Re: suclata housing info HELP!! ASAP!!

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Posted by Terry on April 04, 2001 at 20:03:37:

In Reply to: suclata housing info HELP!! ASAP!! posted by chelo sicat on April 04, 2001 at 18:00:40:

A fish tank is probably the worst habitat for a tortoise. It has poor air circulation, it's tall and has little floor space.

Also tortoises require a heat gradient, a warmer and cooler side. This is a MUST, they can't be kept at one constant temperature.
They must be able to move between the warmer and cooler areas, so they can regulate their body temperature.

You need to get it around 94 under the basking light. But there MUST also be a cooler side of around 75 degrees.

It's hard to create the correct heat gradient in a fish tank, which heats up very quickly due to the poor ventilation.

75 degrees overall at night for a small sulcata. They require a cooling down period overnight. But 70 - 75 is as low as I'd go for a small sulcata.

Overhead heat ( a basking lamp) is 100% better than underbelly heat.
DON'T use a heat pad and a heat lamp at the same time, you could bake the tortoise.

IF you ever use a heat pad only have it under one third of the enclosure, not under the whole thing.

You can use the heat pad at night ( without additional heat sources). Put a towel on the table, place the heat pad on the towel. Cover the pad with another towel, then place the tank on top.

Only have the heat pad under one third of the tank.So the tortoise can move off the heat if it wants.
NEVER set it higher than the LOW setting.Don't put the heat pad in the tank.

I gave you a couple of web sites in my last post, if you had visited them and explored them you would have found some good examples of indoor housing. Plus loads of other information.

So here are those web sites again, plus a few more. Hope this helps.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/csulcata.html

http://sulcatastation.homestead.com/index.html

http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm

http://turtlestuff.com/enclosures.html#Russians

Please take the time to explore these web sites. I would also check out any links you might come across, they will probably take you to more tortoise related sites.

I really recommend against a tank and suggest either building an enclosure or using a large Rubbermaid or even the large plastic cement mixing tubs from Home Depot, or something similar.
Hope this helps.
Terry.

Follow Ups:

Re: suclata housing info HELP!! ASAP!!/ Nikki can you post some photos... Terry 04/04/01 (1)
- I added them to Teddy's page... Niki 04/04/01 (0)

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: A fish tank is probably the worst habitat for a tortoise. It has poor air circulation, it's tall and has little floor space. : Also tortoises require a heat gradient, a warmer and cooler side. This is a MUST, they can't be kept at one constant temperature. : They must be able to move between the warmer and cooler areas, so they can regulate their body temperature. : You need to get it around 94 under the basking light. But there MUST also be a cooler side of around 75 degrees. : It's hard to create the correct heat gradient in a fish tank, which heats up very quickly due to the poor ventilation. : 75 degrees overall at night for a small sulcata. They require a cooling down period overnight. But 70 - 75 is as low as I'd go for a small sulcata. : Overhead heat ( a basking lamp) is 100% better than underbelly heat. : DON'T use a heat pad and a heat lamp at the same time, you could bake the tortoise. : IF you ever use a heat pad only have it under one third of the enclosure, not under the whole thing. : You can use the heat pad at night ( without additional heat sources). Put a towel on the table, place the heat pad on the towel. Cover the pad with another towel, then place the tank on top. : Only have the heat pad under one third of the tank.So the tortoise can move off the heat if it wants. : NEVER set it higher than the LOW setting.Don't put the heat pad in the tank. : I gave you a couple of web sites in my last post, if you had visited them and explored them you would have found some good examples of indoor housing. Plus loads of other information. : So here are those web sites again, plus a few more. Hope this helps. : http://www.tortoisetrust.org/care/csulcata.html : http://sulcatastation.homestead.com/index.html : http://www.turtlecafe.net/habitats.htm : http://turtlestuff.com/enclosures.html#Russians : Please take the time to explore these web sites. I would also check out any links you might come across, they will probably take you to more tortoise related sites. : I really recommend against a tank and suggest either building an enclosure or using a large Rubbermaid or even the large plastic cement mixing tubs from Home Depot, or something similar. : Hope this helps. : Terry.

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