# 85 Degrees?



## Tom (Feb 18, 2010)

Where did this number come from? I keep seeing this posted as the minimum temp for tortoises to be able to digest their food. I've always thought it was a bit higher than that

I don't have any references, but years ago I read a study that some tropical reptiles do their best to maintain near mammalian temps (98-99F) throughout the day by moving in and out of the sun. Thermoregulation. The study cited cloacal temps on some wild tortoises and large boids. They were cooler first thing in the morning, but got up to and stayed around 98-99 for the rest of the day.

Another study cited California mountain kingsnakes with 98 degree body temps on a 72 degree day.

Anyhow, 85 seems a little low to me. I don't think a tropical tortoise who only got up to 85 every day would stay healthy for very long.

Please debate away.


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## chadk (Feb 18, 2010)

Many herps from the tropics and deserts stay in borrows, under brush, in rocks or crevices, and out of the sun\heat in general during the day. 

Ball pythons for example, in the wild, often live in termite mounds that hold a steady 85 degrees and steady humidity. You would rarely see them out sunning themselves.

I don't provide any overhead heat for my snakes. Just belly heat. The breeds I have are more likely to be out of the direct sun and get their warms from the ground and environment around them. They digest their food just fine with a warm end in the mid-80s. I have a basking spot that does get to the mid 90's, but they rarely use it.

For sullies, Sulcata-Station has this to say:

"You need to provide your tortoise with daytime temperatures between approximately 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit (23 to 29 degrees Celsius). DO NOT keep the tortoise's enclosure warmer than this -- no matter what the pet store may tell you! People mistakenly assume that sulcata tortoises must be kept at high temperatures because they are desert animals. This is NOT true! When the temperature goes above 85 degrees F, sulcata tortoises will seek shelter from the heat in their underground burrows, and they will stay underground until temperatures drop to tolerable levels. Wild tortoises stay out of the mid-day sun and heat, only coming above-ground to eat and drink early in the morning or early in the evening after temperatures have dropped."


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## Yvonne G (Feb 18, 2010)

I think what most of us usually say is, "...at *LEAST* 85 degrees..."


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## Tom (Feb 18, 2010)

chadk said:


> Many herps from the tropics and deserts stay in borrows, under brush, in rocks or crevices, and out of the sun\heat in general during the day.
> 
> Ball pythons for example, in the wild, often live in termite mounds that hold a steady 85 degrees and steady humidity. You would rarely see them out sunning themselves.
> 
> ...



Interesting... My sulcatas are out walking around in the sun when temps are over 100. They have shade and sometimes use it, but they don't seem to care that's its so hot the sun feels like its burning you. I'm going to have to pull out the temp gun when the weather warms back up. I'll get temps of nearby rocks and my torts, top and bottom.


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## DonaTello's-Mom (Feb 19, 2010)

This is a really good post. Me being a newbie keeper and all, I'm very interested in what other keeps thoughts are on this topic.
I noticed my 1yr sullie stays in the basking spot with the temp at 105. He didn't seek shelter. Today he woke up and sunbathed for an hour, ate his breakfast and back to sunbathing. I was worried that he was in the hot spot for too long (worried newbie!) so I moved him to his cool hide. He quickly headed back to the hot spot and dug some moss and dirt around himself and took a long nap. This seems to contradict what Sulcata-Station had to say. My sullie has all these temps to choose from and he chose the warmest spot, and stayed there. I took a reading of HIS temp and it was 101, pretty high but he seems to like it that way. This is my recent experience, just an observation.

I agree with Roachman26. 85 seems too low. When I was trying to get my temps right my torting was barely moving and THEN stayed in his hide. Very sluggish. Hope he forgives me for that!


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## Meg90 (Feb 19, 2010)

I think 85 is a bit cool myself. I would bet that its closer to 90-95 to be able to digest. I also do not agree with the general saying that torts need to be soaked because we are "cooking" them with such hot lights. Roachman has the right idea--his sullies are out in the heat and loving it. Its natural for them.

The human body is 98.6F in its restful state, and the average basking spot for a tortoise is right around that. I like to keep my kids a bit hotter by having ambient room temp not fall below 70F in the winter. In the summer directly under basking lights, it can get up to 110F+.

All have big water dishes and a cool side equipped with some moist soft eco earth if they need to cool off. I do not worry about anybody overheating, not even my youngest. 

Reptiles rely on instinct, even the babies and if something is too hot, they move. I've seen so many keepers on here, worried about why their tortoises never seem to use their cool sides--I wonder if its because they are not at all as "hot" as we think they are under their basking spots.

IMO the only reason to be worried about your temps, is when the tortoise starts to avoid their basking spot and warm side. That tells the keeper that the wattage of the bulb is too high because the temp is no longer comfortable for the animal. 

Just my thoughts.


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## chadk (Feb 19, 2010)

Don't confuse ambient temps with basking spot temps.

Sulcata station, I believe, is saying the ambient temp of the enclosure should not be more than 85. But then there needs to be a basking spot that is hotter. 

So basically, there should be a hot basking spot, a warm end about 85, and a cool end of about 75. Night temps down to 65.

Trust your tort. If he wants to bask under the heat lamp, let him. But when he feels too hot, he needs to be able to go cool down some.

The scenario sultcata station is addressing I think is when a person get's a baby tort, puts it in a small glass tank, then adds a heat lamp. No hides, no temp gradient. Just a hot basking spot and a small hot tank. Then you have no humidity and a sitution where the hot temps quickly add to dehydration. My little sullie was raised like that for almost 2yrs, and if the guy would have tried for 3, the tort likely would have died as it had MDB and bad pyramiding.


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## chadk (Feb 20, 2010)

Oh, another thing I just thought of... My boxies only make it to 85 degrees for a few weeks out of the year. Most of the time they are lucky to hit the mid 70's. Yet they eat and digest just fine. Here in western WA, there are several reptiles, mostly garter snakes and alligator lizards, that do just fine with these types of temps - rarely seeing anything above 80.


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## Stephanie Logan (Feb 20, 2010)

Just the same, today I ordered another adjustable lamp stand, and a red lightbulb, to add to Taco's enclosure.

My tempgun tells me that it's 65-70 in the coldest corners, 70-80 near her CHE and 80+ under the CHE, and I try to keep her basking bulb low enough to maintain about 100-110 there, but when I saw this post something clicked in my brain and made me wonder if Taco would be more active if her micro-climate was warmer. Because it's often cold and drafty in our house, I think that affects the stability of the temps in Taco's pen. 

Thanks, Tom, for the good idea. It's a sound premise, so now I'll put it to the test and let you know what the results are for Taco.


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## tortoisenerd (Feb 20, 2010)

I can notice from Trevor's behavior (hiding and not eating) before I get around to measuring the temperatures every few days that my house temp has dropped and I need to lower the bulb. I don't get any signs however that it is too warm, so I also need to be careful of that. I have never trusted that a tort will move if it is too hot for them, so I try not to have it more than 100 at the ground (which is much higher than 100 at the top of the shell). 

Chad-The needed temp for digestion varies by species. As far as I know, Boxies have a lower temperature gradient (85 basking?) than Sulcatas/Russians etc (95/100 basking), so I'd think their needed temperature for digestion would also be lower.

Stephanie-What is the recommended temperature gradient for Chacos? Remember that each species is different so I am not sure if this thread is leading you down the right or wrong path as I believe this refers more to desert torts.


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## Stephanie Logan (Feb 20, 2010)

Well, that's part of the problem--Chacos are pretty rare tortoises in the U.S., there is relatively little long-term research on this species, and like Redfoots, Chacos actually occupy a wide and diverse swath of South American habitat.

I bought and read Vinke and Vetter's South American Tortoises, which was recommended by several "old-timers" on this forum as the unsurpassed informational source for Chaco tortoises. V & V reported that, though Chacos are kept as pets in gardens year-round in S.A, they have a high mortality rate when exported to other countries, with as many as 2/3 of them dying within their first year of captivity. So there's just not a whole lot of Chaco research to draw upon, but I feel quite comfortable giving Tom's theory a try, in my quest toward the maximum indulgence of Queen Taco Bean's health and happiness.


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## chadk (Feb 20, 2010)

tortoisenerd said:


> . I have never trusted that a tort will move if it is too hot for them, so I try not to have it more than 100 at the ground (which is much higher than 100 at the top of the shell).
> 
> Chad-The needed temp for digestion varies by species. As far as I know, Boxies have a lower temperature gradient (85 basking?) than Sulcatas/Russians etc (95/100 basking), so I'd think their needed temperature for digestion would also be lower.



Yes, it would definately be species specific. I was just referring to the OP where several examples were given of snakes, lizards, etc as if all reptiles would need that kind of higher temp to digest or something. Someone even mentioned something about the human body as if that was some how relavent...

As far as not trusting your tort, as long as they have safe boundries (warm side, cool side, basking spot - all in safe ranges) there is no need not to trust your tort. They know better than you.


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## Tom (Feb 20, 2010)

I wasn't proposing a new theory or suggesting anyone change anything. I was just wondering who decided 85 was the magic number. Why not 84 or 86? Or 95? That's all. The examples were just to point out some of why I think this sounds a bit low. I also realize that the minimum temp for digestion might be different than their preferred temp.


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## fifthdawn (Feb 20, 2010)

I think a lot of info we know is just what we hear and we assumed it to be true. If you encounted 10 people and 7 of them said the right temperature is 87 instead of 85, you'd probably believe its 87 instead of 85. Of course it would be reasonable to question why, but of those 7, they probably heard it from other people, then those people heard it from other people, etc. Infinite regression.

I think ultimately, the correct temperature is probably what the temperature is in their natural environment. Given years of evolution, it makes logical sense that whatever that temperature is, it would be the temperature of "best fit" for that species.

I haven't looked it up, but I would assume if you measured the ambient air temperature of most tortoises in their environment, it probably averages to 85 degree. Not sure and not curious enough to do the research and math to find out but I don't think it'll stray too far from 85.


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## Tom (Feb 21, 2010)

fifthdawn said:


> I think a lot of info we know is just what we hear and we assumed it to be true. If you encounted 10 people and 7 of them said the right temperature is 87 instead of 85, you'd probably believe its 87 instead of 85. Of course it would be reasonable to question why, but of those 7, they probably heard it from other people, then those people heard it from other people, etc. Infinite regression.
> 
> I think ultimately, the correct temperature is probably what the temperature is in their natural environment. Given years of evolution, it makes logical sense that whatever that temperature is, it would be the temperature of "best fit" for that species.
> 
> I haven't looked it up, but I would assume if you measured the ambient air temperature of most tortoises in their environment, it probably averages to 85 degree. Not sure and not curious enough to do the research and math to find out but I don't think it'll stray too far from 85.



With my original post, I was hoping to expose some POSSIBLY flawed logic. Each of your three paragraphs help me do this.

Paragraph 1: I agree with what you are saying. This is basically the realm of myth and rumor. One person hears something that sounds reasonable, so they pass it on as fact. After it gets passed on enough, and enough people are saying it, it becomes the standard. Good example: "Sulcattas come from hot dry regions of Africa so keep them hot and dry." We NOW know this to be flawed, but I heard it and repeated it as fact for many years.

Paragraph 2: Not so fast. If you look up climatological data from the African Savannah, you would find it very hot and dry. At least for 9 months out of the year. We now know that this is not the right environment for CAPTIVE African savannah animals as they use burrows to escape the hot dry air and in the case of tortoises, they do most of their growing during the humid rainy season, because that is when the food needed for growth is present. This would be similar for most species. This flawed logic does not take in to account the micro-climates that wild animals choose for themselves.

Paragraph 3: So the ambient air temp for my kingsnake example was 72. So should we keep our king snake at 72? Maybe as a background or ambient temp, but through thermoregulation/basking he clearly wants to be warmer than 72. So keeping an animal in the "average ambient temperature" of its native environment is clearly not the way to go. We know that a thermal gradient, including a hot spot for basking, must be provided.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone, just trying to share some of my thoughts on the best possible care we can give our animals. I was, and probably still am, part of the vast ignorance machine that has led to so many pyramided and incorrectly cared for tortoises. I do this out of a sense of guilt. I feel the need to atone for my past sins of ignorance. I want desperately to do better than I have done in the past, so I give these matters an inordinate amount of thought. Thank you for helping me to do this. I appreciate your input.


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## Stephanie Logan (Feb 21, 2010)

Roachman26 said:


> I feel the need to atone for my past sins of ignorance. I want desperately to do better than I have done in the past, so I give these matters an inordinate amount of thought.



Me, too.

I didn't mean to imply that I am recklessly jumping onto the bandwagon of higher heat. 

1) Taco is not very active. This may be due to the fact that it's winter and in past winters she went into a state of "dormance" (maybe because it was the only way she could survive was to enter a state of suspended animation--yes, the guilt is still palpable  ).

2) Now that I am paying more attention to keeping her substrate moist, I've realized that moist substrate lowers the overall temperatures in the enclosure. I have been taking temps more often and realizing that they're often down at the lower end (or just below) the recommended gradient.

3) Since doubling the size of her enclosure in December, I have been suspecting that my two fixtures (Trex 100 and CHE 160) may not be keeping the ambient temps as high as I'd like them to be.

SO--that's why I had been considering a third fixture. AND I think I would like to see if higher temps overall will lead to Taco being more active within her enclosure. Since I can't put her out every day, even on the floor, for exercise, I'm hoping a warmer pen will pep her up! I can always adjust the height on this new lamp, since I bought the stand, to adjust the heat output as needed.


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## Maggie Cummings (Feb 21, 2010)

Right now in Dakar the temp is 75 degrees with 69% humidity. This week the temp ranges from 75 to 83 and the percentage of humidity from 69 to 72. Their temps aren't always terribly hot and dry. I always see an ambient humidity in the 70's. The temps hover around 80 degrees.


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## fifthdawn (Feb 21, 2010)

Roachman26 said:


> fifthdawn said:
> 
> 
> > I think a lot of info we know is just what we hear and we assumed it to be true. If you encounted 10 people and 7 of them said the right temperature is 87 instead of 85, you'd probably believe its 87 instead of 85. Of course it would be reasonable to question why, but of those 7, they probably heard it from other people, then those people heard it from other people, etc. Infinite regression.
> ...



As to paragraph 2, I think you're right. It just felt right to me since I keep redfoot tortoise so that biased my response. Temperature in brazil or northern south america stays pretty consistent year round and doesn't get too hot like savannah temps. Temp in tropical regions of central to mid south america ranges from 68-78 degrees and jumping to 86 during the summber, so the number "85" never seemed too far of a stretch to me. But given those averages, even 85 seems higher than average. Alot of keepers prefer their pets warmer than colder I guess. But even as I'm googling around. The savannah temperatures seem to be around the same averages I found for red foot climates. 

I guess thats why there are usually temperature gradients in enclosures to make up for the micro climate changes for when you're tortoise whens to adjust. But I think the gradient is probably based 85 and we stray away from that number to determine cool end and warm end.

Paragraph 3: 85 does seem high for ambient air, but I don't think most keeper say 85 for ambient air but I do think average enviromental temp should be ambient air temp. The importance of ambient air is that most you're heating equipments work around it. My ambient air in my room is 74 degrees. Most my heating equipment like, CHE increased the air temperature by about 10 degrees. With an ambient air of 74, I can easily create a cool and hot end in my enclosure. With the coolend being 74 and hot end being 84 degrees. And directly under the heat is near 95 degrees. If my ambient air would be vary in my enclosure if my room ambient air temp is different since my equipments adjust it. 

Final words: Because there are variations in every climate, there can never be an exact number. We never want to make things too complicated for pet keeping, especially when it comes to few degrees, why not 84 or 86 degrees? Can you imagine if exact science proved 85 to be true? People would freak out if the temperature raises or drops 1 degree. I think 85 degree gives a good rule of thumb for tortoise keeping since it is definately above average temperature for most species, but at the same time, it is better to keep them too warm than too cold.

Even if there was an exact temperature and 85 isn't it. For many years, keepers have used 85 as their choice of temperature and has been doing fine. What we DONT KNOW is the exact number, what we DO know is 85 works. So it CANT hurt if you aim for 85, but you RISK hurting if you're straying from it.


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## -EJ (Feb 22, 2010)

Most of these suggestions... they are only suggestions... I don't think any writer would give a specific single temperature that a tortoise should be kept at except in the case of a sick animal.

Temperatures... vary dramaticly within regions. In San Diego you can have below freezing to the 70s on a single day within 30 miles. Just to say I've done it... went sleigh riding in the morning and had a plesant day at the beach on the same day.

This is similar the world over.

This is why most experienced keepers will suggest a range rather than a single temperature. The animals needs are going to vary depending on if it is digesting or not... or if it's sick or not...


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## Turtledude (Feb 26, 2010)

A few things i was thinking:
Someone mentioned the tortoise should thermo-regulate himself if its too hot. I know they do regualte their temps but I am reminded of those heat rocks danger in that some reptiles will cook themselves on it and die on top the thing overheated. an animal in the wild with a natural max basking temp of 80 might not instinctualy know to quit basking and seek shelter if the temp got to 100 since he would never encounter such a thing in his natural habbitat perhaps. just a thought.

If they do thermo-regulate themselves properly(not putting themselves in harms way with temps too high) then giving him an 85 degree spot, a 90 degree spot, 95 etc and observing which ones he goes to and for how long might be worth a test by someone who is confident they can thermoregulate themselves intelligently enough to not harm themselves.

Someone could find the correct temp by getting 4 hatchlings, same sex, same enclosures, same everything except for a 5 degree temperature variant per enclosure. then you could compare/contrast differences. Only side concern i can think of is maybe one would grow them bigger/quicker and that would somehow be bad for the tort since it doesnt occur in nature? yet man can do somethings better than nature like growing tomatoes indoors for instance can do them bigger/faster/better than outdoors. 24 hour light cycle etc. im probably looking a little too deep into everything but im an overanalyzer and hopefully one of those trains of thought might contribute to someone else getting a good idea/train of thought


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## samstar (Mar 7, 2010)

The basking spot for my Star under the megaray 120 watts mvb is about 100-105f and 85-90f on the cold side. He walks over to the basking spot every morning and waits for me to feed him than goes back to his hut after eating.


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## brianfurtado (Mar 7, 2010)

samstar said:


> The basking spot for my Star under the megaray 120 watts mvb is about 100-105f and 85-90f on the cold side. He walks over to the basking spot every morning and waits for me to feed him than goes back to his hut after eating.



My Greek does this as well. On the hot end the temps at ground level are 100-105 and the cool end (where her food is) is 77-80. She'll wake up in the AM when the lights come on and poke her head out of her burrow for a 1/2 hour or so and then go wait by the food dish. After I feed her, she goes back into her hide. I'll find her walking about in the middle of the day, on the warm end, but I never see her bask.


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## chadk (Mar 7, 2010)

samstar said:


> The basking spot for my Star under the megaray 120 watts mvb is about 100-105f and 85-90f on the cold side. He walks over to the basking spot every morning and waits for me to feed him than goes back to his hut after eating.



120 watt Megaray? I think you mean 100 watt.


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## N2TORTS (Mar 7, 2010)

Roachman26 said:


> Where did this number come from? I keep seeing this posted as the minimum temp for tortoises to be able to digest their food. I've always thought it was a bit higher than that
> 
> * OK Roachman here we go .....
> For one thing, the terms endothermic and ectothermic are just one of three measurments used to determine thermophysiology.
> ...


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## Yvonne G (Mar 7, 2010)

Yeah...what he said! So there!!!


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## Redfoot NERD (Mar 7, 2010)

Anyone ever consider the temp needs of different species... anyone???

Northern Redfoots seek dark hide at high 80's - personal experience from all ages.

Brazilians seem to like it even as low as the mid 70's - ( first out of their hide in the morning ) - personal experience from all ages.

Indian Stars seem to be O.K. into the low 90's maximum.. then seek dark hide - 4yr-olds ~ 10yr old adults - personal experience!

These are temps *outside* during late spring thru early fall.. mostly during sunny days.

So let's consider the needs of ALL of the different species and world locations...................... they can and will vary considerably!

NERD

The best "Weather" site I've found.. and you can check any region of the world temps & humidity - http://www.wunderground.com/global/Region/SA/2xST.html[hr]


brianfurtado said:


> samstar said:
> 
> 
> > The basking spot for my Star under the megaray 120 watts mvb is about 100-105f and 85-90f on the cold side. He walks over to the basking spot every morning and waits for me to feed him than goes back to his hut after eating.
> ...



Either/any of you ever consider it's because it's TOO hot under that light? Is that temp on the substrate or the top of their carapace ( where it's warmer )???


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## -EJ (Mar 7, 2010)

Terry... let me ask you this... what is the standard temperature of a human bean? It's accepted that it is 98.6F. I suspect that different genus have different temperatures but I also suspect that all tortoises have a similar optimal temperature.

My experience concerning that both northern and southern RF seek out the same conditions. I don't see a focus on a specific temperature.

Having kept many different species... they don't vary buy much in a 10 degree range.



Redfoot NERD said:


> Anyone ever consider the temp needs of different species... anyone???
> 
> Northern Redfoots seek dark hide at high 80's - personal experience from all ages.
> 
> ...


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## chadk (Mar 7, 2010)

-EJ said:


> what is the standard temperature of a human bean? It's accepted that it is 98.6F. I suspect that different genus have different temperatures but I also suspect that all tortoises have a similar optimal temperature.



Not sure what a human bean is 

But there is more too it than the internal body temp. Some folks find it harder to stay warm in a 65 degree house - requiring warm clothes just to be comfortable. Other people I know do great walking around outside in 40 degree temps in just light t-shirt. Kinda like this guy: http://www.werealotlikeyou.com/#profiles/4550degreesshirtsoffguy

Then there are those with pale skin that burns after a few minutes of direct sun, while others with darker skin can stay in the sun all day. Not even humans can agree on the 'ideal temp' of their enclosures


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## tortoisenerd (Mar 7, 2010)

samstar said:


> The basking spot for my Star under the megaray 120 watts mvb is about 100-105f and 85-90f on the cold side. He walks over to the basking spot every morning and waits for me to feed him than goes back to his hut after eating.



Are you saying that there isn't a spot below 85 in the enclosure? In my opinion you should raise the bulb to have a spot a little cooler than 85/90 to give the tort a chance to cool down, especially if you see the tort in that cool area a lot, meaning it might want an even cooler area. Also, 105 is getting a bit hot, and I assume you are measuring at the substrate level so at the top of the torts shell it is significantly higher. So, I'd consider raising your bulb a bit to get a gradient more like 75-100. I think I remember you saying your house is very warm so you may not be able to do any better than that. The coolest part of your enclosure should be able to be room temperature, so if it is higher than that your enclosure can be made larger. Watching your tortoise's behavior and where it likes to spend the majority of its time can give you a clue as to temperatures and hides. For example, even if you see your tort always in the warm area, you could not assume that is what it wanted if you didn't have a hide in the cool area. Best wishes.


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## Redfoot NERD (Mar 7, 2010)

Ed the simple truth is.. it doesn't matter who says what - you take issue to it and I doubt 'most' folks even know what you mean when you do post it. 

You're bringing a warm-blooded homo sapien into this equation.. and we're talking about cold-blooded reptiles! You know those creatures that some live close to the equator and some closer to the North Pole.. that they actually "hibernate"! [ for the lack of truer terms ]

See the difference?

Terry K


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## jackrat (Mar 7, 2010)

Meg90 said:


> I think 85 is a bit cool myself. I would bet that its closer to 90-95 to be able to digest. I also do not agree with the general saying that torts need to be soaked because we are "cooking" them with such hot lights. Roachman has the right idea--his sullies are out in the heat and loving it. Its natural for them.
> 
> The human body is 98.6F in its restful state, and the average basking spot for a tortoise is right around that. I like to keep my kids a bit hotter by having ambient room temp not fall below 70F in the winter. In the summer directly under basking lights, it can get up to 110F+.
> 
> ...


How many sulcatas do you keep,Meg?


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## samstar (Mar 8, 2010)

chadk said:


> samstar said:
> 
> 
> > The basking spot for my Star under the megaray 120 watts mvb is about 100-105f and 85-90f on the cold side. He walks over to the basking spot every morning and waits for me to feed him than goes back to his hut after eating.
> ...



The newer one's are either 120 or 160 watts.


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## chadk (Mar 8, 2010)

samstar said:


> chadk said:
> 
> 
> > samstar said:
> ...



Are they so new that they don't have them listed at their website yet???

Are you sure you don't meant "120 volts"??


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## matt41gb (Mar 12, 2010)

What kind of enclosures are we even talking about here? Are they 10 gallon aquariums, big tortoise tables, what? I think the type of enclosure depends on how you can heat/cool your tortoise. 

I keep red foots and a large sulcata. Where I live, temps average in the 90s for much of the year. A couple of months are all about the 100s. I provide both my red foots and sulcata plenty of burrows to cool off. They choose when they want to use them. 

In the cooler months I'll allow them to stay outside overnight no lower than 60f. Anything lower and they are inside the heated shed. During the winter I keep the shed at pretty much a constant 80f, with some variance since heat rises, the top of the shed is a bit warmer. 

I don't understand why everyone wants to cook their animals. Unless they're outside in more natural conditions, I won't keep them over 90f in any given spot. I think anything above those temps are just too hot. You can increase the humidity a bit to take the edge off of the heat. 

I know sulcata live in very hot and dry Africa, but as stated before, sulcatas seek burrows that are surprisingly humid. This is where they cool off, plus this is where they receive much of their shell growth. 

I have never had a problem with digestion in either of these two species at the temps I provide. I think a lot of it is common sense, and doing some research on where each species comes from. I believe a captive tortoise will behave differently than a wild tortoise when it comes to seeking certain temps.


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## -EJ (Mar 12, 2010)

Sorry... don't get youre point.



Redfoot NERD said:


> Ed the simple truth is.. it doesn't matter who says what - you take issue to it and I doubt 'most' folks even know what you mean when you do post it.
> 
> You're bringing a warm-blooded homo sapien into this equation.. and we're talking about cold-blooded reptiles! You know those creatures that some live close to the equator and some closer to the North Pole.. that they actually "hibernate"! [ for the lack of truer terms ]
> 
> ...


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## samstar (Mar 12, 2010)

chadk said:


> samstar said:
> 
> 
> > chadk said:
> ...



http://www.kimbosreptileworld.co.uk/megaray-120w-self-ballasted-p-145.html


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