# Baby greek tortoise



## Covey1701

Hello guys. I am here just to ask if i am doing things right with my 3 month old baby greek tortoise named Bob. Ambient temps are usually 29-32 degrees celsius and basking temp is 35 degrees celcius. Humidity is 60-75%. Basking light is a foot away from shell so it won't burn and enclosure is 24x12x6 inches for now. I feed him a mix of opuntia pads, hibiscus, red leaf lettuce, mustard leaves, and dust his food with pounded calcium w/ d3 pills (i ground it so its finely made into dust). I also have fake plants for him, mounds of dirt to climb, tissue paper rolls, etc. i bathe him and feed him every day as well and sometimes take him out for resl sunlight. Am i missing anything? Any critiscim is fine so i can improve and thanks for all advice!


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## SueBoyle

Think of the wild, nobody bathes them there. So long as fresh water is available he will do his own thing. Artificial plants can kill if nibbled. Permanent outdoor enclosures are better than taking them in and out which can be confusing and cause them to hide away.


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## purplepixie

Covey1701 said:


> Hello guys. I am here just to ask if i am doing things right with my 3 month old baby greek tortoise named Bob. Ambient temps are usually 29-32 degrees celsius and basking temp is 35 degrees celcius. Humidity is 60-75%. Basking light is a foot away from shell so it won't burn and enclosure is 24x12x6 inches for now. I feed him a mix of opuntia pads, hibiscus, red leaf lettuce, mustard leaves, and dust his food with pounded calcium w/ d3 pills (i ground it so its finely made into dust). I also have fake plants for him, mounds of dirt to climb, tissue paper rolls, etc. i bathe him and feed him every day as well and sometimes take him out for resl sunlight. Am i missing anything? Any critiscim is fine so i can improve and thanks for all advice!


Instead of having to ground pills for calcium, you could buy limestone flour which is used for horses and calcium. Probably cheaper and easier to use:0) I found if you leave a little container of limestone flour in the enclosure they will eat as and when they need to:0) Putting largish stones/pebbles around water (rain water is great) container will help keep it free from dirt longer:0) Having an outside enclosure if far better than taking them out:0)


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## Covey1701

purplepixie said:


> Instead of having to ground pills for calcium, you could buy limestone flour which is used for horses and calcium. Probably cheaper and easier to use:0) I found if you leave a little container of limestone flour in the enclosure they will eat as and when they need to:0) Putting largish stones/pebbles around water (rain water is great) container will help keep it free from dirt longer:0) Having an outside enclosure if far better than taking them out:0)





SueBoyle said:


> Think of the wild, nobody bathes them there. So long as fresh water is available he will do his own thing. Artificial plants can kill if nibbled. Permanent outdoor enclosures are better than taking them in and out which can be confusing and cause them to hide away.


Hey guys. I am going to have an outdoor enclosure for bob this month. It will be 6 by 3 feet and outdoor enclosure on the balcony, which gets 4-5 hours of direct sunlight and sometimes because it gets blocked by a cloud. Will UVB still go to him if the sun's behind a cloud? Or will uvb not reach him?
I will also use chicken wire to protect him from birds (we only have tiny 3 inch large birds), but is chicken wire okay or will it block uvb? Thanks for answers


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## purplepixie

Covey1701 said:


> Hey guys. I am going to have an outdoor enclosure for bob this month. It will be 6 by 3 feet and outdoor enclosure on the balcony, which gets 4-5 hours of direct sunlight and sometimes because it gets blocked by a cloud. Will UVB still go to him if the sun's behind a cloud? Or will uvb not reach him?
> I will also use chicken wire to protect him from birds (we only have tiny 3 inch large birds), but is chicken wire okay or will it block uvb? Thanks for answers



They can get enough UV from just being outside, sun disappearing behind a cloud is fine. Mine are out 24/7 from April depending on the frosts. They are out even on dull days:0) They do far better out than in :0)


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## SueBoyle

Covey1701 said:


> Hey guys. I am going to have an outdoor enclosure for bob this month. It will be 6 by 3 feet and outdoor enclosure on the balcony, which gets 4-5 hours of direct sunlight and sometimes because it gets blocked by a cloud. Will UVB still go to him if the sun's behind a cloud? Or will uvb not reach him?
> I will also use chicken wire to protect him from birds (we only have tiny 3 inch large birds), but is chicken wire okay or will it block uvb? Thanks for answers


In nature where there is a lot more sun than in uk, they spend a lot of time hiding as the heat is too much, so a cloud is very similar to them hiding from the sun. Just be sure that on really cloudy days there is a basking heat back up for him. You always need an electric supply in uk for supplementary heating 😉


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> In nature where there is a lot more sun than in uk, they spend a lot of time hiding as the heat is too much, so a cloud is very similar to them hiding from the sun. Just be sure that on really cloudy days there is a basking heat back up for him. You always need an electric supply in uk for supplementary heating 😉


Even behind the clouds is 34-35 degrees celsius, and direct sunlight is 36-38 celsius. He is still a baby tho, so he doesn't need way to much sunlight right now.


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> In nature where there is a lot more sun than in uk, they spend a lot of time hiding as the heat is too much, so a cloud is very similar to them hiding from the sun. Just be sure that on really cloudy days there is a basking heat back up for him. You always need an electric supply in uk for supplementary heating 😉


Also UVB can go through clouds, even through shade like trees.


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## SueBoyle

Yes it can, but obviously at a lower degree. Uv on a cloudy day is far less, just as it changes with the angle of the sun. There’s no way a specific temperature can be quoted for ‘behind a cloud’. What about different seasons, altitudes etc. At the end of the day a baby tortoise knows when to hide away to conserve hydration, which is why in this country we must offer them every option. 
Uv midday in mid UK on 16th Feb was 0.7 I will take more readings tomorrow as we are forecast sun all day.


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## SueBoyle

SueBoyle said:


> Yes it can, but obviously at a lower degree. Uv on a cloudy day is far less, just as it changes with the angle of the sun. There’s no way a specific temperature can be quoted for ‘behind a cloud’. What about different seasons, altitudes etc. At the end of the day a baby tortoise knows when to hide away to conserve hydration, which is why in this country we must offer them every option.
> Uv midday in mid UK on 16th Feb was 0.7 I will take more readings tomorrow as we are forecast sun all day.


UV reading today midday was 2.4, so a big difference in just a month.


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> UV reading today midday was 2.4, so a big difference in just a month.


In the philippines uv readings are 4.5 even on cloudy day.


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## SueBoyle

Covey1701 said:


> In the philippines uv readings are 4.5 even on cloudy day.


Yes, perfect for them. This is why in UK they need supplementary help. My own tortoises will be moving to a more natural climate in a couple of years.


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## Covey1701

SueBoyle said:


> Yes, perfect for them. This is why in UK they need supplementary help. My own tortoises will be moving to a more natural climate in a couple of years.


Yes, uv level is 3 right now (its morning) and will increase a lot at midday


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