New Owner

[bertie]

hi, i have just brought a 1 year old marginated tortoise from a breeder, she still has the tort
while i sort out his new home. i have made a wooden box 30x15x6, is it ok to use paper for the flooring
and i have just brought a D3 compact reptile lamp [extra high output] 7% uvb 23w. It says you can use
it as a basking lamp aswell. i want to make sure i get it right. thanks bertie.

[yam yam]

hello and welcome so glad you doing your homework and brought from uk breeder i am still learning to cant answer all your questions but i can say you need sand/soil mix or hemp or some use a tortoise bark not paper if you go into housing section you will find lots of information regarding setting up your home good luck and hope this helps

hi bertie welcome

table and light sound great

paper would not allow the tort to regulate it temperature so go for soil and sand or hep or a mixture sotortcan bury down if he chooses

have a look around the forum at other peoples enclosures the ask away

[bertie]

THANKS APRILLINDA, YOU SAID SAND OR SOIL CAN IT BE JUST SAND AND WHAT SORT OF SAND
AND HOW DEEP SHOULD THE SAND BE[i have a dept of 6ins], HOW HIGH SHOULD THE LAMP BE FROM ABOVE THE BOX OR CAN I USE A CLIP ON LIGHT ATTACHED TO THE SIDE OF THE BOX

[Henry-flash]

Hi,
The sand must be playsand and the soil should be topsoil with nothing in it (such as perlite) A depth of about 2 inches will suffice fo a young tortoise.

Hi

it has to be playsand ! other sand is dangerous

best to mix it with top soil B&Q

just sand alone will get intorts eyes and aso dehydrate tort also tort might keep eating it

when it is mixed it creates a much better substrate for digging down in

light should be close enough to give correct temp then raise it if to hot lower it if to cold

[bertie]

i know this may sound a bit thick but do i mix the sand and soil together and how often do i clean his/her house out.

hi yes buy a bag of each and mix it in a bucket or bowl say 40 % sand 60% soil

4 cups sand 6 cups soil give it a good stir round then out in table keep going until you have the required depth

if you remove food and poo dayly then you will only need to change whole table every couple of months or so

bertie


no question is silly only the unasked ones

we all started having little knowledge and we all asked and asked

Hi Bertie

Does the lamp look like one of the low energy light bulbs? If it does, I use these and they dont really give out any heat, you need a basking lamp with them. You can do this cheaply - just a 40 or 60w spot bulb from B&Q in a clip on spot light fitting, or bendy desk lamp from Argos - adjust the height of the lamp so that the temp underneath in the warmest spot is around 28 - 30C.

Arlene