Pre-Beginner looking for info

[el_ote]

this morning I saw him climb up on the wall of his enclosure and tip himself right over... ugh. I saw him right himself pretty quickly so he may have had practice. ..
silly tort

 

[leigti]

Very nice. I would put in a smaller food bowl. This would give him more room to roam around. If you soak your tortoise every day you don't need a bigger water bowl.

 

[el_ote]

yeah, I want a food bowl to match the water dish. I just haven't had a chance to get out this weekend. kids love watching the little guy

 

[el_ote]

so im thinking of both making it easier to turn on the CHE and make sure it turns off if too hot, but im wondering if my plan makes sense. I saw the repitemp 500R on amazon. it has a thermostat that can turn off the CHE if it gets too hot and also turn it on at night when it gets low. my question is if I should add the MVB to the second switched plug. I like that itll cut the light if it gets too hot during the summer, but im not sure I want the light going on/off too often. I can keep the timer I currently have it on so it'll only be on during the time day but switched off if too hot. .. any ideas anyone?

 

[leigti]

You can put the CH EE on a thermostat so it will go on and off if it gets too hot. I personally would just keep the MVB on a timer, on in the morning off at night. MVB's do keep it pretty warm so The CHE may only come on at night anyway. If the MVB is turning on and off that means less UV for your tortoise. make sure to keep the humidity up. How old is your tortoise again?

 

[el_ote]

he should be about 6 weeks old. I've had him a week.
the only reason I would want the MVB on the thermostat is for the summer when it gets hot so it'll not get too hot in the enclosure. I assume ill be letting him out to get some natural rays those days as well. I guess I could put both on the 500r and put them both on timers as well to keep CHE at night/ MVB during the day. both with a cutoff if too hot...

 

[leigti]

Do you have a temperature gun? They work really well to get the exact temperature wherever you point it, including the top shell of your tortoise. I have not had a baby tortoise but I do know that they need humidity, they don't need as much as adults, so make sure your substrate stays moist. you could also cover part of the enclosure to keep the heat and humidity in. Maybe a kind of partial closed chamber. In the summer when your tortoise gets natural sunlight the MVB May not even be necessary. but you can cross that bridge when summer gets here you're doing good, and he's a very cute little tortoise.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

el-ote ( Elias )
Sorry it took so long to get back to you but it looks like you made a good choice , he's cute . Good luck and keep us up dated on him !

 

[el_ote]

Anyone know how to change the title of my thread? Or will i have to start a new one for my tort?

Pic from today

 

[WithLisa]

He's beautifull! I really like his shell anomaly, it makes him special.

But I think I would change the substrate to something more natural and moist, like topsoil.

 

[el_ote]

anomaly? !?! white spot far right black?

i found this substrate suggested as good for babies. I did tho think it to be too rough and hard to keep to top layer moist. will swap it out with some coco "substrate" from amazon i have in my shopping cart from zoo med.

 

[pam]

He is soooooooooooooooo cute

 

[el_ote]

how often is the substrate changed? i dug around Notch's nap area and found a few poops. i scooped out the whole area and threw it away and replaced with new orchid bark. is the orchid bark able to be washed/rinsed clean? Should i be getting rid of or cleaning the whole substrate in the box?
thanks!

 

[WithLisa]

anomaly? !?! white spot far right black?

A vertebral scute is missing, haven't you noticed yet?

 

[el_ote]

I never noticed! he only has two!
is that ok? im so not the observant type... i had to check Chris' representative photos page to count them

 

[WithLisa]

No, if he seems to be fit and healthy it's not a problem, just makes him look special.
This happens mostly because of unnatural, constant high breeding temperatures.

 

[el_ote]

thats Interesting about the temperature, i asked Chris for a male because they would stay smaller. he then told me that breeders can sex the babies by controlling the temperature during incubation. i wonder if with one less scute my tort will grow smaller.

 

[el_ote]

im pretty sure tho that i read higher temps bred females...

 

[WithLisa]

Yes, that's true, with high temperatures you can increase the probability to get female hatchlings.
But even if you breed with lower "male temperatures", if they are constant high, mistakes like this happen more oftly (in nature, the temperature drops at night and the embryonic development slows down or even stops completely).

But there are other reasons too, there are even wild tortoises with more or less scutes.
I guess it's the same as a human with 4 or 6 fingers.... not a problem, it's just not normal.

He will grow as big as other males (if he really is male).

 

[el_ote]

now that ive noticed the number of scutes, its pretty obvious to catch the missing one. 3 top 4 outter center 3 bottom and 3 down the middle.
these little guys are so great!