Reptile & Amphibian Forums

(nikki) i saw on your site that when teddy was a baby he had alot of half logs, was there ever any problems with him climbing them? or tipping over?
has anybody ever had any problems with them? because sullivan flips over sometimes, so i finally put somthing to make a 90 degreee angle. will that help her not tip over?
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1 sulcata ( sullivan )
1 russian ( foxy )
3 cockerspaniels (wilbur, charlotte and torre )
1 betta ( frederica )

I do have a half log in with Moxie (it's his humid hide), but also have cork bark, because it has more traction and I thought it would be easier for him to climb on and off. He has one that is a half-round that he sleeps in, and a couple others that are flatter. He does seem to enjoy basking on them. I did see him on top of the log sometimes, and I've yet to see him on his back (I'm sure he's tipped himself over, but he must be good at getting upright again).

If you want to order cork bark, the Bean Farm has it and can send you 1 lb. pieces (about 10" x 12". I'm sure if you request it, they can send pieces that are half-rounds.
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko

I also use a half log. I have 2 sulcata hatchlings, they are mountain climbers, so I went to a cork half log that is really shallow, easy to climb up and down. I use lots of aspen shavings and make a deep tunnel. They have only flipped once with the shallow one. Also I found that they were climbing to get closer to heat. So I increased their temp's from 83-88 in the hottest zone, and they don't climb as much.
hope it helps

I checked my site and I see the pic. with the half log, but that
got taken out as soon as I realized it was a bad idea. That was
a small one that I purchased but he could climb it, and I have
read of a forum reader that had a sulcata break a leg falling
off of one of those.

The other "half log" looking things which are his hides, and
are very large, we made. They are narrower at the bottom and
are impossible to climb. More like a horseshoe shape, narrow
at the bottom and then getting bigger. I also used flower pots
burried in the substrate, but he didn't use those either.

He did use a little square box for a while but tried to climb
out the window part. I had my husband chainsaw out some
logs to make the hides he used for a couple of years.
Later I made an L shaped "privacy fence" for a hide.

He really enjoyed his larger log hides because he could walk
right through them, like a tunnel. He usually stayed in
it but hanging out the front to see the action in the house
when he was small.

I wouldn't recommend the commercial half logs you can buy,
because they can and will climb those. I also despise
cork bark as it is impossible to clean and looks like a
germ magnet to me. You can use it if you like while yours
are small, but I wouldn't.
His current "hide" consists of 3 towels hanging on his
heating rack screen which partition his enclosure completely
and contain the heat well up to 2 feet high where the screen
is. He walks through them like drapes/curtains and sleeps
behind them in the corner at night. That's the extent of our
hide at this point.
He used to have the largest available flower pot, but anything
they walk into and have to turn around in needs to be big
enough to do that, and eventually nothing is.

I haven't had a problem keeping the cork bark clean, but then I don't have a large sulcata. I do sterilize the pieces in the oven once in a while. I like it because, as I said, it's easier and safer for climbing, but also because it's lightweight and can be tunneled under or pushed around without causing injury to a small tort. If I had a tort peeing or pooping all over it, I don't think I'd be using any kind of wood product!
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Sohni
Northern California

0.1 Baja de L.A. Rosy Boa
0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
1.1 Rubber Boas
1.0 Leopard Gecko
0.0.1 Hermann's Tortoise
plus my kids' herps:
0.0.1 California King Snake
1.0 Mexican Rosy Boa
0.1 Leopard Gecko