Tortoise Item list, am I missing anything?

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Terrapin

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SO I have finally decided to proceed with the habitat set up for a baby leopard tortoise. I have done a lot of reading, and will do a lot more before I send for my little one, but I am putting together a list of items in which to construct his/her habitat.

Here is my list thus far:
100 watt mercury Vapor UV light (for both UV and heat)
Brooder lamp fixture
Heavy duty timer
thermometer/hygrometer
Rubbermaid bin
spray bottle
feed plate
shallow water dish
bedding (sphagnum moss, cypress mulch, coconut coir, & playsand)

Am I missing anything?
 

jeffbens0n

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I don't see anything for a hide on there, you could also add some more scenery items, rocks, fake plants etc. Oh and you also forgot the tortoise!
 

MORTYtheTORTY

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I wouldn't use playsand but that's up to you. Make sure you trap humidity in your enclosure so purchase the lid with the bin and make sure you cut a hole on the top to fit the lighting fixture (dome) in. You needa hide like the previous stated above but you can always make that yourself if you want. I use a basking rock and hide all in one. IDK what supplements you plan on giving but you can use cuttlebone or calcium powder.
 

Terrapin

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jeffbens0n said:
I don't see anything for a hide on there, you could also add some more scenery items, rocks, fake plants etc. Oh and you also forgot the tortoise!

Oh right goodies for him/her to hide under.

And this is all prep work before adding the wee tort! lol

MORTYtheTORTY said:
I wouldn't use playsand but that's up to you. Make sure you trap humidity in your enclosure so purchase the lid with the bin and make sure you cut a hole on the top to fit the lighting fixture (dome) in. You needa hide like the previous stated above but you can always make that yourself if you want. I use a basking rock and hide all in one. IDK what supplements you plan on giving but you can use cuttlebone or calcium powder.

Lid with the bin gotcha!

I read about the play sand as something to mix in with the cocnut coir to be used in just part of the habitat and not pervasive throughout. I know to avoid feeding anywhere near as to avoid accidental sand consumption. But I will take your warning under consideration.

I hadn't gotten as far as food or supplements yet as I am just currently focused on the habitat.
 

EKLC

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you need some nighttime heating

I strongly recommend a ceramic heat emitter controlled by a thermostat. Should cost about 60 bucks for the two of them, but they take away a lot of strife keeping nighttime temperatures in the right zone.
 

MORTYtheTORTY

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MORTYtheTORTY said:
I wouldn't use playsand but that's up to you. Make sure you trap humidity in your enclosure so purchase the lid with the bin and make sure you cut a hole on the top to fit the lighting fixture (dome) in. You needa hide like the previous stated above but you can always make that yourself if you want. I use a basking rock and hide all in one. IDK what supplements you plan on giving but you can use cuttlebone or calcium powder.

Lid with the bin gotcha!

I read about the play sand as something to mix in with the cocnut coir to be used in just part of the habitat and not pervasive throughout. I know to avoid feeding anywhere near as to avoid accidental sand consumption. But I will take your warning under consideration.

I hadn't gotten as far as food or supplements yet as I am just currently focused on the habitat.
[/quote]

The diet is much easier to come by than the enclosure <--well, depending on where you live anyhow. There's other ideas about enclosures if you search through the forums under certain subjects. Tom shows how to make a humid hide yourself but if you have the money then go ahead and by whatever you like :D I made the mistake of purchasing the bin without a lid so I have to go back since I found the receipt..as of now I am using an aquarium to trap in humidity and certain temps. Read up on the temps in the other forums as well because even a little trial and error can get torty sick and make sure you get your tort from a reputable breeder. I bought a hatchling with RI from someone that told me to keep it dry and thank god for the TFO :p
 

Terrapin

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EKLC said:
you need some nighttime heating

I strongly recommend a ceramic heat emitter controlled by a thermostat. Should cost about 60 bucks for the two of them, but they take away a lot of strife keeping nighttime temperatures in the right zone.

hm night time heating hadn't thought much on that. I live in a pretty warm weather place. My plan is to keep baby upstairs which is the warmest area of the house and is usually in the upper 70s and 80s most of the time. But I will do more research about temps and make sure I keep the night time heat in mind.

MORTYtheTORTY said:
The diet is much easier to come by than the enclosure <--well, depending on where you live anyhow. There's other ideas about enclosures if you search through the forums under certain subjects. Tom shows how to make a humid hide yourself but if you have the money then go ahead and by whatever you like :D I made the mistake of purchasing the bin without a lid so I have to go back since I found the receipt..as of now I am using an aquarium to trap in humidity and certain temps. Read up on the temps in the other forums as well because even a little trial and error can get torty sick and make sure you get your tort from a reputable breeder. I bought a hatchling with RI from someone that told me to keep it dry and thank god for the TFO :p


I think my back yard will be a great place to get a lot of good stuff. I live in texas and we have an abundance of buffalo grass, dandelions and assorted edible greens just a'growing. And I am not the sort to ever use any kind of pesticides on my yard (it's mostly weeds, but at least its green!)

I definitely will do my research on temperatures. I certianly don't want my wee lil torty to get sick, I would feel like a lousy mum. I have seen good feedback about the breeder I have in mind. Hopefully there will still be babes available when I have everything together. But I promised myself that I wouldn't hurry and take my time to do this right.
 

Neal

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Besides the humid hide, do you intend on keeping the habitat humid or dry? If you keep the entire habitat humid, you will need the CHE at night. Even if your house temps are in the upper 70's the humidity will decrease the temperatures in his enclosure significantly. If you keep the enclosure dry, it may not be as much of an issue but I would still recommend that you get one and hook it up to a thermostat. Just in case.
 

MORTYtheTORTY

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glad your taking your time to do it right :D I'm sure the tort will have a very good home.
 

DixieParadise

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For my inside enclosures, I buy the little 2 inch potted plants at Home depot. You can bury them in the substrate and depending on which ones you choose can used to hide in or eat.

Depending on how big your tort is, you can take plastic planter containers and cut an opening big enough for the tort to get in and turn around. I have done this in my outside enclosure as well with terra-cotta pots. I am in the process of having a friend make me some ceramic ones, because the terra cotta is hard to grind and drill thru to make the opening.

Hides can be made of just about anything. If you go the enclosure threads, you can see how inventive some of the tort owners around here are.

Good Luck and let us see pictures when it is all done.
 

Terrapin

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Neal said:
Besides the humid hide, do you intend on keeping the habitat humid or dry? If you keep the entire habitat humid, you will need the CHE at night. Even if your house temps are in the upper 70's the humidity will decrease the temperatures in his enclosure significantly. If you keep the enclosure dry, it may not be as much of an issue but I would still recommend that you get one and hook it up to a thermostat. Just in case.

Right, I hadn't taken into consideration the humidity effect on the temperature. Ok adding the CHE to the list (oh and a thermostat). I plan on keeping it humid as I the breeder I was looking at recomended keeping one end of the enclosure damp and warm and the other cooler and dry.



MORTYtheTORTY said:
glad your taking your time to do it right :D I'm sure the tort will have a very good home.

:) Thanks I sure hope so. I want a happy tort! :tort:
 

DixieParadise

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Also remember, not knowing exactly where you are in Texas..if you do move your tort outside...the humidity will be almost non-existent in the summer time. So, be thinking of sprinklers or misting system. Good Luck...I know that you will do well now that you have done your homework and your little tort is going to love you for it.
 

Terrapin

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DixieParadise said:
For my inside enclosures, I buy the little 2 inch potted plants at Home depot. You can bury them in the substrate and depending on which ones you choose can used to hide in or eat.

Depending on how big your tort is, you can take plastic planter containers and cut an opening big enough for the tort to get in and turn around. I have done this in my outside enclosure as well with terra-cotta pots. I am in the process of having a friend make me some ceramic ones, because the terra cotta is hard to grind and drill thru to make the opening.

Hides can be made of just about anything. If you go the enclosure threads, you can see how inventive some of the tort owners around here are.

Good Luck and let us see pictures when it is all done.

Oh I very much like the idea of keeping living edibles in there for him/her to hide in or eat. Sounds like a hide can be all kinds of things. I will have to see what sort of fun thing I can find that will work.

Thank you for the tips!
 

JoesMum

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My suggestions:

Some digital kitchen scales for the monthly weigh in

Some rocks for your tort to scramble over. Mountaineering practice (they like climbing) and claw maintenance in one!

A piece of cuttle bone for calcium and beak maintenance
 

Neltharion

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I would also recommend against the sand, and go with the coconut coir and maybe a blend with unfertilized top soil. Additionally, I would recommend a shallow water container, big enough for the tortoise to soak in and drink from.
 

bholmes88

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Your list is missing a huge part...the tortoise! Lol just kidding. I would add a gram scale and night time heating. I also live in Texas, your tortoise will love you for living here.
 

jaizei

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Instead of a spray bottle, I think something like this is much better.

Living in Austin, I wouldn't get an MVB. There's only a few weeks a year that you can't let them outside, even if it's only during the day. You can get a CHE and put it on a thermostat and it'll work for heat, both day and night. Regardless of whether you get an MVB or not, I think it's a good idea to use additional lights for ambient lighting. A single MVB doesn't provide enough light for an entire enclosure.
 

Jacqui

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Terrapin said:
I read about the play sand as something to mix in with the cocnut coir to be used in just part of the habitat and not pervasive throughout. I know to avoid feeding anywhere near as to avoid accidental sand consumption. But I will take your warning under consideration.

I use the playsand in with my coir. I love it and so do my tortoises. To me, the coir dries too much without sand. The sand is safe with a healthy tortoise and used in a low percentage. Keep in mind, if you use dirt, your going to be having sand in it naturally too. :cool:

Sounds like you have a pretty complete list there with all the help you have gotten with suggestions. :D
 

Terrapin

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I want to thank everyone who responded! I definitely have a better list than when I started and some additional things to think about as I build my lil one's habitat.
 
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