Temps ok in Tort table?

[Christy06]

Hey Guys, first time on this and first post

Anyway, i have had my Tort now for 6 months, its a Hermanns, i think its a she and i think she is around 3 (she the size of my middle finger). Becasue im not sure of the sex, i stillo have no name, just been calling her/him the Tort. Anyway, she has lived with me in her Table indoors since i got her, i know you guys frown upon this, but i live in Belfast and the tempertures are just to low at any time of year, although when it is sunny (Extremely Rare) i have let her out and she ate clover etc. I forgot to mention, tht although i have trees out my back, 13 in fact, and a wall, we seem to get alot of wind and not as much sunshine as say the front garden or others peoples, tht is why i have no outdoor enclosure, plus mum would hit the roof if i had heat lamps plugged outside (electricity bills etc). I also have a cat, and im convinced tht if i leave her out side, aside from freazing to death, the magpies or crows will thing she dinner. Recently (Yesterday) i cleaned out her Table for the Winter, i originally just had Hemp (Reconmended to me by the Reptile shop owner, very reputable) but i want to grow my on weed (hehe, the cops heard me say tht they bust through my door lol) for her, so bought seed trays, soil, pebbles, timothy hay, waiting for seeds to arrive via ebay (hopefully 2moro), but i forgot a pond liner, now i have to get one and put the table together again, but i dont mind, thinking of modfying it agian, after seeing some others on this site, im thinking of maybe adding another layer . Anyway my question is about temps, i currently have a 40 watt spotlight (waiting to get paid to get a CHE) for the hotspot, i lowered the lamp closer to the table, the hotspot is reading 35-36 degrees, the middle of the table is reading bout 22 degrees, roughly room temp, and the farthest part from heat source is also reading 22 degrees. My table is 3ftx2ftx6in. Are these temperature ok? Im also waiting to get paid to buy a thermostat (Although god only knows how to connect it to any lighting i have, maybe you guys can explain) as its becoming a bit of a chore to turn the lights on and off when it gets too cold or warm by my reasoning. I know im rambling on abit here, but its my first tort, and i just want whats best for it, and love looking after it and modyfying its home.

Thanks Alot

[Mrs Mental]

to the forum


Do you know what species of tortoise you have? Temps seem a little high in the hot spot, can you raise the bulb a little but to reduce the temps, aim for about 32 degrees & that should be fine, obviously depending on the species. I use 100% top soil as a substrate as I feel its the most natural thing for them to dig about on/live on. You can buy this from any garden centre. If its possible you could raise the sides of the table so that you can add a good few inches of soil.

My three have been in 24/7 for the last week or so as the temps ahve dropped so much so I'd not worry about having your little guy indoors at the moment. Also you wont be able to tell the sex 100% until he/she is approximately 5 years old so maybe think of a name that can do either sex.

Depending on the species its not recommended to feed veg or fruit - have a look at the safe plants list at the top of the page which will give you loads of great ideas for feeding.

Good luck

Edit - also its a great idea to bath the tortoise daily while he/she is young - warmish water for about 15 mins or so - it'll ensure that the tortoise is kept hydrated

[millie_moo]

for a hermanns i would lower the hotspot but only a couple of degrees as mrs M has said about 32 -33. i leave my lights on for 11-12hrs a day if the tortie gets too warm she/he will simply go and sit in the cooler end or bury herself/himself to cool down.
as we are coming into winter have a look at this, some very usefull tips about winter feeding http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/shell...r-feeding.html http://www.tortoisetrust.org/enews/

if you can get some pics up we can have a bash at sexing him/her for you - it may still be too young but there could be some tell tale signs!

[Christy06]

Thanks for the Replys, i have moved the heat lamp up a few inches, monitoring the temp as we speak. I looked at tht list you told me to look at, as i said im waiting for the seeds to arrive, postman not arrived yet, anyway most of the seeds im getting are those plants in the list so thts a . However it also says somewhere there that is should be there main source of food, for me tht a major bad at the min, his/her main diet has consisted of Carrots, Kale, sum s/berries every so often, peas, Soup Celery and when out in the garden clover & hawkbeards. This will be rectifyed once weeds start growing. i cannot post pics of her at the moment, but when i get a chance i surely will.

[skywalker2]

I use a 50/50 mix of play sand and top soil as substrate, the reptile shop i bought mine from had it on wood chippings which i thought was most unnatural. I have a baby marginated tortoise on tort table, similar size to yours and the hot spot temp I have is 30-35 degrees and the cooler end is about 22.

[Christy06]

Originally Posted by skywalker2

I use a 50/50 mix of play sand and top soil as substrate, the reptile shop i bought mine from had it on wood chippings which i thought was most unnatural. I have a baby marginated tortoise on tort table, similar size to yours and the hot spot temp I have is 30-35 degrees and the cooler end is about 22.

So is tht okay then? for the person who asked what type mine was (Think it was Mental) its a Hermanns tortoise and as i said i think its a she and she is around 3 yrs old. i found a website tht estimated the ages by using size of hand, eg baby finger 1 or younger, middle roughly 3, whole hand to be 10+, however this is only an estimate and peoples hand do vary in size