hi all

OK I'm going to Hamm in march an planning in getting some tort's(Yes i know some will not be happy cos there not UK CB's but hey there there) as well as some more snakes,

I have read up on keeping tortoises for years but never got round to it till now, i have seen many pic's of other peoples setups an got some really good ideas from them,

BUT how do you control the heat lamps you use?
because i have looked at sites who sell starter kits an there are no signs of thermostatted lamps just low wattage bulbs. do you just switch off the lamp on a nite an leave them at normal room temp or use a day/nite stat on a infrared bulb an just reduce the nite time temp???

help please i want to do this right

Jon

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Sorry if this offends anyone. But your basically saying its ok to do this:



Plently of UK breeders

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not offended Sarah as i knew a reply like that would of been put on here, but unless people are going to picket the shows and stop other people from doing that then sorry people like me are going to buy them,

i would just like to point out I'm not going there just to find a cheap tort to save money i cant see the point of paying a pet shop price(some over £130) for a tort they got a hell of a lot cheaper.

plus you never answered my original question

jon

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im keeping out of this one!

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Cheers,
Shaun

My Pets0.0.2 Hermanns Torts (Lucy/Loosey-Goosey and Millie/Millie Poo-Pops)

What I Want - Eventually!0.0.1 Bearded Dragon 0.0.1 Redfoot 0.0.1 Chihuahua

Bit unfair that Sarah those horid pictures are clearly illegal transport of animals. I have been to the airport with my friend to collect a shipment of snakes and the reg now are very strict.

Any way back to the thread, you do not need heat control with torts in an open table as the back ground room temp is fine and they can themo regulate they can not overheat. all you need is an active uv bulb in one half, no stats needed unless you have a reptile shed and they are useful to control background temps.

thanks you thats all i wanted to know,
I've been keeping snakes for over 20 years now an i know what goes on with illegal imported animal.

as for the other stuff i do have it all already including a 3X2 tort table i just was unsure about the whole temp control as i have always used stats with the snakes.

jon

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okay sorry I forgot you do not need night time heat if they are kept in a house with no drafts, they will simply burrow in the deep substrate

Not unfair at all, these fair tortoises are mostly wild caught and are so stressed and full of worms. If you dont buy them then dealers will stop buying them stopping the horrible wild caught trade.

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dunno if i misread..

but depending on species you need a basking lamp, you adjust the height of the bulb to the table to get the correct temp. which for med tortoises is 30-32 degrees celcius for a basking spot. Make sure it's at a far end with the uvb bulb in the same area...combined heat + Uvb are fantastic. tho if you're going to use a strip you need to make sure its 10.0uvb.

Make sure you can provide a thermal gradient so the tortoise can choose their own teperature, and nice deep substrate.

you mention getting torts but how many and what species? A 3 x 2 tortoise table won't last very long at any extent(just letting you know).


n Sarah those pics make me physically sick everytime I see them poor torts

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Well thats your opinum and the opinum of many on this forum and you have every right to express it. But if somebody wants to buy torts from the european shows they should have the right to do so freely as they are all legal and above board.

Lets leave it at that.