Tortoise

[Betta5]

So heat lamp is defo sorted i can get one of those and clip it to the side. Now for UV would i need a reflector like a dome?

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/T-Rex-Silver-dome-re...VQQcmdZViewItem

do you just add the bulb to this (the arcadia one UV)?

Just get a uv strip and the plug

Do you hhave a link to some?

THanks

 

[tropicalgirl2007]

one of these..

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/starter-for-18-uv-li...1QQcmdZViewItem

and one of these..

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/REPTILE-LIGHT-REPTI-...VQQcmdZViewItem

that is your uv lighting sorted.

 

[Betta5]

Thanks for the links
my neighbour just gave me £100 for my birthday (i was well shocked) so i can buy all the bits with that then get my tortoise.

 

[tropicalgirl2007]

cool, good luck

 

[Betta5]

cool, good luck

Thanks for all of your help i really wouldnt be able to do it and prolly would have brought all the wrong things

Thanks again

 

[Betta5]

last quezzies how far away from the tortoise do i put the heat and UV lamps? and what other than soil and sand can i use as i substrate? I was going to use a towel or hay for the sleeping bedding.

Thanks

 

[tropicalgirl2007]

last quezzies how far away from the tortoise do i put the heat and UV lamps? and what other than soil and sand can i use as i substrate? I was going to use a towel or hay for the sleeping bedding.

Thanks

The lighting needs to be about 6ins height away from tort. i use soil, hemp and retile bark for my tort table. dont use hay for bedding it has mites in it that will irritate the tort., the torts will bury themselves in the soil are hemp.

 

[Maximus]

An old but effective tip is that if you find him standing under the light all the time, then lower it a bit.

If he's always away from the light, then raise it a little



Maximus

 

[nathan01]

Im lookin at a tortise and dont realy know much about them so here goes

1.About how much does it cost for a small tortoise
2.How much does it cost approx a week to keep them
3.Are they easy to keep
4.Are they clean e.g clean anough to be kept in a kitchen

Any advice is appreciated
Thanks

 

[Betta5]

Im lookin at a tortise and dont realy know much about them so here goes

1.About how much does it cost for a small tortoise
2.How much does it cost approx a week to keep them
3.Are they easy to keep
4.Are they clean e.g clean anough to be kept in a kitchen

Any advice is appreciated
Thanks

a small herman, russian or leopard (some popualr ones) are around £100
With the correct care they are easy to keep (i think i dont have one so im not certain)
I wouldn't keep one in the kitchen (i have herd they smell abit) maybe a spare room or a living room (if the weather is sunny or warm then a nice grassy area in the garden for them to 'run' about on would be good. make sure they cant escape or a cat/dog/big bird cant get them.

 

[DiscusAngel]

Hi, i keep 9 tortoises ranging from a breeding trio of spurs to babys and some hermans.

i have babys (1+) that live outside consistantly apart from winter. what tort are you getting and how big. if its older than 4 its shouldnt be kept inside. if its younger than 1 it should be brung in every night and outside everyday.

if you leave your tort in the table all day it will soon die and it cant get the full UV, no matter what the light does. its shell will soften and die. buy a triangular rabbit run and get a small house and put it in the garden all day in that. feed it nothing but weeds no lettuce as this isnt that good for them.

 

[Betta5]

Hi, i keep 9 tortoises ranging from a breeding trio of spurs to babys and some hermans.

i have babys (1+) that live outside consistantly apart from winter. what tort are you getting and how big. if its older than 4 its shouldnt be kept inside. if its younger than 1 it should be brung in every night and outside everyday.

if you leave your tort in the table all day it will soon die and it cant get the full UV, no matter what the light does. its shell will soften and die. buy a triangular rabbit run and get a small house and put it in the garden all day in that. feed it nothing but weeds no lettuce as this isnt that good for them.

Its not proven that keeping them on a tort table will kill them. A tort table would be fine (unless its a massive adult leopard) my aunts husband has 2 that live around his house and go to sleep on a tort table and he has had them for 40+ years. I cant say much as i dont own any myself its just that they can live fine on a tort table.

 

[DiscusAngel]

Hi, i keep 9 tortoises ranging from a breeding trio of spurs to babys and some hermans.

i have babys (1+) that live outside consistantly apart from winter. what tort are you getting and how big. if its older than 4 its shouldnt be kept inside. if its younger than 1 it should be brung in every night and outside everyday.

if you leave your tort in the table all day it will soon die and it cant get the full UV, no matter what the light does. its shell will soften and die. buy a triangular rabbit run and get a small house and put it in the garden all day in that. feed it nothing but weeds no lettuce as this isnt that good for them.

Its not proven that keeping them on a tort table will kill them. A tort table would be fine (unless its a massive adult leopard) my aunts husband has 2 that live around his house and go to sleep on a tort table and he has had them for 40+ years. I cant say much as i dont own any myself its just that they can live fine on a tort table.

no the thing is they dont. they go bed under the lamp and get heat burn. its not what they would do in the wild. a tortoise needs to be outside. i have all my adult torts rooming my garden with my babys in runs. they have a small pen inside for them at night and in the winter. the only time my large torts come inside is when hibernating. i also have one tortoise that is past 100 years old. he was passed down by the family. and i would never let him inside the house as its cruel ill go take some pics of my setups. and torts

 

[DiscusAngel]

Heres some pics, 1st, My inside tort house for babys at night and in the winter the lamp on top is a simple heat lamp UV lamps = waste of money the sun does 50x's better job. 2nd pic, my outside house for my large torts, 3rd pic, my run for my babys, there on the concrete to wear down there nails a little, 4th pic, outside house for the babies.

 

[Betta5]

Yeah but they are not in the wild, you could say that about any animal. No animal should really be kept in doors if you think like that. I must admit that when the weather is good then the tort should be outside and when ever possible the tort should be let out. But i think a tort would live fine on a tort table. We will have to agree to disagree but i can see what you mean. If it didnt always rain here then i would leave mine (when i get it) outdorrs, but because it does and they are not edapted to live in our climate outdoors isant an option IMO. Also from the constant being wet by the rain cant they get shell rot? Also isant humidity bad for them, and in a house outside when it is raining im sure there will be quite a bit of humidity.

Im not saying that you are mistreating your torts, your tort houses look really good. When i get my tort i will have to invest in a little run.