T Graeca Moroccoensis Advice please

[Maddhippy]

I have two small T graeca Moroccoensis youngsters, I have built a table 600 X 500 and put a mix of calci sand and desert sand to a depth of 2" Also slate for food to go on, a shallow saucer for water and a half barrel for shelter, at one end I have a 60w basking light, How high should this be above the torts and what temp should i be looking for at that end of the table?

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't keep that kind of tortoise, but I would never use any kind of sand as substrate. A tortoise living in a desert situation, on sand, is not the same thing as having sand in a tub with a tortoise. In the wild tortoises hardly ever eat off the ground. The bite their food off stems, up off the ground. In an enclosure full of sand, the tortoise walks on it then walks over his moist food and gets sand all over the food. So he eats it and it builds up inside his body until he's impacted and can't poop.

Your light may not be strong enough. I always buy the 100 watt Mercury Vapor bulb. It provides UVB and heat all in one bulb. You raise it or lower it until you have the desired temperature. You want it to be plus or minus 100F directly under the light, fading to room temperature on one end (but not cooler than 80F for a baby or 75F for a bigger tortoise), then to around 80F on the other end. In order to get that range of temperatures, you have to have a pretty big enclosure.

Please read the generic Greek care sheet that's pinned at the top of our Greek section.

 

[Maddhippy]

Would top soil mixed in be ok? I am struggling to make sense of all the information I am finding, some of it seems contradictory, Should i bathe them every day?

 

[Heather H]

Top soil that is organic . No pyrites or guano. So nothing with bits of white stuff. I am a fan of coco coir , repti bark and orchard bark. I use moss in the humid hide and around the rock.

 

[Heather H]

Read all the care sheets they really help I have learned so much from the people here.