Ceramic Heat or Heat Projectors

[Lanutheleopard]

About a month ago, I bought a 14 month old leopard tortoise. Great breeder. I bought an appropriate set up, but already wanting to change up a few things.
I was wondering (PLEASE DELETE IF THIS IS NOT ALLOWED) what is recommended.
I am looking for a reasonably priced environment control center, where I can control heat, light, humidity. Any suggestions? Herpstat is a little too expensive, but if it comes highly recommended, I can purchase later. I have looked at Reptizoo and Vivarium Electronics, which I am not sold on VE.

I am looking for an enclosure that doesn't leak all the condensation. I have been looking at toad ranch and vision enclosures. Any suggestions?
And any suggestions on good misters, humidifiers, etc... Looked at name brand for reptiles... ??

And lastly, I am looking at whether a ceramic heat emitter, that warms the air, is really sufficient for my tortoise to receive the air heat and C OR if a heat projector, that
supposedly does deep tissue heat and adding A and B is good, better or the best option for a leopard tortoise.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!
What do you expect from a control center?
Generally you need the following points of control:
1. Schedule for basking, ambient and UVB lights - three separate timings. Easy to achieve with timer sockets, smart sockets or smart fixtures (like ReptiZoo domes or Arcadia LumenIZE series, however it's less universal approach).
2. Temperature control for ambient heater like CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or RHP (radiant heat panel). Fairly cheap thermostats (e.g. Inkbird) can do that (or more expensive like dimming/pulse proportional thermostats or with "bells and whistles" like Wi-Fi control).
3. No special controller is needed for humidity - in a properly set up "closed chamber" ambient humidity stays high enough without humidifiers/foggers/misters and such.

As of the enclosures, most PVC enclosures work fine. Vision cages are cast from HDPE with zero gaps, however don't hold heat well without additional insulation.
A forum member, Markw84, builds PVC enclosures called "Smart Enclosure" with pre-installed thermostats, lightning and heating. Another "killer feature" is double walls and double-glazed front doors: holds heat very well and reduces condensation greatly. Another thing is assembly without screws and ability to stitch two enclosures together to expand space. Dimensions (4x3 ft.) are well suited for tortoises.

No need to go for deep heat projector: ambient hot air and infrared-C from CHE or RHP are enough to maintain body temperature. Deep tissue heating is achieved with a basking lamp.

 

[RandyTortoise]

My smart enclosure is due to be delivered Monday. I will let you know what I think. I have leopards and have a massive unit ordered.

 

[Lanutheleopard]

Hello!
What do you expect from a control center?
Generally you need the following points of control:
1. Schedule for basking, ambient and UVB lights - three separate timings. Easy to achieve with timer sockets, smart sockets or smart fixtures (like ReptiZoo domes or Arcadia LumenIZE series, however it's less universal approach).
2. Temperature control for ambient heater like CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or RHP (radiant heat panel). Fairly cheap thermostats (e.g. Inkbird) can do that (or more expensive like dimming/pulse proportional thermostats or with "bells and whistles" like Wi-Fi control).
3. No special controller is needed for humidity - in a properly set up "closed chamber" ambient humidity stays high enough without humidifiers/foggers/misters and such.

As of the enclosures, most PVC enclosures work fine. Vision cages are cast from HDPE with zero gaps, however don't hold heat well without additional insulation.
A forum member, Markw84, builds PVC enclosures called "Smart Enclosure" with pre-installed thermostats, lightning and heating. Another "killer feature" is double walls and double-glazed front doors: holds heat very well and reduces condensation greatly. Another thing is assembly without screws and ability to stitch two enclosures together to expand space. Dimensions (4x3 ft.) are well suited for tortoises.

No need to go for deep heat projector: ambient hot air and infrared-C from CHE or RHP are enough to maintain body temperature. Deep tissue heating is achieved with a basking lamp.

Thank you so much. This was very helpful and I will look into Smart Enclosure. I appreciate your input.

 

[Lanutheleopard]

Hello!
What do you expect from a control center?
Generally you need the following points of control:
1. Schedule for basking, ambient and UVB lights - three separate timings. Easy to achieve with timer sockets, smart sockets or smart fixtures (like ReptiZoo domes or Arcadia LumenIZE series, however it's less universal approach).
2. Temperature control for ambient heater like CHE (ceramic heat emitter) or RHP (radiant heat panel). Fairly cheap thermostats (e.g. Inkbird) can do that (or more expensive like dimming/pulse proportional thermostats or with "bells and whistles" like Wi-Fi control).
3. No special controller is needed for humidity - in a properly set up "closed chamber" ambient humidity stays high enough without humidifiers/foggers/misters and such.

As of the enclosures, most PVC enclosures work fine. Vision cages are cast from HDPE with zero gaps, however don't hold heat well without additional insulation.
A forum member, Markw84, builds PVC enclosures called "Smart Enclosure" with pre-installed thermostats, lightning and heating. Another "killer feature" is double walls and double-glazed front doors: holds heat very well and reduces condensation greatly. Another thing is assembly without screws and ability to stitch two enclosures together to expand space. Dimensions (4x3 ft.) are well suited for tortoises.

No need to go for deep heat projector: ambient hot air and infrared-C from CHE or RHP are enough to maintain body temperature. Deep tissue heating is achieved with a basking lamp.

Sorry, to answer your question, the control center is to help, if I need to be gone and need a pet sitter in the future. Otherwise, I am home all the time. I often check humidity and temps through out the day. Looking for easy. I emailed Mark, so hopefully I can hear back. I use small humidifiers now because I live in CO and the humidity is around 20%. I have a dubia enclosure right now, but it is leaking like crazy. It can do for a little while until I can get a bigger and better enclosure. I do have Arcadia, and CHE. I really appreciate your wisdom and input. This is my first baby, but I know it won't be the last. I apologize if I don't always write well, I have a traumatic brain injury, so some things take me a bit. Thank you for your help!

 

[RandyTortoise]

Sorry, to answer your question, the control center is to help, if I need to be gone and need a pet sitter in the future. Otherwise, I am home all the time. I often check humidity and temps through out the day. Looking for easy. I emailed Mark, so hopefully I can hear back. I use small humidifiers now because I live in CO and the humidity is around 20%. I have a dubia enclosure right now, but it is leaking like crazy. It can do for a little while until I can get a bigger and better enclosure. I do have Arcadia, and CHE. I really appreciate your wisdom and input. This is my first baby, but I know it won't be the last. I apologize if I don't always write well, I have a traumatic brain injury, so some things take me a bit. Thank you for your help!

I ordered my smart enclosures from Mark in probably early may. So it is about a four month lead time as he makes them himself

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Sorry, to answer your question, the control center is to help, if I need to be gone and need a pet sitter in the future. Otherwise, I am home all the time. I often check humidity and temps through out the day. Looking for easy. I emailed Mark, so hopefully I can hear back. I use small humidifiers now because I live in CO and the humidity is around 20%. I have a dubia enclosure right now, but it is leaking like crazy. It can do for a little while until I can get a bigger and better enclosure. I do have Arcadia, and CHE. I really appreciate your wisdom and input. This is my first baby, but I know it won't be the last. I apologize if I don't always write well, I have a traumatic brain injury, so some things take me a bit. Thank you for your help!

No worries, I have no issues understanding what you write.

If you need something to control the environment when you are not at home, you can opt in to use "smart" devices: smart sockets and temperature sensors and any thermostat. And you can also add a web-camera (such as Amazon Blink, Wyze or Ring).

Probably, Dubia enclosure is leaking in the bottom if you haven't sealed the seams (aquarium-grade silicone works for that). If I remember, these enclosures have set of vents on each side - you can close them with a duct tape to reduce air flow. And then with a thick (4-6") layer of substrate (like orchid bark, cypress mulch or coco coir) there should be no issues with humidity. Live plants also help and provide enrichment and hides for your baby.

Please, don't hesitate to ask more questions!

 

[Lanutheleopard]

My smart enclosure is due to be delivered Monday. I will let you know what I think. I have leopards and have a massive unit ordered.

yes, that would be awesome!! Thank you!

 

[Lanutheleopard]

No worries, I have no issues understanding what you write.

If you need something to control the environment when you are not at home, you can opt in to use "smart" devices: smart sockets and temperature sensors and any thermostat. And you can also add a web-camera (such as Amazon Blink, Wyze or Ring).

Probably, Dubia enclosure is leaking in the bottom if you haven't sealed the seams (aquarium-grade silicone works for that). If I remember, these enclosures have set of vents on each side - you can close them with a duct tape to reduce air flow. And then with a thick (4-6") layer of substrate (like orchid bark, cypress mulch or coco coir) there should be no issues with humidity. Live plants also help and provide enrichment and hides for your baby.

Please, don't hesitate to ask more questions!

Great. I do use coco coir, topped with repti bark. I am growing arizona tortoise compound weed, grass and flower seeds and will put that in. Dubia does have side vents. I will duct tape. And I think I will have to seal the bottom. I do have a waggle camera that I bought to monitor my dogs and haven't used it, so I will put that inside. It is real time wifi. Thank you so much for your help. I reached out to Markw84 too. I have a feeling that this is just the beginning. My first leopard, but probably not my last. Thank you for your understanding! You are very kind!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

If you aren’t able to get ahold of one of marks(though honestly thats a top notch choice for a baby!) hopefully these links might give you some ideas

I made this thread based on the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, importance of a closed chamber for younger tortoises(only way to maintain the humidity you need, I wouldn’t recommend using humidifiers), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! I go over a greenhouse style set up here, but there’s definitely better options out there, I’ll add some more ideas below for closed chambers

Leopard/sulcata starter

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information below on how I’d personally tackle an indoor starter set up for a leopard/sulcata until they’re bigger. Hopefully it helps give people some ideas!” I know it looks like a lot to go over, I like to make sure all bases are covered...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes a variety of closed chamber options, some definitely more efficient than others, maybe they’ll come in handy at some point

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hopefully some of it comes in useful for you