She doesn't really wander in the garden in winter unless it’s a really warm sunny day. I have a 150w ceramic heat emitter, permanently on now; background tube heater permanently on; desert strength strip light overhead, on for 8 hours; 150w spot lamp on for 8 hrs. I have a WiFi thermometer and WiFi camera in there so I can see the temp 24/7. There is straw down and the doorway has a plastic strip curtain. I’ve put a window pane in made of Perspex. The dog kennel is raised up on a pallet so I built her a ramp. I maintain the overnight temp over 17 degrees Celsius and the basking spot is high 30’s. Yes it probably costs a fortune but she deserves the best I can give her. She is 7 and still growing. She won’t eat hay so I grow/buy kale and she has at least 4 types of greens a day. I cut up cuttlefish fish and provide pellet food too. She is over 33 pounds and about 20 inches over the length of her shell. She was 2 inches long when I first met her and I had no idea that she would grow to this size!
As far as I know, Leopard tortoises should be kept at 26-27C at night to avoid health issues. And CHEs and heat lamps are not very effective for heating large tortoises (they can heat up only top of the shell but not the body core). Usually, a combination of a heat mat (pig blanket) and radiant heat panel or oil-filled radiator are used.
As you provide a full-fledged basking area with a heat lamp and UVB strip, you may opt for a heat mat (so tortoise is warmed up from below when basking) and an oil-filled radiator instead of CHE (to keep minimal ambient temperature at 26-27C and avoid desiccating effect on her shell).
I like the idea with Perspex, especially if sun shines through during the day.
It seems to me, that UVB lamp is approximately 3 ft over the floor and it's a T8 lamp without a reflector. If so, it barely provides required level of UVB.
Sorry but I wasn't asking for advice! In my country the use of 'pig blankets' is not encouraged for torts.
She gets UVB from both the T8 and her reptile basking bulb actually, which I change regularly. I have to have bigger wattage during English winters where the temps can drop to minus 4 where I live but only infrequently. Her house (and roof) is insulated with reflective foil and the flooring is black and gets really warm.
She is 7 and weighs over 33 pounds...her vet was amazed at her because he had never seen a Leopard that big. I have background heat on a thermostat to maintain 19-20 degrees heat overnight which seems to suit her. In the summer she seeks out damp cool places to sleep out of choice, but due to the threat from rats, I have to retrieve her from out of the bushes to lock her safely in her house at night. I give her natural herbal worming pellets for a few days mixed with her dry food a couple of times a year.
The desert in South Africa gets cold at night so Leopards hide in burrows I think. Constant damp cold weather is the enemy and that is the UK in winter
I was hoping to connect with other UK tort keepers here to see how they get through winters.
Sorry but I wasn't asking for advice! In my country the use of 'pig blankets' is not encouraged for torts.
She gets UVB from both the T8 and her reptile basking bulb actually, which I change regularly. I have to have bigger wattage during English winters where the temps can drop to minus 4 where I live but only infrequently. Her house (and roof) is insulated with reflective foil and the flooring is black and gets really warm.
She is 7 and weighs over 33 pounds...her vet was amazed at her because he had never seen a Leopard that big. I have background heat on a thermostat to maintain 19-20 degrees heat overnight which seems to suit her. In the summer she seeks out damp cool places to sleep out of choice, but due to the threat from rats, I have to retrieve her from out of the bushes to lock her safely in her house at night. I give her natural herbal worming pellets for a few days mixed with her dry food a couple of times a year.
The desert in South Africa gets cold at night so Leopards hide in burrows I think. Constant damp cold weather is the enemy and that is the UK in winter
I was hoping to connect with other UK tort keepers here to see how they get through winters.
I didn't want to offend you in any way. Sorry, if it sounded like that.
There are active members from UK. You can make a thread in "Introductions" section to engage them in a conversarion. However, some unsolicited advise will be given anyway - the forum is public and that's how it works
