# Dogloo setup questions



## FGCinHB (Dec 17, 2008)

I live in Huntington Beach, Ca and just got a dogloo and set it up with a heat emmiter for my sulcatas & leopards. Before this their winter shelter was a block house about 4' long x 3'wide by 16"tall covered with about 12" of dirt & no heating set up. They used this for the last 5 years but as they've gotten larger I decided this year to make this my russian tortoise enclosure. I would like to know how others have their dogloo's set up.

1 - I set mine up with a 150watt emmitter and it did not above 60 degrees at night so I now have a 250watt emmitter in it and it gets to about 70 degrees. What wattage emmiter are you using in yours?

2 - I'm using 2 towel's for bedding right now as I'm afraid if I put hay in it they may push it up & to close to the emmitter and cause a fire. What are you using for bedding and do you have any fire prevention tips?

Thanks in advance for the input and I'll post pictures of my setup as soon as the rain stops.


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## Millerlite (Dec 17, 2008)

some people use Pig blankets in theirs. Pig blankets are floor mats that emit heat and would keep your tortoise nice and warm at night. Also the 250watt heat emitter is what people use. People use hey in theirs and never had a problem. i dont think its the kind of heat that can light things on fire. 

I live in ventura and its pretty chilly i'm surprised the 250 is bringing temps up to 70. i would def. look into pig blankets.


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## FGCinHB (Dec 18, 2008)

Millerlite said:


> some people use Pig blankets in theirs. Pig blankets are floor mats that emit heat and would keep your tortoise nice and warm at night. Also the 250watt heat emitter is what people use. People use hey in theirs and never had a problem. i dont think its the kind of heat that can light things on fire.
> 
> I live in ventura and its pretty chilly i'm surprised the 250 is bringing temps up to 70. i would def. look into pig blankets.



What is the electrical consumption of a pig blanket ie: how much would my electrical bill go up?


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## Millerlite (Dec 18, 2008)

I have no idea, i do not ue them my self, Google Pig blanket, or pig heating mats and you will come up on stuff.


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## ki6ojv (Dec 20, 2008)

I would not put the money into the Dogloo. I went to home depot and grabbed a medium size rubbermaid outdoor Storage box. With the Dogloo your tort can not get away from the heat and is stuck under the lamp. Also they like corners and there are none in the Dogloo. I changed the wiring for the lamp into a socket and put it in inside the storage box on one side. I also gave him a shoe box to crawl inside of too (more for summer and hot days.) I lined it with hay and he is in tort heaven. The storage box has double walls to insulate and keep the heat in. He is pretty toasty in our cold weather we just got and they rain stays out too. 

BTW it was just the cost of the socket and the Box and I reused everything else.


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## DAC8671 (Dec 20, 2008)

We have a dogloo and attached the heat lamp inside leaning to one side so Ralph has a cool and warm side. My husband drilled a hole in the upper "corner" of the dogloo, put in a screw and screwed a piece of wood inside. That is what the heat lamp is attached to. He then put nails in the wood and bent them up so the clamp of heat lamp wouldn't be able to fall off. I will take some pics of it tomorrow. 

We built a small wooden ramp for him, though he probably doesn't need it. I lined it with timothy hay. I cut a shower curtain liner into strips and attached it to the door. I tripled the liner, though so it's a bit thicker. They do sell a thick rubber "door" specifically made for dogloos, but I didn't want to pay the $35 that Petsmart was charging.

At night, I place a heavy large towel on top of the dogloo to keep just a bit more heat inside (does it work???? who knows but it satisfies me). I also put a rubbermaid tub lid in front of the door and hang the towel over that to keep the wind from blowing the plastic. When it rains, I fasten a tarp over the whole thing. He is able to push the "door" out when he's ready to come out in the mornings. Then I just take everything away except the plastic liner door.

With the execption of this past rainstorm we just had, it's working perfectly for me.


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## FGCinHB (Dec 20, 2008)

ki6ojv said:


> I would not put the money into the Dogloo. I went to home depot and grabbed a medium size rubbermaid outdoor Storage box. With the Dogloo your tort can not get away from the heat and is stuck under the lamp. Also they like corners and there are none in the Dogloo. I changed the wiring for the lamp into a socket and put it in inside the storage box on one side. I also gave him a shoe box to crawl inside of too (more for summer and hot days.) I lined it with hay and he is in tort heaven. The storage box has double walls to insulate and keep the heat in. He is pretty toasty in our cold weather we just got and they rain stays out too.
> 
> BTW it was just the cost of the socket and the Box and I reused everything else.



Can you post pics of your setup? I'd like to see it


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## ki6ojv (Dec 21, 2008)

Yah I have to get some pix. It might take me a few days to get pix during the day but I will get some up by next weekend. Sorry. I got a hellatious week ahead. I spent today working on dog proofing his pen so they can not see him and will not bark at him durring the day.


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## ki6ojv (Dec 22, 2008)

Ok I went out in the rain today and snapped pix for ya'll It is super basic and it really keeps in the heat, Darwin hangs out under the lamp most of the time but it has been cold out. 150w lamp in there and timothy hay. He loves his pen and i set up a personal sprinkler system to even refill and refresh his water bowl each day. 

here is the box set up.


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