers. In addition to having the right height sides and depth, they also offer good traction, which makes tortoises feel much more confident about trudging in and out of the water bowl.
4. I've never seen the mud bowl set up in a baby enclosure. I'm curious to see how that goes.
5. I like the sunken hide. Although she's gonna outgrow it quickly. I wouldn't worry too much about her falling off.
6. I think you need light fixtures with bigger hoods. It really does help disperse your heat over a greater area and sometimes MVBs will over heat in that type.
7. I agree with BrinnandGupta about the new enclosure. The one she pictured is fantastic. I like to use closed chambers like that and put my fixtures and bulbs INSIDE the enclosure. It makes things much warmer, more stable, more humid, AND you can use lower wattage bulbs and save a ton of electricity. Here's what I'm using for my leopards:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Closed-Chambers#axzz1hkZxITMK

I'm always tweaking my enclosures and trying to make things a little more perfect. I'm sure you will too. Hope this helps. Keep asking lots of questions.