Basking spot
 

My basking spot temps are 31 c, I've read that some keepers keep their torts outside in the summer without additional light/heat. Just got me thinking,I could be wrong but I think that it rarely reaches 31 degrees C in the UK. Do torts need such high temps?do hatchlings need higher temps?I'll continue to use the bulbs indoors just wondered what everyone's opinions were?

I have my basking spot even higher, more like 34/35c, but think they do need the high temps, thats what they get in the wild & we do try to replicate that.

Marg.

i also aim for 35c on my tables during autumn/spring,ensuring a good start and finish to the season.during the summer months (lol)when torts are outside i use some heat (lamps) as needed to start them up in the morning as the tort area is in shade until mid morning.i also think that torts need to be hardened off a little so don't worry about temps too much during this time.
my group were outside up until the week before last,they are more content with a heated house and access to outside.they love to have a warm then potter round the garden then go back inside again at will.when you bring them in when it gets too cold they are unsettled and stomp up and down their tables most of the day.

Many do live outside without difficulty.
Joe has a cold frame (wooden box with a perspex roof and a hole knocked in one side) located in the sunniest spot in the garden. He chooses to sleep in this and stays dry there. Because of the cold frame's position, it gets the sun's rays from early morning until afternoon and it gets pretty hot in there. He simply uses it charge up his batteries before motoring off to eat the garden.

He has one or two pet 'hotspots' in the garden where he'll go for a basking top-up throughout the day... and a few favoured shady locations for cooling off.

If he chooses to sleep under our red hot poker for the night, it'll be warm and dry!

My heating went wrong yesterday and we had our first really cold night last night here in Essex, so I thought my torts would spend all day just basking under the lamp to keep warm today. How wrong could I be - they have been going a bit loopy today, running about all around their table and trampling through the water dish so often that I have changed the water 4 times!:lol:

They have also eaten more than usual which is a bit weird as I was expecting them to be slow and uninterested because of the cooler temps.

Even in the UK, ground temperatures can easily go over 40C although the air temperature doesn't approach this. The 32C is a very general guide for mediterranean species under artificial conditions.

When the tortoise is absorbing heat from any heat source the temperature of the tortoise can go way over 32C. So although the air temperature might be only 25C, this can easily get too hot for a mediterranean tortoise in direct sunlight, so they will tend to bask for only a limited amount of time. Later in the day when the air temperature be the same but the sun is a different angle, the tortoise might be able to bask for a long time without getting too warm.

The main thing is to always make sure the tortoise can easily move away from the heat source or hide from the sun, if it chooses. I always use basking spots that are over 32C.

heat
 

I would just like to support strongly the above post by Jonathan.

In October when we had the warm spell and all my turts were outside in their deckchairs, I went out with my laser I/R meter and measured the hot spots. Several were at 45c and one was at 52c. Remember this was in October. In the height of the summer day they do not sunbathe as its too hot, even here in the UK.

My basking spots are set up for 40c. but they can get into 20c if they want - thats the vital thing.

Rom

Thanks for explaining that!I understand it now :)