Water dish

[tortoisenerd]

I have a water dish for my little tortoise that I like (T-Rex Water's Edge; you can look up a photo on Google) that he can get in and out of easily, doesn't make a mess, etc. BUT, the paint is chipping after only two weeks. I already took it out because I was worried about the possible toxicity of the paint, and contacted the website I bought it from to see if they know anything (originally I wanted a replacement but I saw someone wrote a review online saying the same thing). He has a replacement in the meanwhile but it's messy and I doubt he's going to use it...kinda awkward size and not really deep enough for a good soak. I do soak him every 1-2 days (hatchling) so that's not an issue in the near future.

I really like the shape/style of his original one, so is it possible to re-paint it and seal it? What could I do with it that would be safe? What type of paint/sealant do I need to look for? Thanks. It's plenty big for him for a long while still and a good fit for the enclosure.

 

[krissy2288]

i think you could use a type of glaze, you should go to a local hardware store, they would know the right products.

 

[Meg90]

Trash it. Its not worth him soaking up any toxins through his skin or eating a chip of the paint, and you just never know...I mean, just because its for reptiles, doesn't necessarily mean its safe. Its like how many recalls have there been this year on kids toys with lead paint. And we know better now.

Just hit up your local Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics or any other craft store. They always have terracotta planters and dishes in stock (because apparently only crafters plant in winter )

I bought a decent sized dish there (size of a small dinner plate, and about an inch or so deep) for a buck and a quarter. They also have varying depths. They are cheap enough that you could buy two and switch them out while you clean one.

Totally safe too, since its just fired clay, no glazes no nothing. Plus they are not as slick as some surfaces.

 

[tortoisenerd]

I haven't seen any dishes so far my little guy would be able to get in and out of as he's only 2 inches...I'd need to build a ramp up to it somehow. What do you put around the dish for easy accessibility?

I know he can get in and out of this one (attached) as I actually saw him do it without me even helping. It has the ramp in and out. Right now he has aspen shavings and I'm not sure how easy it would be to sink the dish into the shavings without making a mess.

Any other commercially-available dishes out there? I don't like the fake rock looking ones. I don't mind spending some money if it's a quality product. I'd like the piece of mind that it's easy enough for him that he'll use it. Haven't ever seen him drink, but I soak him, and he sure pees a lot!

P.S. Meg-I agree with the trash it. I just love the design of it! It's a piece of junk and the pain worries me. I hate that they sell stuff for kids and animals that is unsafe.

 

[Meg90]

I have my Greek on aspen, and yes, he does track a TINY bit into the water sometimes. But mostly, since they are dry going in, and they don't soak too many times in a day, the aspen doesn't stick.

I would say just get a terracotta one and sink in it. He'll be able to get in. As for getting out, do you have a hot glue gun?

In my hatchling setup thread, it shows what size dish I bought, and how I hot glued some stones in the bottom by the edge to create a ramp out of the dish. Its not as smooth as the commercial ones, but I think that's a good thing. Its good for babies to work their little legs. Very natural. Just think how he would have had it in the wild.

Take a look at the pics, let me know if they help. Meanwhile I will brain storm and see if I can remember what other types of dishes I have used for my reps in the past.

(ps--that is the setup I am using for my hatchling in april, so it is formulated with a baby in mind, not an adult )

 

[tortoisenerd]

Sounds good! Worth a shot. I bet I'd be able to tell if he's using it if it has substrate tracked in. I'm still not sure if he drinks water on his own besides our soakings (which he is ambivalent to as he just sits there and does nothing).

Any suggestions to get him to dig in it and bury himself in the aspen? He hasn't really wanted to try that yet. I know he loves digging as he did it with the coconut fiber, but hasn't tried to dig much with the new stuff (I did buy stuff that is sorta chunky, not the shredded, which I think was a mistake).

I did finally figure out I need to cut the bottom out of his cardboard "houses" so he can be in the substrate in the house, rather than just in the pile of substrate over the cardboard (that's on the list to do tomorrow once he's awake). Maybe that'll cut down on his night time scratching before he settles down. I still want to figure out something to easily put the wet sponge on the top because the box gets soggy when I tape and untape it about every other day. I wanted to get him a plastic igloo but they were all either barely big enough or way too big.

I don't have a hot glue gun but I sure wouldn't mind buying one. I love crafts.

Any ideas to get him to pee somewhere besides around his food? He keeps leaving puddles while eating and I'm not always there to clean it up and replace icky food. He's never gone that I could see while soaking about every other day. He's also peed twice on my fiance. hehe

 

[Meg90]

Is his entire enclosure aspen? You might want to try that just for a day and see what he thinks. It is not a harmful substance, and it provides very good traction. Plus, if any bits do by chance get ingested, it wont cause an impaction.

Nigel loves his aspen. You might try putting some under his basking light...make it deep enough all throughout his cage that he can bury himself without hitting plastic. Nigel always burrows into his at night, instead of going into his log hides. It helps too, if he feels the need to dig at all. I hear russians are big fans of burying.

I don't know about peeing in his food....Nigel only does that if we leave his plate in there after he's finished. Once I caught him with his front legs on a rock (putting him in a standing position) peeing on his plate like it was a urinal!
He's a silly boy! So maybe that's his signal that Trevor's done eating?

I got a "mini" hot glue gun (the high heat one--it bonds more quickly, and with less glue for a stronger hold) and a pack of 18 mini glue sticks. That would work to affix a sponge to his hide. Have you tried out the edible logs they make for hamsters? They are actually quite large enough, and last a long time. There is a pic of one in my other thread...I'll grab the packaging later and let you know which brand. That might solve your humid hide problems.

anything else i can help with? I love his pics by the way--what a cutie!

 

[tortoisenerd]

I have a few inches of aspen in most of the enclosure--I just left it off the end where his food and water are for now. He hasn't tried to dig into it at all that I can tell. It's definitely under his light. I also have some hay on top of it as he's used to that and I've seen him under the hay under the light (he doesn't like to spend too long at one time out in the "open").

He's peed before, during, and after eating. We feed him on a piece of slate in his enclosure as we heard it's good for his nails and beak. He's also pooped on in a couple times but he tends to do that after eating. I clean it up everyday in the sink. Does Nigel eat all his food at one time? Trevor likes to see that it's there, go bask, eat a bit, bask, come back to it, etc. He always leaves some so I assume he's not overeating, but at the same time, if I was to just set his food out and take it away after 20 minutes none of it would be eaten.

I tried using a plastic (semi-clear) tupperware as a hid for him. I thought that would be better to keep some humidity in, but he never went in it so after a couple days I took it out and put in a second box. He know usually picks the humid box. Do you think I should try just the plastic box as it won't be soggy? Is the clear box confusing for him? I do like the idea of gluing it on as that is more surface area exposed verses the duck tape. The edible hide I saw in the pet store (we have limited selection here) wouldn't be big enough for him--I could see that they would come in other sizes though. He loves the cardboard box though! He's totally ignored the log and it's in the end of his enclosure he's not ever gone it until he decides to try it out. He seems to have spacial issues a little--won't be able to tell if he can fit through a space or not, and doesn't know to move his limbs in the correct way to do what he's trying to do (still a little wobbly!).

Thanks for all the help! It's been a lot of stuff back and forth to find the best materials for his home. Thankfully some stuff was returnable and some is cheap.

 

[Meg90]

Do you have any full pictures of his enclosure up? You might want to add some more "stuff" for him in his enclosure, because though they do need alot of room to grow, visual barriers are a must. that way, he can be in the open, but with plants and stuff around him, he would probably feel more secure. Rocks would be a good addition....if you can find any bigger ones that he wont be able to climb on, but that he can walk around and hide by.

Nigel is an adult, but yes, he does eat all his food at once. I know babies take breaks though...Nigel is a piggy. He sits down for breakfast and doesn't stop till the plate is done.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Hi again! Trevor actually has a lot in his enclosure. I'll have to take new pictures as it's been a work in progress, but here's a rundown:

-slate tile (it's broken in half so it's not too big) and water dish on the far end
-two cardboard box hides on each side of the light, one is a humid hide so he can choose (it's a long narrow enclosure)
-hay piles on each side of the lights against the long edges as he likes to hide and be warm
-wheatgrass plant in a pot that he'll never be able to reach but hopefully it helps the humidity and I feed him a bit of it
-log (never had interest in it)
-rocks (which I haven't seen him on but I put him on them and he can get around fine)

So, there is enough stuff that he can't see across! I haven't ever seen him on the "cool" side with the log and plant and rocks. That's ok with me because it'll give him more space as he grows up (we were told to block off some of it anyways as the enclosure is about 7 square feet and a little big for him right now).

Today I cut the bottoms off his boxes to encourage him to dig. Also got around to putting aspen down for the entire enclosure, a couple inches deep. Used almost a whole bag so hopefully I can get a good deal on the stuff online when I need it next. Thankfully he hasn't even messed on it since he tends to go while we're playing with him outside his enclosure, or on his slate tile.

I think I got a temporary water dish to work ok. It's a little saucer used for dip or soy sauce or whatever--not deep at all, and about twice his size so not too huge. I put it on top of the aspen sunk in a little so maybe he'll use it. Soaked him today and I think I saw him drink.

 

[tortoisenerd]

Got some pictures! He's sleeping under a hay pile. It's the first time he's faced his head out so I could see his little eyes closed. He keeps drifting in and out--so cute.

The entire enclosure; the plant is fake

Starting at the right side: water dish, leftover breakfast on the stone (he hasn't touched the Mazuri yet)

One of his hide boxes and the hay piles under the basking light

Humid hide box

Left side: wheatgrass plant (it's a glass pot so I covered it in paper), log, rocks

There is enough space for him to fit between everything even though it might not look like it from that last photo. Temperatures are high 90s around the light, going out into the 80s. High 70s in the hides, and low 70s at the perimeter of the enclosure. I'm getting a ceramic heat emitter once the UPS guy decides our driveway is clear enough as we got a ton of snow and they haven't delivered for awhile. That will be placed to one side to boost temps up a little more since he seems much more active when we can make it warmer for him, and then we can turn the house heat down a little as it's above 70 all the time for him now.

I want to put the plant down at his level but he already nibbled at it once (didn't get any). When he's active enough so I can see if he'll eat it, I can move it down.

How's it look? I'm so happy he finally dug into the aspen. He looks nice and toasty right now taking a nap.

 

[Meg90]

It looks great! Nice tort table---I bet he is really enjoying all that aspen! they love to dig. I'm sad because since I've been working so much the last two days, all I have seen of Nigel is the top of his shell, the only part of him not covered in aspen. Its what I see in the morning when I put his plate down, and what I see at night when I get home.

they sure do love to dig...I'm glad he's doing so well!

 

[tortoisenerd]

Thanks! We were quite proud to be able to design (me) and build (my fiance) it with very minimal tools. They pre-cut the wood for us at Home Depot. It even has brackets in it for support, as we originally designed it for 100+ lb of sand and bedding and such because I was doing the eco earth & sand combo. I dropped the thing getting it up the stairs, and no cracks, so it's awesomely sturdy. I'm already brainstorming a second story balcony or something later on.

I feel better about his well-being now. For awhile, I kept having nightmares about him dying. Eeek. He's all dug under for the night so I'm happy. I'll feel even better once his CHE arrives as I know it's not quite warm enough for him. I like not hearing him scratching at the cardboard of the box anymore because that was sad.

What brand aspen do you use? A place near me carries a 6 cubic foot bag for $20 of the T-Rex shredded stuff. That's way better than I can find it any other place. My second choice is "Northeastern Pure Shredded Aspen Bedding", online, where the shipping is more than the product cost. I ended up using almost the entire $5 bag from Petco, and guess we'll need to replace it all every few weeks, so I want to find a better deal. I have storage space since I got that awesome cabinet for all his stuff under the table. He is keeping it really clean because today he didn't pee that I noticed, and pooped while my fiance was playing with him. hehe Wonder how long it'll be before I have to change it out?

Hope you get some time off to tortoise-watch soon. Any more planning for your new hatchling?

I must have spend an hour standing by his enclosure today watching him explore, bask, and eat breakfast. When I first got him I had to work while he was awake (I have a break for the holidays).

 

[Meg90]

I get the walmart brand aspen. It covers quite a bit for being a smallish bag. its only like 3.24 for the thing so I guess...

Its killing me that its not April yet. I will be asking Danny nicely for some more pics soon...I want to add some more plant cover to her enclosure. (I will for sure post pics if I do)

Right now I am doing my research on the Jackson ratio graph and so far my bday list (jan 18) consists of all tort products.

I am such an aesthetics nut...I like everything to look "natural" even with my snakes and whatnot. I want to add some plastic floating plants for my frogs too...so now that I have discovered Michaels plant dept, I am pretty busy!

I'm glad Trevor is doing so well. where did you get your slate from?

 

[tortoisenerd]

I got it from Home Depot ($1.79/tile). I have more pieces if needed (I originally had a piece for his basking area but he didn't use it). I broke them on a curb, and sanded down the edges so it wouldn't be jagged. We had a huge bill at Home Depot with the wood, building supplies, sealant, plastic sheeting, etc.

I'll probably go for that big bag of aspen so I don't have to run out and get it. We're about 20-25 miles from Walmart unfortunately. I'm still working on Trevor's enclosure. Maybe I'll get a shorter pot for the wheatgrass, or get a cork tunnel or something.

Any suggestions on where to place the CHE? I was thinking of moving the Mega Ray bulb stand a little off to the side of middle, and putting it on the other side (kinda at 1/3 and 2/3 of the enclosure). I have a temperature gun now so it should be pretty easy between that and the thermostat I ordered to get the gradient right. He spends most of his time in the middle so that's good that the rest of the space will be "new" to him as he grows up.

Trevor is right on the Jackson Ratio Graph. Doesn't seem like there is too much to that. I plan to graph his length and weight once I get enough data--I'm an Excel nut. So fun to research and plan though. hehe

What are you studying in college by the way? I just finished up last Spring.

 

[Meg90]

I dunno about the CHE...I don't need one for Nigel, my apt doesn't drop below 70, and Anouk will get here just as it starts warming up...

I want to go for Cullinary Arts, but right now am just getting the basics out of the way.

I was going to order a Mega Ray Bulb tonight but the one I want is back ordered, and I don't know how long it will take...how long did yours take to ship? did you get it from reptileuv.com?

 

[tortoisenerd]

I think they don't update their website often enough--I think they actually have them in stock. They messed up my order and sent me the wrong wattage, and they sent the replacement when their website said back ordered. Will it let you actually place the order? Retileuv.com has the same pricing and shipping of everywhere else I checked. Don't remember how long it took but I'd say average.

Long story short but I ordered the 160 but received the 100. Thought I'd still want the 160 due to the large enclosure size and I was trying to avoid secondary heating, but when I got it the temperature was still too low at the minimum distance (didn't even hit basking temperature), it was too bright for the humans, and I realized it would cost much more to run because I'd need even more supplemental heat. Put the 100 back in and they haven't gotten back to me customer service wise. Great product though. You'll probably want the 100 self-ballasted. I wish I could find somewhere to pick them up locally because the $10 shipping sucks. I did find out that my vet has a UV meter so I can check my old bulb once I buy a new one in a year and see if I can still get a couple months out of it.

 

[Meg90]

I plan on buying two bulbs at once...so its ten dollar shipping for two. But I don't have paypal.....how did you order?

 

[tortoisenerd]

I used Paypal so I could use my American Express card, lol. I think that is their only option. Signing up for PayPal is free, and I think it only requires a bank account. They only charge the person receiving the funds. I use it for Ebay too and it's safe. You can buy something through PayPal and never pay a fee, but if you sell something on Ebay and use PayPal you have the pay the Ebay and PayPal fees.

http://store.everythingreptileinc.com/mega-ray-sb100w.html is another supplier for the same price and shipping cost. I just checked and they say to contact them as it's not available (if you try to add it to your cart).

I didn't find the bulbs available anywhere else.

 

[Meg90]

Thanks...I will setup an account then...I'm going to get it off ReptileUV. It let me add the two bulbs to my cart so I assume they have them in stock. I will probably do that tonight then.

What time of the day is Trevor most active? For how long?