Pennine Vets Logo Pennine Vets 1 Bury Road, Tottington, Bury. Tel (01204) 88 66 55
175 Longsight, Harwood, Bolton. Tel (01204) 60 90 60
Wednesday July 9, 2008

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Touche & Tortoise Husbandry

Touche is one of our two practice tortoises (along with Twiggy) and he lives in a purpose built vivarium in the surgery. Touche is a Greek Spur-Thighed Tortoise (Testudo graeca) and was born in 1969. He came to us in 2004 when his owners could no longer look after him. He had not eaten in several months and required a stomach tube to be permanently placed. This allowed us to syringe food directly into his stomach for 4 months until he started to eat normally. It then took another 4 months of hand feeding before he would eat by himself. He is now eating well and is in very good health. We use his vivarium as an example of how many tortoises, lizards and snakes should be kept.

Vivarium

A vivarium is simply a tank or enclosure for keeping a reptile in. These vary from all glass aquariums for terrapins to the more common wood and glass vivaria suitable for most reptile species. Touche's vivarium is made using a wooden framework, lined with MDF which is then varnished to seal the wood. This is non-toxic, prevents the wood from rotting and allows the viv to be easy cleaned. A pair of sliding glass doors allows easy access.

Heating

Humans, cat & dogs are warm blooded and produce heat ourselves but all reptiles are cold blooded (technically called poikilotherms), meaning they rely on their environment to keep warm. Heating is vitally important to the health of your reptile and is the single most important thing to get right. We use a ceramic heat bulb for Touche, which looks like an ordinary light bulb but only gives out heat and not light. These are very efficient heaters and will need to be protected by a guard for any reptile that can climb. Expect to pay between £40 - 60 for a thermostat and £15 - 25 for a ceramic bulb. Both should last a long time. Simple thermometers can be bought for £2 and digital thermometers for £18.

This ceramic bulb is controlled by a thermostat which keeps the temperature under the hot spot at a constant level (84of for Touche). The ceramic bulb is placed at one end of the viv, creating a hot end and the cold end which is at room temperature. This temperature gradient gives a range of temperatures, allowing Touche to control his body temperature by moving between the hot and cold ends. A simple thermometer at the cold end and a digital thermometer at the warm end, allows us to monitor this "thermal gradient". All reptiles have a "Preferred Optimum Temperature Zone" which we try to provide within the hot and cold ends.

Ultraviolet Lights

All animals including reptiles require Vitamin D3 to control calcium levels in the body. Vitamin D3 can be provided in the diet but it is more easily and efficiently produced by the action of ultraviolet light on skin. In the wild, this UV light is provided by natural sunlight but the British climate and life behind glass stops our reptiles from producing natural Vitamin D3. We must use a UVB lamp to artificially allow Vitamin D3 production. This is simple to achieve using a commonly available aquarium light starter unit and one of a range of reptile UV lights. Expect to pay between £15 - 20 for the starter unit and £10 - 20 for a fluorescent tube. These tubes use very little electricity and need only be on during the daytime. They should be replaced every 9 - 12 months as they start to produce less UV light over this time.

Mercury Vapour lamps are just being introduced as both a heat lamp and UV light for reptiles. They are very efficient and have been used in marine fish tanks for many years. These will become cheaper and more readily available in the next few years but it is importnat to protect them from your reptile to prevent thermal burns.

Insulation

To heat our vivarium more efficiently, we have lined the vivarium with 50mm of polystyrene foam, just behind the wooden liner. This keeps the temperature more even and reduces the electricity bill for the heater. UV lamps & ceramic heat bulbs can be used with special reflectors to further increase their efficiency.

Flooring

Over the varnished wood base, we use a layer of newspaper. This is very easy to keep clean, is environmentally friendly (biodegradable) and is free to anyone who already reads a newspaper. Touche's vivarium can be regularly cleaned and quickly cleaned out. Alternatives include the fake grass astroturf (as used by butchers) which is easily cleaned. Sand, bark chippings and pellets are best avoided as these are easily swallowed and cause blockages which require surgery to correct. They are also very difficult to keep clean and hygienic.

Wiring

We have a seperate compartment just to the side of the vivarium where all the electrics are stored. Timer switches are used to control the lighting and to provide different temperatures during day & night through our day/night thermostat. The control unit for the lighting and a digital thermometer are also kept in this compartment. The wiring is kept neat and tidy through the use of cable ties.

If you would like further information, please ask us at the surgery and we will be pleased to demonstrate Touche's vivarium and provide advice on equipment.