POSSIBLE PYRAMIDING?

[Tseeman]

Hello, new owner and member of this site.

I have a baby leopard and sense finding this site I've saw others post pics and made me worried ,is my Lenard pyramiding? Ever sense I've owned him I've had trouble with humidity levels. I have moss under my cypress bedding, large water dish , mist daily , soak every or every other day. Also his cage is cramped I'm buying a new tank next month, and that pile off moss is gonna be covered back up he borrowed under it before I took these pics.

 

[Tseeman]

P.S opinions on Zoo Meds loose coconut fiber substrate in the corner I've read it's better for him to burrow in which he loves to borrow so tonight I added it in his corner of the tank

 

[T Smart]

Hi,

You’ll need to set up some kind of closed chamber setup. It’ll help to maintain the proper humidity levels!

 

[Tseeman]

Hi,

You’ll need to set up some kind of closed chamber setup. It’ll help to maintain the proper humidity levels!

Someone recommended closing off the lid so what I did was take a glass piece out of a 8x10 photo frame and put it under the uvb 10.0 light so half the enclosure is closed off do you think I should do both sides? I'm nervous I'll over heat him the tank is at a perfect temp the way it is just not humidity

 

[Avuwyy]

You shouldn’t really put uvb filtering through glass as it can mess with how the uvb rays work (apparently?).

Id suggest covering off most of the enclosure with a lid, apart from the basking and uvb areas, and spraying the enclosure down daily. Also encourage your tortoise to explore his humidity box. If he doesn’t have a humidity box I’d suggest buying one!

 

[KarenSoCal]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
You've come to the best place to learn how to care for your baby.

If you have researched other sites on the internet, you need to understand that almost all of that info is old and outdated. So much has been learned about proper care for tortoises, and you will find that updated info here on TFO.

There is actually a lot that needs to be changed in your setup, and I think I do see pyramiding. I keep a desert tortoise, so I'm going to let other leopard keepers tell you about those changes.

For the time being, please carefully read these care sheets. They were written by members who have decades of experience. If you follow them, you will not go wrong in your care.

BTW, what is your adorable baby's name?

https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?posts/716928

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Someone recommended closing off the lid so what I did was take a glass piece out of a 8x10 photo frame and put it under the uvb 10.0 light so half the enclosure is closed off do you think I should do both sides? I'm nervous I'll over heat him the tank is at a perfect temp the way it is just not humidity

Glass filters out UVB, so putting it under the light is defeating the purpose of the light.

 

[Tseeman]

Glass filters out UVB, so putting it under the light is defeating the purpose of the light.

Thank you it will be removed today!

 

[Tseeman]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
You've come to the best place to learn how to care for your baby.

If you have researched other sites on the internet, you need to understand that almost all of that info is old and outdated. So much has been learned about proper care for tortoises, and you will find that updated info here on TFO.

There is actually a lot that needs to be changed in your setup, and I think I do see pyramiding. I keep a desert tortoise, so I'm going to let other leopard keepers tell you about those changes.

For the time being, please carefully read these care sheets. They were written by members who have decades of experience. If you follow them, you will not go wrong in your care.

BTW, what is your adorable baby's name?

https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?posts/716928

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/

His name is Lenard we got him for my son's 2nd birthday to grow old with him

 

[Avuwyy]

Thank you it will be removed today!

If you want an idea to close off the area for heating and humidity, I suggest draping a thermal cloak over the enclosure and the uv bulb with a slight opening to allow a small amount of heat and humidity to escape. So long as you have a thermostat it should stay a reasonable temperature.

 

[Tseeman]

You shouldn’t really put uvb filtering through glass as it can mess with how the uvb rays work (apparently?).

Id suggest covering off most of the enclosure with a lid, apart from the basking and uvb areas, and spraying the enclosure down daily. Also encourage your tortoise to explore his humidity box. If he doesn’t have a humidity box I’d suggest buying one!

Which makes sense but it's a really small tank and my lights cover basically the entire top of the cage so I have no way to lid off without disrupting the lights. And I was nervous to put the glass under the heat bulb, thanks for the humidity box, something like this from Amazon should work right? Basically the bowls create humidity inside the box

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Which makes sense but it's a really small tank and my lights cover basically the entire top of the cage so I have no way to lid off without disrupting the lights. And I was nervous to put the glass under the heat bulb, thanks for the humidity box idea going to reaserch it now!

A tote would work much better than a tank and it will have a lid you can modify for your light to fit. Much easier to hold in humidity. Something like this only cost about $8 at Walmart.

 

[Tseeman]

A tote would work much better than a tank and it will have a lid you can modify for your light to fit. Much easier to hold in humidity. Something like this only cost about $8 at Walmart.View attachment 263698

Great idea! Gives me much more room to play with I was just going traditional tank so my son could visit whenever. Never thought of hunting down a clear tote. Thank you!!

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Great idea! Gives me much more room to play with I was just going traditional tank so my son could visit whenever. Never thought of hunting down a clear tote. Thank you!!

They had these Xmas tree totes about 2 weeks ago on sale if you can find one they work great

 

[Tseeman]

A tote would work much better than a tank and it will have a lid you can modify for your light to fit. Much easier to hold in humidity. Something like this only cost about $8 at Walmart.View attachment 263698

So do you think I should try this route before buying a humidity box? Or still get a box

 

[Tseeman]

They had these Xmas tree totes about 2 weeks ago on sale if you can find one they work greatView attachment 263702

Thank you so much man I'm gonna run up there after work and get this started , I really don't wanna ruin this little guy give him a great long, healthy life. So glad I found this forum. Whoever started it is a genius. These articles just all contradict eschother for these animals make it impossible to judge what you should do.

 

[Tseeman]

If you want an idea to close off the area for heating and humidity, I suggest draping a thermal cloak over the enclosure and the uv bulb with a slight opening to allow a small amount of heat and humidity to escape. So long as you have a thermostat it should stay a reasonable temperature.

I'm gonna explore a humidity box and tote rather than traditonal cage. And if I have an issue try this cloak as the lid on the tote. Thank you for another idea to try I had run out of options.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

So do you think I should try this route before buying a humidity box? Or still get a box

You won't need a humidity box if you use this like a closed chamber. When you set it up pour some water in your substrate and stir it up so it's damp then put a layer of dry substrate over that so your Tort isn't constantly sitting on a wet surface. With the lid on it the humidity will rise because the moisture cannot escape. I don't add water or mist at all and my humidity stays in the 80-90% range.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Just make sure you line the hole you cut for your heat source with aluminum foil so you don't melt the plastic.

 

[Tseeman]

You won't need a humidity box if you use this like a closed chamber. When you set it up pour some water in your substrate and stir it up so it's damp then put a layer of dry substrate over that so your Tort isn't constantly sitting on a wet surface. With the lid on it the humidity will rise because the moisture cannot escape. I don't add water or mist at all and my humidity stays in the 80-90% range.

Okay I'm gonna try a tote tonight, so just put the lid on and cut out holes for the lights but what do I do if the Temps get to high? Cut small holes in the lid or just crack the lid open and let it escape back and forth? I jsut don't want him to over heat when I'm at work for 9 hrs and can't get to him