# Tortoise cozy/sweater



## Janel (Aug 31, 2016)

How do you feel about putting a sweater or cozy on your tort? I know these claim to help with keeping them warm but does it actually? Do they like it? My mamal pets hate any type of clothing whether it is functional or not. Just curious about your experiences with tortoise sweaters! They are too cute


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## Gillian M (Aug 31, 2016)

Janel said:


> How do you feel about putting a sweater or cozy on your tort? I know these claim to help with keeping them warm but does it actually? Do they like it? My mamal pets hate any type of clothing whether it is functional or not. Just curious about your experiences with tortoise sweaters! They are too cute


Hi and a very warm welcome to the forum.

Lovely pics! Sorry, I cannot give you any advise here; I've never tried this with Oli.


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## dmmj (Aug 31, 2016)

since tortoises do not generate their own body heat any type of clothing sweater, cozy or what have you would have no effect


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## Janel (Aug 31, 2016)

dmmj said:


> since tortoises do not generate their own body heat any type of clothing sweater, cozy or what have you would have no effect


That is what I figured. There wouldn't be any heat for the sweater to retain, right? Im guessing it is just for show or to maybe hold in heat packs?


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## dmmj (Aug 31, 2016)

Janel said:


> That is what I figured. There wouldn't be any heat for the sweater to retain, right? Im guessing it is just for show or to maybe hold in heat packs?


you are 100% correct. The problem with holding heat packs is the tortoise no longer has a way to get away from the heat source so if that's the reason why they use them it's a very dubious reason possibly dangerous


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## jaizei (Aug 31, 2016)

dmmj said:


> since tortoises do not generate their own body heat any type of clothing sweater, cozy or what have you would have no effect



I think they'd work like a beer cozy and retain what heat was there, i.e., taking a tortoise on a trip a cozy would keep them warmer for longer if it was colder outside than in their enclosure.


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## dmmj (Aug 31, 2016)

jaizei said:


> I think they'd work like a beer cozy and retain what heat was there, i.e., taking a tortoise on a trip a cozy would keep them warmer for longer if it was colder outside than in their enclosure.


how long will that last? No more than a few minutes heat dissipates quickly. ever wear a warm sweater right out of the dryer?


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## Alexio (Aug 31, 2016)

The chicken cozy on the Russian tortoise is beyond cute.


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## Janel (Aug 31, 2016)

Alexio said:


> The chicken cozy on the Russian tortoise is beyond cute.


I know! The food ones are my favorite. Taco, cheese burger, cupcakes. But if they don't have any function then I think my tort would prefer to go au natural


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## MPRC (Aug 31, 2016)

I think a lot of people use them to facilitate finding their tortoises in large enclosures. I know mine would rub them off first chance they got. This is why we put bright pink duct tape on them when we have anyone coming to pet sit - they are easy to find and the tape stays put.


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## dmmj (Aug 31, 2016)

LaDukePhoto said:


> I think a lot of people use them to facilitate finding their tortoises in large enclosures. I know mine would rub them off first chance they got. This is why we put bright pink duct tape on them when we have anyone coming to pet sit - they are easy to find and the tape stays put.


I think the duct tape is a pretty good idea of course you have to replace it every so often but that's a minor inconvenience


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## Speedy-1 (Aug 31, 2016)

*Speedy say's he will stick with his Kane heat mat , but thanks anyway !




*


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## Tidgy's Dad (Aug 31, 2016)

It would help the tortoise retain any gained body heat, but not for long.
I'd be worried about fibres being consumed or the whole thing coming off and becoming lunch.


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## LoungeLizzard (Nov 10, 2020)

So I came to this site randomly, trying to find an early Christmas gift for a girls turtle. It quickly became a research endeavor into the thermal capacity of fabric and turtles, almost entirely because The moderator "dmmj" guy seems like he seriously needs a snickers. What have you against cozies lol. multiple threads I found with your distaste for them. 

Anyway~~~~dmmj is all wrong. cozies are extremely effective at retaining heat, as they are made of fabric, and we have been using fabric/textile/leather for that exact reason since...well about 170,000 years ago. Although yes the turtles do not generate their own body heat, I do not understand why someone would think that a cozy (sweater) would not be efficient at retaining heat. its literally what they are for. On a chill day or a day that is cooling off, a cozy would absolutely be effective at reducing the loss of heat from the turtle. 

Wool has one of the highest thermal heat retentions of any fabric. This is due to the pockets of air that are trapped within the fibers that make up the wool. these pockets of air circulate the heat and result in a much slower transfer of heat. Cold will stay colder longer and warm will stay warmer longer. 

An example of this effect can be seen in scuba. dry suits and wet suits employ this with water and air trapped within the suits. The heat that leaves the turtles body is absorbed by the air pockets within the wool fibers circulating from pocket to pocket until finally eventually finding its way out (or in) of the fiber such as equilibrium demands. 


TLDR; use wool to knit your turtle a cozy and the turtle will stay warmer, longer.


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## Blackdog1714 (Nov 10, 2020)

I would be terrified to clean it since my Leopard lives to repeatedly walk through his ?!


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## Violanna (Nov 10, 2020)

Janel said:


> That is what I figured. There wouldn't be any heat for the sweater to retain, right? Im guessing it is just for show or to maybe hold in heat packs?


Actually there is a yarn called red heart heatwave which creates true heat with UV rays (so even with clouds).

However that said I think these are more just for taking cute pictures then taking off so you don’t stress your tort.


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## Violanna (Nov 10, 2020)

LoungeLizzard said:


> So I came to this site randomly, trying to find an early Christmas gift for a girls turtle. It quickly became a research endeavor into the thermal capacity of fabric and turtles, almost entirely because The moderator "dmmj" guy seems like he seriously needs a snickers. What have you against cozies lol. multiple threads I found with your distaste for them.
> 
> Anyway~~~~dmmj is all wrong. cozies are extremely effective at retaining heat, as they are made of fabric, and we have been using fabric/textile/leather for that exact reason since...well about 170,000 years ago. Although yes the turtles do not generate their own body heat, I do not understand why someone would think that a cozy (sweater) would not be efficient at retaining heat. its literally what they are for. On a chill day or a day that is cooling off, a cozy would absolutely be effective at reducing the loss of heat from the turtle.
> 
> ...



You are comparing warm blooded creatures to cold blooded. If there is no heat to retain it can actually prevent heat from entering and cause the tort to get cold faster. Since you think the human comparison is applicable, take being out in a blizzard, you will warm up faster while naked than you will if you keep cold clothes on.


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