Toady's topic will be Tortoise Care
Note that I will only be covering the basics in this post- I will go into greater depth in later posts for each of these categories.
- Enclosure
- Humidity
- Substrate
- Lighting/Heating
- Soaking
- Food bowls/water bowls
- Hides
- Plants
- Food
Enclosure
Before even purchasing a tortoise, you should make sure you have an enclosure for your tortoise. If purchasing a baby tortoise, I would suggest keeping the tortoise indoors until it grows big enough to be put outside. I would not suggest placing tortoises outdoors unless it is big enough to fend off any predators or unless your backyard is secure.
Some common indoor enclosures:
- ZooMed tortoise house: this is a rather popular item, and a quick search will lead to lots of results. Ranges around $100 and up. Good for your baby tortoise, but not a permanent home once it gets bigger. It is a great starter enclosure, but some of the cons that I faced was that some of the parts were useless.. like that divider that creates a dark space for the tortoise to sleep. My tortoise did not use it at all. It also has a "gated door" to close up the enclosure on the top, which was a bit of a hassle to me because I had to keep opening and closing it every time I needed to get something from the enclosure. It also made me feel less interactive with my tortoise. We removed the gated door and it works just fine.
- Build your own: requires you to have some tools and knowledge on how to build a tortoise home. Takes a lot of time, effort, and money but you will have a tortoise home that you want. Or, you can also do a quick google search to find people who make these.
- Storage bins: Cheap alternative for those who cannot afford the above options. The Christmas tree storage bins are some that I've seen recommended for tortoises because of its length. You can get them for ~$24 each during the holiday season. Otherwise, you can also find other storage bins that would be big enough to house your tortoise, but I wouldn't recommend keeping your tortoise in a storage bin- I haven't found many storage bins with the proper size needed for a tortoise, so I don't think it is a proper housing option
- Vivarium/Tank: Mostly ONLY recommended for hatchlings/babies since they require more humidity. Although they are a great way to see your tortoise better, do not house your juvenile/adult tortoises in these... Not only are they fragile and weigh a ton, they are not the proper set up for your tortoise because they are way too small. It traps way too much heat, and does not provide enough air for your tortoise.
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| Emerald's enclosure |
Substrate
Most common substrates include coco husk, coco fiber/coir, soil (must be free of fertilizer).
Our favorite is coco husk because they are chunky and less messy. Coco fiber/coco coir is really similar to soil, and it is way too messy. It went into the food bowls, water dish, etc.
A reptile convention I went to actually recommended coco fiber/coir because she stated that tortoises love to dig, which sounds pretty true, but again, this is based off of preference. Use the substrate you prefer, as long as it is safe for the tortoise.
Do not use sand. Do not use rocks smaller than the tortoise.
Lighting/Heating
Lighting is crucial to your tortoise's health if you are placing your tortoise indoor. Some people say that the location they place their tortoise has sunlight reaching in, and that it is okay. I guess so, but what about days when there isn't any sunlight?
Tortoises require the light to get UVA, UVB, and warmth. It also helps them digest food.
Many people say that the lights need to be on for 12 hours. Do not leave it on all day and night. Tortoises need to sleep too..
We also put temperature into consideration. Assuming that it is summer time and it is 90 degrees outside, we wouldn't turn on the light for 12 hours and maybe cut it down to 8-10 hours instead. Buy an automatic timer. It will make your life so much easier.
Some people buy 2 light bulbs, one for heat and the other for UVA/UVB. We recommend getting the mercury ballast bulbs. It is an all in one. It may cost more but it'll make set up easier (i.e. won't need two light domes). Some common mercury ballast bulb brands are: Exo Terra, ZooMed, MegaRay, T-rex.
T-rex bulbs are good but hard to find, and we prefer the MegaRay over Exo Terra. A 100W bulb should be plenty.
Night-time heating is necessary if your night-time temps are too low for the tortoise to endure. Each tortoise has a different endurance range. Do some research and decide whether or not a heat is needed. We use the ceramic heat emitter.
Do not buy heat bulbs that emit light (i.e. red, blue). Do not buy coil bulbs. Do not be cheap and skimp out on lighting.
Humidity & Soaking
I'm going to pair these two categories together since I believe they are interrelated.
For hatchlings, always make sure your enclosure is humid enough. You can do this by providing your tortoise with a humid hide. Purchase some moss and put it all over the enclosure- it'll help keep the humidity going. This is why a vivarium is better suited for hatchlings.
Even so, I do not believe bigger tortoises do not require humidity- this also depends on the species.
A humid enclosure may not be enough, so make sure you soak hatchlings daily in warm water for 10-15 minuntes. From what we read from others, it is okay to soak older tortoises 2-3 times weekly.
Some also put a water dish in the enclosure. If you do this make sure it is changed DAILY. A tortoise will pee/defecate in it, and if you don't change it daily, the tortoise may drink from it and get sick. We only put a water dish into enclosures for tortoises who require more humidity, and opt to just soak all our tortoises daily.
Humidity is as crucial as lighting. Make sure you soak your tortoises.
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Chalk and Caramel Soaking
Food Bowl/Water Bowl |
As mentioned above, if you opt to include a water bowl in your tortoise enclosure, be sure to clean it daily. Make sure the water bowl you choose is easily accessible to your tortoise and will not be too deep. If your tortoise goes into a water bowl that is too deep and accidentally flips over, it may drown.
Food bowls are the same- make sure your tortoise can access it easily. Our tortoises like to sit on the vegetables as they eat. A tile slab from the hardware store works great.
These are fairly inexpensive items, and you do not have to purchase the ones specially made for reptiles.
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| Picture of baby Ivory eating in his food bowl |
Hides and Plants
Not only do these make your enclosure look better, it provides a good place for your tortoise to rest and shelter away from the heat.
Hubba huts work great. Plants help retain moisture and also work as a great hiding spot. If using plants, be sure to make sure they are safe for the tortoise. Our tortoises occasionally like to snack on the plants. If buying the plants from the store, you cannot put it into the enclosure immediately. The soil used for the plants may not be safe for your tortoise. I usually dust off all the dirt and transfer to organic soil for a couple of months before adding it into the enclosure to be safe.
Food
This is a topic that I love to talk about. Food. I will go into greater depth in a later post. Many have recommended weeds- you can purchase packets of seeds online and grow them yourself. Recommended store bought veggies include packaged spring mix, lettuce, etc.
You can also feed them occasional treats such as fruits. I will be creating a post with a listing of foods that our tortoise species like and dislike.
That is about it. Tortoise care is NOT cheap and may eventually cost more than the tortoise. If you cannot provide the essentials for your tortoise, then you should reconsider getting another pet instead.
