# Heat Cords



## gieseygirly (Dec 16, 2013)

What type of heat cord should I get for my 1 year old leopard tort? Brand, how many feet, how many watts, any info would be a huge help. Amazon has some killer deals on these right now so I think I'm going to try one out, just don't want to buy the wrong size/wattage. My lil leo is in a 2 1/2 ft by 6 ft enclosure (for now).


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## mikeh (Dec 16, 2013)

Heat cables work very well in a specific type of closed chambers. They do not work well in open or semi closes tables.
To guide you if and what wattage heat cable(s) you will need please provide more info on the enclosure.

What is the enclosure made of, how much of it is glass?
How cold is the room where the enclosure is?
How tall is it?
Is it a fully closed chamber?
Are you using basking light?
What substrate will you be using? 
Pictures of the enclosure?


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## edwardbo (Dec 16, 2013)

Mikeh ,still ,isn't there any wiggle room by adjusting the glass covering ? How would you answer this question in general ? I'm interested in this info ,as well as other readers .i like belly heat as opposed to basking light, specially after the post on pyramiding ,( cooking the moisture out of the torts keriten shell )....


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## mikeh (Dec 16, 2013)

*Re: RE: Heat Cords*



edwardbo said:


> Mikeh ,still ,isn't there any wiggle room by adjusting the glass covering ? How would you answer this question in general ? I'm interested in this info ,as well as other readers .i like belly heat as opposed to basking light, specially after the post on pyramiding ,( cooking the moisture out of the torts keriten shell )....



Heat cables are somewhat the opposite of basking lights or CHE.

Basking light and CHE produce a high intensity radiant heat with high temperatures, therefore they will heat up the immediate space around them to any desired temperature regardless of the surrounding environment temps/conditions.

Heat cable produces a weak, low intensity heat over larger area, the cable itself only gets to 95-110F. Because of this type of low heat intensity, it will only effectively raise ambient temp in closed type of environment. 

For example, an open 2x4 table with 100Watt heat cable under 2" of substrate in a room of 75F will not heat up the surrounding air in the table at all, and will heat the surface of the substrate to maybe 80F. 

Same heat cable in a 2x4 wooden tight closed chamber with same room temp.will heat up the enclosure to 90-92F in about an hour and can peak at 95F.

A (closed chamber) made of glass aquarium of same size will struggle to get to mid 80s due to the high heat transfer thru all the glass and weak heat intensity of cable as previously mentioned. 

Personally I use heat cables for all my torts. Heat cables don't dry out the humidity, produce gentle even temps in the enclosure. But because of the heat cables low heat intensity nature you have to account for many variables to get things just right. Thus all the questions for OP.

If the OP has a well insulated wooden 6x2 1/2 chamber with front being a glass, it will need at least a 100W heat cable to achieve 90-92F inside the chamber with room temp of 70F. If the room is 60F, 100Watt heat cable alone may not be enough and another 50W-75W will be needed. Heat cables should by running on thermostat. 

Another possible issue with heat cables under the substrate is tortoise burrowing down for the night and sleeping directly on the heat cable. I know once mine found the heat comes from below, they started digging down for the night and ignoring the hide. I moved part of the heat cable to the side walls and move the torts into the hide at night.


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## Mgridgaway (Dec 17, 2013)

mikeh said:


> Heat cables work very well in a specific type of closed chambers. They do not work well in open or semi closes tables.
> To guide you if and what wattage heat cable(s) you will need please provide more info on the enclosure.
> 
> What is the enclosure made of, how much of it is glass?
> ...



Completely untrue. Buried heat cables work perfectly well. My torts love them and rely on them to stay warming during cold Maryland winters.

OP, the only brand I recommend is the brand I use: Big Apple Herp Flexiible Heat ropes. Waterproof and durable. Use them with a thermostat and they work wonders.


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## gieseygirly (Dec 17, 2013)

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Very interesting how opinions differ so much. To answer some of your questions, mikeh:

1. substrate is pure cocoa coir
2. leo is housed in two of the Zoomed tortoise houses connected together
a. houses are wooden
3. walls are 12 inches high (I think)
4. it's mostly closed - I wrap saran wrap around the lids. there is only one open spot at one end where a mercury vapor UVB basking bulb is

sorry I can't post a pic right now - I'm at work


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## mikeh (Dec 17, 2013)

*Re: RE: Heat Cords*



Mgridgaway said:


> mikeh said:
> 
> 
> > Heat cables work very well in a specific type of closed chambers. They do not work well in open or semi closes tables.
> ...



Suggesting that a heat cable properly spaced out and buried under few inches of substrate will effectively raise the day time ambient temp to ideal levels on its own without supplemental heating source in an open table located in a typical winter room of 68F, is a complete nonsense. 

_________________________________________

OP, since yours is a mostly closed set up and you do have a day time heating/basking source, a Zoomed 100Watt or Big Apple 80watt heat cable will work for supplemental and night time heat. I have both, they are identical expect the color. I wouldn't use the heat cable under the basking light or under the hide unless you place thermostat probe inside the hide. 
If you keep the substrate moist the heat cable will gently release the moisture into the air greatly aiding with humidity.


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## gieseygirly (Dec 17, 2013)

Thanks for your opinions/expertise/guidance, mikeh and mgridgaway!


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## Mgridgaway (Dec 17, 2013)

I never said it raised ambient temps. My ropes raise *ground temps*, which are just as important (if not more, as tortoise shells have direct contact with the ground) as ambient temps. Specifically, they raise ground temps to around 85-90 Farenheit, or 15-20 degrees higher than the room temp.

OP, remember that Heat Ropes are just one part of the good heat equation. I also use a 100W CHE and a 160W MVB. Neither of the 3 is more supplemental than the other.


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## mikeh (Dec 17, 2013)

*Re: RE: Heat Cords*



Mgridgaway said:


> I never said it raised ambient temps. My ropes raise *ground temps*, which are just as important (if not more, as tortoise shells have direct contact with the ground) as ambient temps. Specifically, they raise ground temps to around 85-90 Farenheit, or 15-20 degrees higher than the room temp.
> 
> OP, remember that Heat Ropes are just one part of the good heat equation. I also use a 100W CHE and a 160W MVB. Neither of the 3 is more supplemental than the other.



Now that's better. I was hoping you would elaborate. 

I think we don't want to give any newcomers an idea that a heat cable ALONE will make for a sufficient heat source in an open table set up.


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## gieseygirly (Dec 17, 2013)

Yep, I knew not to use them alone. I've got a MVB, which gets switched out with a CHE at night. I just need something to help with these cold winter temps without killing the electric bill. Currently I'm using a baseboard heater under the table that the tortoise houses are on, but it uses a ton of electricity, and even blows fuses when I try to run the hair dryer.


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