How to Set Up a Tortoise Table
As a good tortoise owner, you want to make sure your tortoise has everything it needs to be healthy an comfy in its home. You may already know how to set up a vivarium, but tortoises have a tendency to walk into the glass and this may cause them distress if they keep banging their faces against a vivarium's glass. As an alternative, consider a tortoise table. You can pick up a table from most pet stores and are not overly expensive.
Steps
Find a suitable sized tortoise table, depending on your tortoise size. Not all tortoises can go into a table, your bigger species will just not fit. These tables are perfect for Russian/horse field size tortoises.
Find a substrate/bedding to put into the table. One good choice is tortoise soil from the local pet store. This comes in a big bag for under a tenner. Avoid wood chips because they will probably eat some of the chips whilst eating. You can also use this substrate which expands in water, which is also used for tarantulas and other reptiles.
Buy two bowls for the table. One large one for water, which you will find in the reptile section in pet stores, and a flat one for your tortoise's food.
Set up a UV lamp for your tortoise. This can be bought from pet stores and will attach to the side of the table and hang down into it. The UV bulbs can last six months to a year, depending and a normal one will give off no heat. You can get combination UV and heat bulbs but these are expensive, as are normal UV bulbs.
Provide a source of heat. If you just have a UV bulb, you will need some source of heat. You can buy an attachment for a spot light bulb which will give off enough heat for your tortoise. Not many owners use heat mats because of risk of burns if your tortoise stays on the mat too long.
Use a timer if you can. Tortoises are not nocturnal, so they will sleep at night. It is a good idea to put the UV and heat bulbs on a timer so as to mimic day and night without you keep manually turning them off and in case you ever forget to turn them off.
Add some fun decorations for your tortoise. Some smooth, clean pebbles can be put in for a change of texture, some plastic plants could be put in and any other ornaments could be used too.
