Onomatotia
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2017
- Messages
- 18
Hello!
I've been lurking for weeks, reading about and researching correct husbandry for Russian tortoises. I've read the baby Russian care sheet and many threads regarding everyone's experience with young Russians. So thank you everyone for the knowledge you've already imparted!
My husband and I are getting a tortoise from a forum member, Carol S. (thanks for everything Carol!), but are waiting on the weather to warm up so that shipping is safe. We live in Ohio and are in the dead of winter.
I'm setting up his indoor enclosure ahead of time to monitor temperatures, humidity, etc. so that we're ready to go when he finally gets here. He'll be spending the remainder of his babyhood in a 75 gallon aquarium (with the bottom few inches blacked out). When the weather permits, he will spend his days outside in a 10'x30' enclosure and come in the house at night. For now though, he's stuck inside. We will also be upgrading the size of his indoor enclosure once he gets a little larger.
Our original plan while using the aquarium was to use a MVB for UVB and basking and CHE on a thermostat to heat his humid hide. I have a few concerns with that setup though (we have a really curious cat who I don't want to ruin the bulb or burn down the house). I'm now leaning more towards using a regular flood light to bask, a waterproof heating pad on a thermostat under the burrow area to heat his humid hide, and a Reptisun 10.0 HO tube light in a Reptisun HO tank hood with Plexiglass or a modified screen top to cover the remaining opening. My question is this, will a UVB light that runs the entire length of the tank be overkill? The hood will be about 15-16" above the substrate. There will be no screen or mesh under the UVB tube. Would the Reptisun 5.0 HO bulb in the HO fixture be a better bet? I want to make him a cave/burrow out of half a pvc pipe covered in coco coir and plants. I want him to have a hide he can climb on and explore so that he doesn't lose any valuable floor space. On top of that hill I estimate the distance to the UVB will only be about 10".
Sorry for such a long post and I'm sorry if it seems redundant. I've been bothering poor Carol nonstop too! I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything to make this little guy a happy and healthy member of our family.
Thank you!
I've been lurking for weeks, reading about and researching correct husbandry for Russian tortoises. I've read the baby Russian care sheet and many threads regarding everyone's experience with young Russians. So thank you everyone for the knowledge you've already imparted!
My husband and I are getting a tortoise from a forum member, Carol S. (thanks for everything Carol!), but are waiting on the weather to warm up so that shipping is safe. We live in Ohio and are in the dead of winter.
I'm setting up his indoor enclosure ahead of time to monitor temperatures, humidity, etc. so that we're ready to go when he finally gets here. He'll be spending the remainder of his babyhood in a 75 gallon aquarium (with the bottom few inches blacked out). When the weather permits, he will spend his days outside in a 10'x30' enclosure and come in the house at night. For now though, he's stuck inside. We will also be upgrading the size of his indoor enclosure once he gets a little larger.
Our original plan while using the aquarium was to use a MVB for UVB and basking and CHE on a thermostat to heat his humid hide. I have a few concerns with that setup though (we have a really curious cat who I don't want to ruin the bulb or burn down the house). I'm now leaning more towards using a regular flood light to bask, a waterproof heating pad on a thermostat under the burrow area to heat his humid hide, and a Reptisun 10.0 HO tube light in a Reptisun HO tank hood with Plexiglass or a modified screen top to cover the remaining opening. My question is this, will a UVB light that runs the entire length of the tank be overkill? The hood will be about 15-16" above the substrate. There will be no screen or mesh under the UVB tube. Would the Reptisun 5.0 HO bulb in the HO fixture be a better bet? I want to make him a cave/burrow out of half a pvc pipe covered in coco coir and plants. I want him to have a hide he can climb on and explore so that he doesn't lose any valuable floor space. On top of that hill I estimate the distance to the UVB will only be about 10".
Sorry for such a long post and I'm sorry if it seems redundant. I've been bothering poor Carol nonstop too! I just want to make sure that I'm doing everything to make this little guy a happy and healthy member of our family.
Thank you!