hi everyone im new to tpg and like what i see so far. Iv got 2 torts noris is 12 and hamish is nearly 3, last sunday we made a 6 foot tortoise table and bought a uvb 2 in 1 uvb-heat lamp, hamish loves it in his new home but noris seems a bit quiet and stays in bed which is at one end of the table and is enclosed and dark.Before they lived in 2 seperate vivariums which was probably warmer and more stuffy thats why we made the table which i think is more healthy for them both,so do you think noris is displaying normal behaviour now or is it because he isnt used to his new house anyone any ideas.

Hi Lynne big  to our site.

Its so good to hear the message is getting through and you have moved Hamish and Noris to a super large  open table.  Noris being older was used to the viv and sounds like he has lost his natural instincts to bask, perhaps if you move him into the basking area so that he can see and feel what he's missing, hopefully he will get the hang of coming under the heat instead of having no choice as he did in the viv.  Can you tell me what breed the torts are?  It would be nice to see a picture of Hamish and Noris and their new set up, we have a members photo gallery (see left hand column under 'photo gallery' where you can add some pictures.

HTH, any further questions please dont hestitate to ask, regards Vivienne 

hi thanks for your advise and it sounds about right he wont be used to basking he seems healthy enough and i just hope he gets the right idea soon, with hamish being a lot smaller he used to go under the light, they are both hermanns and noris is really a female not a male i found out last year when i took him to the vets the vet said he's a doris not a noris but i didnt want to change his name now.il try to put some pics on the photo gallery. Can i just ask you aswell about the substrate i have newspaper,stones and a tray of weeds in i had newspaper in my vivarium on advise from a vet because noris used to eat everything i put down and when he was about 2 year old i bought some calci sand and he ate some and it bunged him up and was poorly in the vets for about 3 weeks and thats why the vet advised newspaper.thanks again for your advise.

Hi Lynne, Norris (/Dorris!) will soon learn!!

Regarding the substrate, its best to recreate their natural habitat, we recommend a 50/50 mix of top soil/play sand (both cheap to buy from garden centres), if you put it as deep as your table will allow, this lets them bury down in it, as they do in the wild. Its also good to add large pebbles/rocks/wooden hides and plants for them to clamber over and hide under, it also breaks up the sight line, making the table more interesting for them.

How high have you put the combined heat/uv lamp? Its recommended to have them no less that 12 inches from the substrate level, but be guided by the temperature under the lamp which should be around 30c and be 20c in the cooler area.  Cant wait to see your pics, Regards Vivienne