Make Your Own Tortoise Table
From this:
This table is suitable for hatchlings and young tortoises.
The size is 4' x 2' 6" x 8.5"
(122cm x 76 cm x 22 cm).
A division with a doorway has been put at one end of the table to make a darker area which could be used as a sleeping area by the tortoise.
This table has a lamp arm fitted at one end so that a basking bulb can hang over the area which is to provide warmth for the tortoise. A reflector cover will help direct the heat downwards. |The bulb is suspended from the arm by a chain so that it can be highered or lowered to achieve the correct temperature at tortoise shell height.
The table also has an arm fitted to suspend a UVB tube. In this case, the tube runs the whole width of the table so that the tortoise has to pass underneath it to get from one side of the table to the other. It is situated near to the basking bulb so that the tortoise will get the benefit of the UVB rays as it is warming itself.The UVB tube is fitted with a reflector cover to direct the rays downwards to where they are required, but it also aids to protect human eyes from the harmful rays.
It is useful to add a liner to the table before the substrate is added. In this table, visqueen has been used, but pond liner will do equally well. It lines the whole table and comes a little way up the sides. It is stapled in place using a heavy duty stapler but could be taped using something such as duct tape.
