Outdoor heat/light question

[Daryn]

Ive gone back over all the posts and dont see anyone mentioning heat mats although Im still half asleep here mind lol.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Daryn

Hi yes its all a mind field lol. I have a 2 foot tube heater in my tortoise den and use a LUCKY REPTILE THERMO CONTROL I set the temps for 5c at night all year round, its never going to get below that this time of year http://www.luckyreptile.com/products/145/en/pid1,2$pid2,3336$pid3,7773190/products.html

I use a security lamp as well set on a timer when its really cold.

I am going to change this and stop using the lamp as much as possible, never liked them but its what I was told to do when I first started.

I am now going to have a warming area (small coldframe) in full sun with the tube heater set for 5c at night and 30c through the day, this way if its a sunny day the warming area will heat up to that anyway and the tube heater wont switch on, the torte will be able to leave this area and go outside, or if you prefer have one of these in a green house or large coldframe as a separate unit.

Hope this helps a little

Why 30c though out the day?
As tortoises naturally wouldnt have the same temps all day:0)
Far better if you have to, to have a lower temp in the housing, so when its warmer outside they will go out.
If its too warm inside, they dont always go out in my experience, especially the females. I now have no extra heat anywhere for my tortoises.

[sandy]

Originally Posted by Daryn

Ive gone back over all the posts and dont see anyone mentioning heat mats although Im still half asleep here mind lol.

Heat mats are bad for tortoises, as they warm from the top not underneath. Unless you have them high above their heads, on the side of an enclosure.

[Daryn]

Originally Posted by sandy

Why 30c though out the day?
As tortoises naturally wouldnt have the same temps all day:0)
Far better if you have to, to have a lower temp in the housing, so when its warmer outside they will go out.
If its too warm inside, they dont always go out in my experience, especially the females. I now have no extra heat anywhere for my tortoises.

This bit is the more complex bit for me TBH. I have read up on your posts and advice for a while now with great interest and know you have kept tortoises for years without added heat in greenhouses with lots of success. This to me has always been a question Ive asked myself many times over, how often do tortoises really need full 30c to digest their food properly, is it every day is it 4 days a week, more or less. They certainly dont get this every day all year round in Spain but considerably more than the UK does. BUT when its too hot they stop eating and estivate.

Ive always been led to believe that 30c is the required basking temperature for tortoises to be able to digest their food properly but as you say in the wild this not always the case.

We are told to try and have a 30c basking area with background temperatures of around 20c. The reason is they can bask then when they get too hot they can cool down in the ambient temperatures of around 20c or go in a completely shaded area and dig down if need be.

When Im talking about these small warming areas with a tube heater I am not talking about their large coldframe Im talking about the very little areas I have but slightly larger with a tube heater which to be honest will rarely switch on as they get hot enough anyway most of the time.



The purpose is to make sure they always have a 30c basking area without a lamp which is mostly heated by the sun but with the back up of a tube heater should the temperatures fall too low but they can just walk out into the garden to cool down or even go in the rain if they like.

The likes of today here in the North East UK its been cold and wet on and off all day, no sun breaking through, these basking warming areas are not making the temperatures at all.

Its all experiments to see what's the best environment we can make for them, what they use and what they like.

[4chester]

There is a massive temp difference to the north east from the south coast. I have spoken to Gordon and he is sat in the garden with his shorts on and I'm in garden with a coat on, if Bruce chips in from Wick the ambient temp differences would be greater again

[4chester]

By the way did anyone work out where heat mat reference came from or has someone been on Pop

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by sandy

Heat mats are bad for tortoises, as they warm from the top not underneath. Unless you have them high above their heads, on the side of an enclosure.

So if you put them underneath are they ok

[4chester]

Always thought heat mats gave out heat on both sides

[Daryn]

I was told ( not my experience) no the mats are not a good thing to have, and no I still dont know why that was mentioned

[4chester]

Background heat for the outside tort huts is tubular heaters