Torty Town

[Balls]

Hi everyone

This is my little tortoises home

You cant eat that..

Thanks for looking

 

[Zamric]

Ooooooooo
Aaaaaaaaaa

I REALLY like this enclosure!

KUDOS!

...but you need to get rid of that coil bulb! they have been linked to eye issues in tortoises.

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Yeah get rid of that coil bulb. Otherwise it looks awesome! Great job

 

[l0velesly]

Really amazing enclosure!

 

[Irwin4530]

Beautiful!

 

[Tyrtle]

That's really nice!

 

[coreyc]

Look's good

 

[ayS]

Looks good, minus coil bulb.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

That is a AWESOME tort enclosure!!!!! Just switch that coil bulb to one of these: http://www.petco.com/product/115856...Strip-Light-Fixture.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch And you'll be all set

 

[Balls]

Thanks everyone.. I'm always looking for more tortoise friendly plants to grow in there... alot of grass, clover and seeds have been planted too they are just sprouting up now.. hopefully it starts to cover the ground more soon .. I see you can buy grass seed mixes online over there I want to buy a few packs and since I'm over in the USA occasionally

Just switch that coil bulb to one of these: http://www.petco.com/product/115856...Strip-Light-Fixture.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch And you'll be all set

That looks really great that its one self contained solution.. You only really get the coils and the tubes here.. and the MVB bulbs are expensive..the guy at the petshop recommended to coil bulb and they use them for their reptiles.. .. so the tube will do nicely?

 

[Tom]

When you get back over, there is a company called "Peaceful Valley Farms". They sell all sorts of seeds and seed mixes. I use three of their pasture mixes and they work great. Prices a very low too.

I also got some "Testudo mix" from my friends over at Tortoisesupply.com. This mix has produced extremely well for me and it grows all sorts of good leopard food.

 

[Balls]

Ahh.. theres plenty of websites selling those grass seed mixes for tortoises over by you guys..
Although I can buy pretty much any plant seed online here theres no grass or pasture seed mixes here in a small quantity.. you can buy large commercial quantities though.. mabye I'll bring a couple of those mix packs back.. just seems like its going to be easier to order online prepacked and all

If I'm able to grow fresh grasses and other plants should I bother with this Mazuri.. (you wont believe how expensive it is.. R550 for 1lb thats like $62 US..

 

[Balls]

Just been to the petshop to try find MVB light with heat and UVB.. they only have the coil ones and the tubes..

Also almost all of their lizzards, snakes etc have the coil bulbs and in one tank of baby bearded dragons they have all climbed to the top of a tree and are staring at a coil bumb inches from them..

 

[Zamric]

Just been to the petshop to try find MVB light with heat and UVB.. they only have the coil ones and the tubes..

Also almost all of their lizzards, snakes etc have the coil bulbs and in one tank of baby bearded dragons they have all climbed to the top of a tree and are staring at a coil bumb inches from them..

The tube florecent are fine. I'm not sure of the science behind the coil bulbs -vs- torts, but the coil bulbs have been known to cause eye irritataion and in some cases, blindness in baby tortoises. They seem fine for other reptiles but NOT for Tortoises.

 

[Tom]

That's the problem with the coil bulbs. They don't always cause the problem. We have several members who use them and think they are fine, and they are fine, until the day they aren't fine, and then it's too late. Many of us have witnessed first had the damage caused by these bulbs. I went over to help a friend diagnose why her 5 year old bearded dragons eyes had started bugging out in the last few days and he was rubbing at them. She had just installed a new UV coil bulb on the advice of the kid in the pet store. We took the bulb out and her lizards eyes returned to normal in a few days. I have seen many examples like this. To me it is like playing Russian roulette and I am not willing to risk my tortoises eyesight when there are safer alternatives, and they just don't need it anyway.

 

[TortoiseBoy1999]

That looks really great that its one self contained solution.. You only really get the coils and the tubes here.. and the MVB bulbs are expensive..the guy at the petshop recommended to coil bulb and they use them for their reptiles.. .. so the tube will do nicely?

Yep! This will take care of it for yu'! I use it for all my tortoises when they have to be kept in side (of course, nothings better than natural sun though )

 

[Tortoise Hub]

Love this enclosure!

 

[TortoiseWorld]

Hi everyone

This is my little tortoises home

You cant eat that..

Thanks for looking

Looks nice but aquariums are not acceptable for a tortoise in any situation.
I read this at http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/vivarium.htm and have personal experience it's true.

"Tortoises tend to do very badly in confined, poorly ventilated spaces. About the only way to obtain anything like adequate airflow in a typical 'tank' type vivarium is to employ forced-air circulation using fans. Without this, the air rapidly becomes stale and foul. As the tortoise urinates and defecates, humidity within the unit also rises to unacceptable levels (this problem is further exasperated by under-floor heat pads). There are very high occurrences of serious respiratory problems with tortoises kept in this kind of tank." and

Poor ventilation. There is a high incidence of tortoises developing ‘Runny Nose Syndrome’, other respiratory diseases, and shell infections if kept in small fully enclosed type glass or wooden vivarium-style housing. Specifically, the lack of ventilation can result in mould, fungus and similar problems arising. There are ways to improve this situation, including forced-air ventilation, but this does add to complexity and cost.

Lack of temperature gradients. A small enclosed vivarium is likely to be unsuitable for any species that requires a temperature gradient, or differential, to enable self-selection of body temperature. Failure to provide this will have very serious long-term consequences for health. Again, this can be overcome if very large units are employed.

Lack of microclimates. All but the very largest ‘tank’ systems will have inadequate space and temperature gradients (see above) to permit the tortoise to self-select a suitable microclimate. Again, this has important consequences for long-term health and in addition such deprivation will result in unavoidable stress

Hygiene. Enclosed vivarium-style enclosures tend to be difficult to maintain, and pathogens can build up rapidly. This is one of the reasons we see so many sick animals that have a history of being kept in such accommodation.

I also read tortoises can get stressed next to a glass wall because they want to walk through it but can't.

Aquariums are dangerous for tortoises but yours looks really nice why don't you fill it with water and fishes instead?
View attachment 33246

 

[Neal]

Looks nice but aquariums are not acceptable for a tortoise in any situation.
I read this at http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/vivarium.htm and have personal experience it's true.

"Tortoises tend to do very badly in confined, poorly ventilated spaces. About the only way to obtain anything like adequate airflow in a typical 'tank' type vivarium is to employ forced-air circulation using fans. Without this, the air rapidly becomes stale and foul. As the tortoise urinates and defecates, humidity within the unit also rises to unacceptable levels (this problem is further exasperated by under-floor heat pads). There are very high occurrences of serious respiratory problems with tortoises kept in this kind of tank." and

Poor ventilation. There is a high incidence of tortoises developing ‘Runny Nose Syndrome’, other respiratory diseases, and shell infections if kept in small fully enclosed type glass or wooden vivarium-style housing. Specifically, the lack of ventilation can result in mould, fungus and similar problems arising. There are ways to improve this situation, including forced-air ventilation, but this does add to complexity and cost.

Lack of temperature gradients. A small enclosed vivarium is likely to be unsuitable for any species that requires a temperature gradient, or differential, to enable self-selection of body temperature. Failure to provide this will have very serious long-term consequences for health. Again, this can be overcome if very large units are employed.

Lack of microclimates. All but the very largest ‘tank’ systems will have inadequate space and temperature gradients (see above) to permit the tortoise to self-select a suitable microclimate. Again, this has important consequences for long-term health and in addition such deprivation will result in unavoidable stress

Hygiene. Enclosed vivarium-style enclosures tend to be difficult to maintain, and pathogens can build up rapidly. This is one of the reasons we see so many sick animals that have a history of being kept in such accommodation.

I also read tortoises can get stressed next to a glass wall because they want to walk through it but can't.

Aquariums are dangerous for tortoises but yours looks really nice why don't you fill it with water and fishes instead?

Actually, aquariums can be some of the best and simplest tortoise enclosures for much of the reasons that this particular article says they are bad.

I'm sure others will chime in with more detailed posts. But by way of experience, I have a relatively small aquarium that I currently house my new hatchlings in. It's a 40 gallon, 36*15*16 with plexiglass on top to restrict airflow. This makes it easier for me to maintain humidity and heat where I want it to be. Even in this size of an enclosure that is almost completely sealed, I am able to maintain a high humid micro climate and heat gradients appropriate for the type of tortoises I am keeping. In the past I have placed paper around the enclosure to discourage the tortoises from rubbing up against the glass, but I havn't for several years...because I've never seen them do anything like that. While I'm sure some do, I don't think it's the norm.

Many other keepers have the same type of set up, and there has yet to be any case of disease or RNS that is directly correlated with keeping them in this sort of set up that I have heard of.

---

Balls - I really like your enclosure. The only thing I would do differently is cover the open ends so that it's easier to maintain the heat and humidity. But, I'm in the desert so that would just be my own preference. I like seeing all that good fresh food in there for him.

 

[TortoiseWorld]

Looks nice but aquariums are not acceptable for a tortoise in any situation.
I read this at http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/vivarium.htm and have personal experience it's true.

"Tortoises tend to do very badly in confined, poorly ventilated spaces. About the only way to obtain anything like adequate airflow in a typical 'tank' type vivarium is to employ forced-air circulation using fans. Without this, the air rapidly becomes stale and foul. As the tortoise urinates and defecates, humidity within the unit also rises to unacceptable levels (this problem is further exasperated by under-floor heat pads). There are very high occurrences of serious respiratory problems with tortoises kept in this kind of tank." and

Poor ventilation. There is a high incidence of tortoises developing ‘Runny Nose Syndrome’, other respiratory diseases, and shell infections if kept in small fully enclosed type glass or wooden vivarium-style housing. Specifically, the lack of ventilation can result in mould, fungus and similar problems arising. There are ways to improve this situation, including forced-air ventilation, but this does add to complexity and cost.

Lack of temperature gradients. A small enclosed vivarium is likely to be unsuitable for any species that requires a temperature gradient, or differential, to enable self-selection of body temperature. Failure to provide this will have very serious long-term consequences for health. Again, this can be overcome if very large units are employed.

Lack of microclimates. All but the very largest ‘tank’ systems will have inadequate space and temperature gradients (see above) to permit the tortoise to self-select a suitable microclimate. Again, this has important consequences for long-term health and in addition such deprivation will result in unavoidable stress

Hygiene. Enclosed vivarium-style enclosures tend to be difficult to maintain, and pathogens can build up rapidly. This is one of the reasons we see so many sick animals that have a history of being kept in such accommodation.

I also read tortoises can get stressed next to a glass wall because they want to walk through it but can't.

Aquariums are dangerous for tortoises but yours looks really nice why don't you fill it with water and fishes instead?

Actually, aquariums can be some of the best and simplest tortoise enclosures for much of the reasons that this particular article says they are bad.

I'm sure others will chime in with more detailed posts. But by way of experience, I have a relatively small aquarium that I currently house my new hatchlings in. It's a 40 gallon, 36*15*16 with plexiglass on top to restrict airflow. This makes it easier for me to maintain humidity and heat where I want it to be. Even in this size of an enclosure that is almost completely sealed, I am able to maintain a high humid micro climate and heat gradients appropriate for the type of tortoises I am keeping. In the past I have placed paper around the enclosure to discourage the tortoises from rubbing up against the glass, but I havn't for several years...because I've never seen them do anything like that. While I'm sure some do, I don't think it's the norm.

Many other keepers have the same type of set up, and there has yet to be any case of disease or RNS that is directly correlated with keeping them in this sort of set up that I have heard of.

---

Balls - I really like your enclosure. The only thing I would do differently is cover the open ends so that it's easier to maintain the heat and humidity. But, I'm in the desert so that would just be my own preference. I like seeing all that good fresh food in there for him.

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I don't promote this tortoise table box but it's an interesting you tube about tortoises in glass.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_vOvvjj25VM

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I had two leopard tortoises die in a 50gallon aquarium 10 years ago from improper ventilation , very sad