Two Bridged tote indoor enclosure

[felix161]

Currently this is my set up for my Russian tort. It is 2 storage totes. Ones 45 gal and the other is a 30 gal, they are both bridged by a card tote cut on both ends and stuck in between the two totes with holes on the sides.

his lighting on the hotter tote side is one basking light and one coil uvb bulb (i know its bad for them now, i was misinformed at the pet store when i got him, will replace with a mvb or tube very soon.) the cooler side tote has a single smaller basking light. Both basking lights are pointed straight down at a tile stone (adjusted from when pictures were taken).

substrate is playsand and coconut cour coconut coir, way more coir than sand. substrate gets misted every morning as the lights come on.

hes got a flower pot and a makeshift cave ive made and he tends to sleep in both of those at night. More so the cave since its on the cooler tote side, and i tend to find him over there at night.

hes got a water dish/soaking dish which i was told would be good for him but he had a little trouble getting out of it at first. so i had to lower the water level and angle it in the back so it would be easier for him to get out of. ill probably put some stones in the bottom to make it more easier on him. Ive caught him in it a few times so i dont want to take it away from him.

oh and temps are 95-105 on basking stone (hot side) high 80s-low 90s everywhere else in that tote. 85-90 on cool side basking stone and low 80s thru out that tote. temps drop about 10 degrees at night. humidity is moderate it ranges from 50 eairly morning before misting to 70.

anyway heres pictures hope i did it right and they show up.

 

[Tom]

Your set up if very cool and ingenious. What a great idea with the shoe box tunnel. Smart!

Some suggestions:
1. Ditch the coil bulb now. Don't use it anymore. Use an incandescent bulb or leave it dark in the mean time. If your tortoise is sunning in the front yard with you, he doesn't need artificial UV anyway. Just some light and heat inside. I like to use an incandescent flood bulb for basking and a long tube style florescent for light. Put the, both on a timer for 12-13 hours. If you get a fl. Tube in the 500-6500k color range, it will look the most natural. This color scale will be on the packaging.

2. Ditch the water ramp bowl. Those are tortoise death traps. Great for snakes and lizards, deadly for tortoises. Use a $2 terra cotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate instead.

3. I don't like sand in the substrate. Some people use it and like it, but I've seen too many tortoises get impacted from it. They just eat a little at a time stuck to their food, but the sand collects in their gut and it can eventually kill them. There is just no reason to risk it. It does nothing for you that the coir alone won't do.

4. While your enclosure is very cool and creative, it is still much too small for an adult Russian. They need a lot of room to move. I suggest 4x8' as a minimum. They are a very active species and need a lot of floor space.

Good luck. Hope this all helps.

 

[saberfire06]

I agree with Tom about the sand. I used the same mixture of cocoair and playsand when I first did my set up and didn't like the results at all. It was always getting stuck all over his food and I felt he was ingesting way more of it then he should be.

If you don't want to replace the substrate right away on your next change I would just go with straight cocoair and ditch the sand. If you want something different try reptile bark or cypress mulch.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

Another tortoise train enclosure, awesome! 2 totes down, a few more to go Add a couple more of those bad boys and have a train of totes through your house! ...I'm not kidding. The more the better.

Unless you can supply a big outdoor pen, the train can be a next best thing.

Tom gave great advice, too.

Heather
Sent from my Android TFO app

 

[felix161]

Your set up if very cool and ingenious. What a great idea with the shoe box tunnel. Smart!

Some suggestions:
1. Ditch the coil bulb now. Don't use it anymore. Use an incandescent bulb or leave it dark in the mean time. If your tortoise is sunning in the front yard with you, he doesn't need artificial UV anyway. Just some light and heat inside. I like to use an incandescent flood bulb for basking and a long tube style florescent for light. Put the, both on a timer for 12-13 hours. If you get a fl. Tube in the 500-6500k color range, it will look the most natural. This color scale will be on the packaging.

2. Ditch the water ramp bowl. Those are tortoise death traps. Great for snakes and lizards, deadly for tortoises. Use a $2 terra cotta plant saucer sunk into the substrate instead.

3. I don't like sand in the substrate. Some people use it and like it, but I've seen too many tortoises get impacted from it. They just eat a little at a time stuck to their food, but the sand collects in their gut and it can eventually kill them. There is just no reason to risk it. It does nothing for you that the coir alone won't do.

4. While your enclosure is very cool and creative, it is still much too small for an adult Russian. They need a lot of room to move. I suggest 4x8' as a minimum. They are a very active species and need a lot of floor space.

Good luck. Hope this all helps.

thanks for the advice. i have his food in a terra cota plant saucer ill change his pool into one as well. the next time i change out his substrate ill change to all coir i think. im afraid of the bark or mulch chips would cause splinters in his softer parts. although the 4x8 suggestion isent possable in the space i like the idea of adding more totes. the coiled light is going. i just gotta find a long enough one to go over both the totes that is currently 6 feet. thank you all for your suggestions. now if i can only get the bugger to eat.

 

[Alles uber schildkroten]

I have used the water ramp bowls like you use in the above pic for yrs on my tortoise and have had no issues what so ever... So do what you will but they aren't dangerous IMO

 

[felix161]

i took it out and have a terra cotta base now he seems to like that alot better and is able to get in and out of it way more easily without me having to modify the angle or put rocks in the bottom.

 

[Pokeymeg]

Ingenious idea! Love it!