C&C enclosures

[Ninarodders]

Hi, I'm new here. I have a Herman's tortoise and he is house in an open vivarium with a c&c playpen attached (doubling the size of the viv). I learned a few years ago that viva aren't good for ventilation etc so I leave half of it open and then made a play pen out of c&c grids from amazon. He has a heat lamp and uv light (which has recently broken)

So I'm looking at replacing his whole set up to a tortoise table. However I'm uses to letting him out in the house so the wooden ones I don't like as he can't come and go as he pleases.

I'm thinking of using c&c grids (I have loads as recently lost my guinea pigs who were using them). I can make a hinged door with these so I can open for him to come and go when I choose.

But my main question would be heat and light. What should I buy? Think I'd prefer an all in light. But I haven't got a clue on what to start lookkng at.

I've attached a pic of something like what I'm thinking. Except his will be on the floor and no storage underneath.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

[Nina]

Hi Ninarodders and welcome to The Tortoise Table.

First of all, well done for opening up your viv and expanding the area with a C&C grid enclosure. You are absolutely right in thinking that enclosed vivs are a bad environment for tortoises.

I think the enclosure you are thinking of making looks fine, and I would make it as big as space will allow (you can even make in into an 'L'-shape to fit round a corner). I'm not sure I would give him access to roam around the house though, as it's often not warm enough in a house for a tortoise (they need a temperature in the mid-20's just to digest their food), but also they can often eat bits of fluff or other material that is on the floor and that can cause problems.

What I have always done is to make a second level in my tortoise tables so that they get extra exercise waking up to and down from an upper level (have attached a photo of one my set-up just for info.) You can cover a ramp with roofing felt so that it has a bit of traction, and the area below the second level can function as a sleeping area. Mine spend the day walking up and down the ramp, just to check if there is any food on the upper level (I feed them up there).

Regarding lights, there is a section on lighting in our article here (just scroll down) https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... r-housing/ . The all-in-one mercury vapour bulbs are good and of course there is less wiring, but many people now prefer to have one bulb for heat and light and then a fluorescent strip light for UVB. That way your UVB source covers more area in the enclosure, and you can raise and lower the heat/light bulb to increase or decrease the temperature without having your UVB get too close or too far away. It does mean more wires, but there are advantages to having a separate source of UVB. It's really important to be able to raise and lower your heat source, so I wouldn't have your light fixed to something, but instead hanging from an arm of some sort by a chain so that you can raise or lower it easily. I can go into more detail if you're interested.

I hope that helps a little, and please get back with any questions you have. Does he have access to an outside area when the weather is warm enough? I know that sometimes this isn't possible, but it's always desirable if you can provide it.

Nina
[attachment=2]IMG_9954 (Copy).JPG[/attachment][attachment=1]IMG_9411 (Copy).JPG[/attachment] [attachment=0]m_IMG_9496.jpg[/attachment]

[Ninarodders]

Thank you. I've got him his new uvb light but it's a new version and different to what I was expecting. I had the old version like what you have in the picture. Cable each side I could use to hang it at the right height. This new one I have is only connected by one end so now I need to make a holder for it. How did you make those you have? My dad would have done all this for me but he died and I dont have a clue when it comes to DIY. thank you.

[Hermie]

Hi I’m new on here we have just moved our 3 year old Herman onto an open table 1350 x 750 from an enclosed viv we don’t think it is warm enough we have a 60watt bulb and don’t know if we can put a 100 watt bulb to make it warmer. would appreciate any thoughts.

[Nina]

Hi Hermie and welcome to The Tortoise Table.

That is greaat that you've moved your tortoise into a tortoise table -- it will be much, much better for him. A 60W bulb would be fine in hot weather, but a 100W bulb will provide much more heat if the room is cold (and an 80W bulb would be something in between). Another thing you can do to make it warmer is to lower the bulb, so that it is closer to the floor of the table. I find that I am often raising or lowering my bulb to increase or decrease the temperature, so being able to do that is useful.

What type of bulb are you using to provide heat? The only problem with raising and lowering is that if you are using an all-in-one mercury vapour bulb to provide heat, light and UVB, you don't want to move the UVB source too close or too far away from the tortoise. What are you using to provide UVB? If it's a fluorescent UVB tube then there is no problem. If you can send us a photo of your table, we could perhaps suggest a few tweaks.

Cheers,
Nina

[Hermie]

Hi Nina,
thanks for your reply, I am using a fluorescent uvb and a 60watt spot bulb
I forgot to say it is two storey.
I will try a larger bulb
[attachment=0]image.jpg[/attachment]
Thanks

[Nina]

Hi Hermie,

That is a really great looking enclosure! Did you make it yourself? I always have two levels in my enclosures (but they aren't as posh as yours.
I feed mine on the upper level, so they are always running up and down the ramp to see if there are any treats up there for them.

I can see that you have a lamp that is capable of being raised and lowered, which is great. We've got some warmer weather coming (are you in the UK?), so you might not need a 100W bulb (but you probably will need one in cooler weather). You could try an 80W or something like that.
I can't quite tell from the photo, but it looks like your UVB tube is quite high off the floor. Check the manufacturer's instructions, but I think the distance should be between 12" as a minimum, and can go up to 16" or more, but as the tube gets older you can lower it, to get more effective UVB (and they need to be changed every 18 months to 2 years, depending on usage -- if your tortoise is outdoors in the summer, getting uvb from the sun then your light indoors would be off and will last longer.

Measuring the temperature in the table is really important. I use one of this type of thermometer. https://tinyurl.com/me7tpea5 You can site the display unit outside the table if you want, and then hang the probe down into the table directly under the light and at the height of the tortoise's shell. You want to aim for a temperature directly under the lamp of around 30C, and the cool end should be about 20C. If I remember correctly, they need a temperature of around 26C just to properly digest their food, and temperature has a huge effect on energy levels, etc. The advantage of this type of thermometer is that they have a max/min facility, so you can see how warm or how cold it got since you last checked.

Good luck with the new bulb, and let us know how you get on. I do love your enclosure!

Nina