Archive for the ‘Tortoise Vivarium’ Category
Customizing a Tortoise Vivarium
Everyone wants their pet tortoise to live in a vivarium that simulates its natural habitat so that it feels right at home. Before a pet owner can make any pet reptile feel comfortable in their living space, one must pay attention to the many factors surrounding having a pet turtle.
First lets start with the question of “What is a vivarium?” A vivarium is a tank or enclosure that has both a land and water portion inside. Simple, right?
Depending on the species of reptile, or more specifically the species of tortoise, you will have to research whether your desired tortoise’s natural habitat is in a high humidity (water vapor) or low humidity (very little-to-no water vapor). If you found that your species of tortoise lives in a high humidity environment, you should include water vapor in your reptile vivarium by means of installing a humidity system. A humidity system can be very inexpensive to buy and can be found in the Reptile Vivarium Shop.
After you know what environment your tortoise naturally lives in, it’s important to to realize that if your tortoise requires a high humidity environment then the size vivarium itself will probably take up a relatively large space in your home. Where you place the vivarium in your home is just as important as buying the right size and type of vivarium for your tortoise. Place the reptile enclosure in a place in your home that gives your tortoise enough privacy. The alternative to this is to cover a wall or two with a background of its natural habitat. This can provide both privacy and comfort for your tortoise since it will feel as though it is actually in its natural habitat! When you are customizing the tortoise vivarium to meet its needs and desires, make sure you are modifying the arrangement from your tortoise’s perspective and NOT your own. Your tortoise will love you for that!
Plants, rocks, branches, water pools and other parts of your tortoise’s natural habitat should be included in the tortoise vivarium to make your pet feel at home. Most pet owners don’t put enough of these items in their vivariums because they want to keep the pet where they can always see it. In fact, it is always more important to included enough natural parts of the tortoise’s environment in the vivarium so that it feels a sense of privacy instead of having few to no places to hide from too many eying visitors. Check out our free high-quality backgrounds of a typical wetland tortoise’s habitat to place on the sides of your vivarium.
Unfortunately, many tortoise’s end up ramming their heads into the side of the glass vivarium because they want to get out and don’t comprehend nearly invisible glass. This can be solved by erecting structures on all the walls of the tortoise vivarium. These natural structures can be vines hanging in front of most of the glass walls, or branches/logs blocking the turtles from ramming their heads and causing stress and injury to themselves. Putting up a background may also solve this because the tortoise can comprehend their natural habitat and therefore will not ram it.
Pet tortoises also require a heat lamp in or above their vivarium. There are many brands and types of heat lamps. You can find a heat lamp in the Reptile Vivarium Shop through the link on the top left of this page. Simply search for heat lamps and you’ll find what you need.
Always keep in mind that your pet tortoise’s health is more important than making your vivarium look like a beautiful piece of art.