Requesting Feedback on New Habitat - First Timer

Britannica

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Oct 31, 2018
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Bremerton, WA
I just got my first Russian tortoise today and I couldn't be more excited! I want the best for him so I'd love feedback on my habitat.

His space is two Zoo Med Tortoise Homes that I bracketed together to form a 2' x 6' enclosure. Substrate is a combo of coconut fiber and Cyprus mulch. (I haven't misted the enclosure yet as I just set it up so it appears dry. I will give him a soak tomorrow and make sure to mist the substrate and add a few more living plants.)

His heat lamp is a 65 watt halogen flood light (from hardware store) and his UVB is Reptisun 10.0 T5 22 inch fluorescent tube bulb.

My main concern is the lighting. The heat lamp has been on all day and the temperature on his basking stone has only reached a 87F high.

My other concern is the light height from the tank. I currently have them resting on the top of the enclosure so they are about 10 inches from the substrate.

My questions are:

1) What wattage halogen bulb do I need up the heat to a 95-100F temp
2) Are the lights too close to his shell/substrate to keep on the top of the enclosure?


Any other advice is welcome!

Also, his name is Donatello aka Donny.

Donatello.JPG whole habitat1.JPG whole habitat2.JPG heatside1.jpg lightside1.JPG
 

LaLaP

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Hi and welcome! How are you measuring your temperatures? Temp gun, thermometer of some kind? Let's make sure your instruments are accurate first. Lots of inaccurate one out there.
 

Minority2

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Tortoise Hell
I just got my first Russian tortoise today and I couldn't be more excited! I want the best for him so I'd love feedback on my habitat.

His space is two Zoo Med Tortoise Homes that I bracketed together to form a 2' x 6' enclosure. Substrate is a combo of coconut fiber and Cyprus mulch. (I haven't misted the enclosure yet as I just set it up so it appears dry. I will give him a soak tomorrow and make sure to mist the substrate and add a few more living plants.)

His heat lamp is a 65 watt halogen flood light (from hardware store) and his UVB is Reptisun 10.0 T5 22 inch fluorescent tube bulb.

My main concern is the lighting. The heat lamp has been on all day and the temperature on his basking stone has only reached a 87F high.

My other concern is the light height from the tank. I currently have them resting on the top of the enclosure so they are about 10 inches from the substrate.

My questions are:

1) What wattage halogen bulb do I need up the heat to a 95-100F temp
2) Are the lights too close to his shell/substrate to keep on the top of the enclosure?


Any other advice is welcome!

Also, his name is Donatello aka Donny.

View attachment 256535 View attachment 256536 View attachment 256537 View attachment 256538 View attachment 256539

Your tortoise is about the size of a mature adult (Male, could be wrong) Russian.

A adult tortoise requires a much larger sized enclosure than a 6' x 2' ft.

Your substrate should be kept damp at all times. Humidity is still beneficial for adult tortoises, especially primarily housed indoor tortoises using heat bulbs of any kind.

Your ambient temperatures in the house may be one of the reasons why you're not achieving 95-100F in your basking spot. This is the main issue with open enclosures. People that live in colder regions often have a tougher time keeping temperature and humidity levels stable in an open enclosure unless they resort to using higher wattage equipment. The most cost effective path is to create a closed chamber enclosure. Cover the exposed grating with either greenhouse film, aluminum foil, plexiglass or any other material. Seal and tape down gaps and other exposed areas. A 10 inch height will probably require only a 25-40 watt incandescent flood bulb. Maybe more depending on the temperature level inside your home.

Do not use halogen bulbs. The heat they provide is far too intense even for adult tortoises, especially for owners that do not regularly soak/bath their tortoises. Stick to using cool white incandescent flood bulbs.

1. Where was this tortoise purchased from?

2. I personally don't believe 10 inch is too close if you're using regular incandescent bulbs.
 

Britannica

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Bremerton, WA
Your tortoise is about the size of a mature adult (Male, could be wrong) Russian.

A adult tortoise requires a much larger sized enclosure than a 6' x 2' ft.

Your substrate should be kept damp at all times. Humidity is still beneficial for adult tortoises, especially primarily housed indoor tortoises using heat bulbs of any kind.

Your ambient temperatures in the house may be one of the reasons why you're not achieving 95-100F in your basking spot. This is the main issue with open enclosures. People that live in colder regions often have a tougher time keeping temperature and humidity levels stable in an open enclosure unless they resort to using higher wattage equipment. The most cost effective path is to create a closed chamber enclosure. Cover the exposed grating with either greenhouse film, aluminum foil, plexiglass or any other material. Seal and tape down gaps and other exposed areas. A 10 inch height will probably require only a 25-40 watt incandescent flood bulb. Maybe more depending on the temperature level inside your home.

Do not use halogen bulbs. The heat they provide is far too intense even for adult tortoises, especially for owners that do not regularly soak/bath their tortoises. Stick to using cool white incandescent flood bulbs.

1. Where was this tortoise purchased from?

2. I personally don't believe 10 inch is too close if you're using regular incandescent bulbs.

Thanks so much for the thorough reply. Sounds like I’m getting a cover for a portion of the tank and/or a light stand for sure. It’s only day 2 with him so I’m going to begin regularly misting his enclosure today and provide regular soaks.

To answer your first question, I got him from a farm and feed store.

Do you have a specific example of a brand of incondescent light I should be looking for? I was overwhelmed most by all of the different options.

I am intrigued by your statement that he should have a “much larger enclosure.” What dimensions are you referring to? I don’t physically have the space to add to his enclosure I’m just curious and honestly surprised by this statement because I thought it was a huge area for him.
 

TechnoCheese

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Thanks so much for the thorough reply. Sounds like I’m getting a cover for a portion of the tank and/or a light stand for sure. It’s only day 2 with him so I’m going to begin regularly misting his enclosure today and provide regular soaks.

To answer your first question, I got him from a farm and feed store.

Do you have a specific example of a brand of incondescent light I should be looking for? I was overwhelmed most by all of the different options.

I am intrigued by your statement that he should have a “much larger enclosure.” What dimensions are you referring to? I don’t physically have the space to add to his enclosure I’m just curious and honestly surprised by this statement because I thought it was a huge area for him.

And adult Russian requires a minimum enclosure size of 8x4 feet, or 32 square feet. Some people have also had success with double decker, 4x4 enclosures with a ramp to save space.
 

TechnoCheese

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Here’s a guide on making an 8x4 foot tortoise table-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3XVjjTUbDNPUlhnVlN2bG0tUnc/view
Note that the dividers are completely optional, and you can just do it with two sheets of plywood. Instead of cutting the sides 15 inches tall, cut them 16 inches tall. Then just rout the sides and bottom as shown in the guide, press them together and glue/screw them in place, and you have a finished table. Then all you need to do is silicone around the edges, seal the inside(or half way up)with flex seal, dry lock, or some type of boat paint. After you do that, line the inside with a tarp where you want the substrate, I would recommend doing it at least 6-8 inches up.

Also note that the lamps should be coming straight down from a built in stand or detached one, and not clamped from the side. Clamps are extremely dangerous, and huge fire hazards. Learned that the hard way.(Curtis was named Lucky at first for a reason.)
 

Yvonne G

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Hi and welcome to the Forum!

Good job putting two of the Zoo Med Tortoise Houses together to make one big one! Russian tortoises need a lot of space and the two together like that give him plenty of room.

A while ago someone turned in a box turtle and all his supplies, which included a Zoo Med Tortoise House. To be honest, I was surprised at how big it is. I just now went out to storage and measured it and one house is 2x3, so putting the two together gives the tortoise a 6'shot in his marching. In my opinion, 2'x6' is plenty big enough for a Russian tortoise. . . but be thinking about making a safe and secure outdoor space for him for those warm weather days.

There are many ways of caring for tortoises. In my opinion, Russian tortoises don't need a damp substrate, but I would ad in some either orchid bark or cypress mulch to your coco coir and mix it all up. You can spritz water over it occasionally to keep down the dust, but it doesn't need to be damp or humid. He's full grown, and the humidity thing only applies to babies.

You'll have better luck achieving a warm environment if you figure out a way to cover that enclosure. Russian tortoises are pretty cold hardy, and do best when there's a drop in temperature at night. But they do need to be able to sit under the light and warm up. I like to hang the lights rather than depending upon the clamp fixture. They have been known to fail and the light falls into the enclosure.

Most of the info you read here on the Forum is good stuff. Yes, we do differ in our opinions. You read through the info and decide what works best for you and your tortoise.
 

Minority2

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Thanks so much for the thorough reply. Sounds like I’m getting a cover for a portion of the tank and/or a light stand for sure. It’s only day 2 with him so I’m going to begin regularly misting his enclosure today and provide regular soaks.

To answer your first question, I got him from a farm and feed store.

Do you have a specific example of a brand of incondescent light I should be looking for? I was overwhelmed most by all of the different options.

I am intrigued by your statement that he should have a “much larger enclosure.” What dimensions are you referring to? I don’t physically have the space to add to his enclosure I’m just curious and honestly surprised by this statement because I thought it was a huge area for him.

Correction: My previous post mistakenly suggested buying cool white incandescent flood bulbs. There are only soft whites available. My mistake.

Any brand such as Phillips will be fine. The R/BR series such as R30/BR30 is a common code number for incandescent flood bulbs. Be sure to read the description and verify before buying. Test your closed chamber enclosure to figure out which wattage would be best. This cannot be accomplished without a infrared temperature gun and a weather branded thermometer hygrometer reader with probe.

I personally believe width is just as important as length in an indoor enclosure. Some people may see a 6' x 2' ft as a decent enclosure size. I don't. I've recommended 6' x 3' ft enclosures to owners with limited space and have used similarly sized enclosures in the past. In my experience, a 2 ft width is not wide enough for small species of tortoises. With the addition of essential and decorative items, roaming space becomes very limited in an enclosure with 2 ft width. My tortoises don't make any attempts to evade obstacles. Anything that gets in the way of their goal becomes trampled. This is also one of the reasons why I keep the middle of my indoor enclosures completely empty. Everything is positioned at the corners and edges.

I don't necessarily disagree with @Yvonne G on humidity. I agree that adult tortoises are able to withstand harsher conditions than hatchlings. However, I don't believe adult tortoises should have to face these conditions unless owners chooses to do so. I also have not currently found any drawbacks from keep adult Mediterranean tortoises in humid conditions.

I recommend keeping a damp substrate, relatively high humidity, and regularly soakings because the dangers of health complications commonly associated with dehydration never really goes away, especially for adult tortoises that are still using bulbs as heating sources. Even soakings is arguably not enough, especially if owners are not offering a balanced diet to avoid overfeeding specific types of foods.

People also may take certain suggestions and advice incorrectly if we aren't specific enough and or give too much leeway. Some owners may get confused and end up completely ignoring hydration needs if the advice given was not clear enough for them to comprehend.
 

Britannica

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Bremerton, WA
Correction: My previous post mistakenly suggested buying cool white incandescent flood bulbs. There are only soft whites available. My mistake.

Any brand such as Phillips will be fine. The R/BR series such as R30/BR30 is a common code number for incandescent flood bulbs. Be sure to read the description and verify before buying. Test your closed chamber enclosure to figure out which wattage would be best. This cannot be accomplished without a infrared temperature gun and a weather branded thermometer hygrometer reader with probe.

I personally believe width is just as important as length in an indoor enclosure. Some people may see a 6' x 2' ft as a decent enclosure size. I don't. I've recommended 6' x 3' ft enclosures to owners with limited space and have used similarly sized enclosures in the past. In my experience, a 2 ft width is not wide enough for small species of tortoises. With the addition of essential and decorative items, roaming space becomes very limited in an enclosure with 2 ft width. My tortoises don't make any attempts to evade obstacles. Anything that gets in the way of their goal becomes trampled. This is also one of the reasons why I keep the middle of my indoor enclosures completely empty. Everything is positioned at the corners and edges.

I don't necessarily disagree with @Yvonne G on humidity. I agree that adult tortoises are able to withstand harsher conditions than hatchlings. However, I don't believe adult tortoises should have to face these conditions unless owners chooses to do so. I also have not currently found any drawbacks from keep adult Mediterranean tortoises in humid conditions.

I recommend keeping a damp substrate, relatively high humidity, and regularly soakings because the dangers of health complications commonly associated with dehydration never really goes away, especially for adult tortoises that are still using bulbs as heating sources. Even soakings is arguably not enough, especially if owners are not offering a balanced diet to avoid overfeeding specific types of foods.

People also may take certain suggestions and advice incorrectly if we aren't specific enough and or give too much leeway. Some owners may get confused and end up completely ignoring hydration needs if the advice given was not clear enough for them to comprehend.


Thanks for all of your input and advice!
 
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