CHE placement

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Okay, thank you for clearing that up for me is the place I circled for the CHE alright?

That looks fine to me

 

[Tom]

Can’t she simply get a 600w thermostat I’ve already recommended to her and set it to the night temp?

Yes. Yes she can. But if she heats her house in winter to 20-21C already, then it isn't needed, unless she needs more daytime ambient heat to get daytime temps up.

The day and night thermostats only cost around $30 US. They aren't more expensive unless you are buying the high dollar programmable digital proportional types, which are much more expensive and not needed in this case.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Yes. Yes she can. But if she heats her house in winter to 20-21C already, then it isn't needed, unless she needs more daytime ambient heat to get daytime temps up.

The day and night thermostats only cost around $30 US. They aren't more expensive unless you are buying the high dollar programmable digital proportional types, which are much more expensive and not needed in this case.

Yeah what I’m saying is, especially with cost of living here lmaopeople here don’t necessarily have the whole of their house heated to that during our cold winters

When looking for night&day thermostats here in the uk all the ones I saw were more expensive, she’ll have a job finding cheaper I reckon

 

[Natalie44]

She’s doing a great job by making sure she’s getting everything set and running beforehand and asking lots of all the right questions bless her
Taking all the advice here

Thank you! yes, I wanna make sure I get it right before the little guy…or girl lol arrives I told my mate the other day all the equipment I’m getting for the tortoise, and he said “can’t you just stick it in a box with some lettuce” remind me to never let him look after my tortoise

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you! yes, I wanna make sure I get it right before the little guy…or girl lol arrives I told my mate the other day all the equipment I’m getting for the tortoise, and he said “can’t you just stick it in a box with some lettuce” remind me to never let him look after my tortoise

lol oh gosh, to think that’s how so many people take the approach is scary! People who don’t do the research you’re doing.. it’s so sad
I’m super excited for you!! Can’t wait to see pics of your new baby!!

 

[Natalie44]

That looks fine to me

Awesome

 

[Natalie44]

This arrived! Someone please remind me which uvb level is needed?
X

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

This arrived! Someone please remind me which uvb level is needed?
X

Oh wow! I love you have one of those! I’m still saving!
I’d recommend aricadia 12% mounted 18-21 inches from substrate, but your meter will let you know exactly what level for your enclosure, it’s a great buy that!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

This arrived! Someone please remind me which uvb level is needed?
X

If I remember correctly, you should be looking at 1.0 – 2.6 UVI (Ferguson zone 3) and 3-4 UVI at max (basking spot). There should be 0 UVI in the main hide.

 

[Natalie44]

Oh wow! I love you have one of those! I’m still saving!
I’d recommend aricadia 12% mounted 18-21 inches from substrate, but your meter will let you know exactly what level for your enclosure, it’s a great buy that!

They’re a lot of money aren’t they! But I’ve been told it’s invaluable as without it’s just a guessing game. The only way I was able to afford it was going halves with my partner lol and thank you for answering my questions today. Appreciate it

If I remember correctly, you should be looking at 1.0 – 2.6 UVI (Ferguson zone 3) and 3-4 UVI at max (basking spot). There should be 0 UVI in the main hide.

okay great. What if you only have it on for 3-4 hours in the day?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

They’re a lot of money aren’t they! But I’ve been told it’s invaluable as without it’s just a guessing game. The only way I was able to afford it was going halves with my partner lol and thank you for answering my questions today. Appreciate it

okay great. What if you only have it on for 3-4 hours in the day?

They arebut yes absolutely worth the money! Uv is so vital for them so it’s great to have a way to actually measure it. No problem at all
The later still applies with it being on 3-5 hours

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

They’re a lot of money aren’t they! But I’ve been told it’s invaluable as without it’s just a guessing game. The only way I was able to afford it was going halves with my partner lol and thank you for answering my questions today. Appreciate it

okay great. What if you only have it on for 3-4 hours in the day?

Aim for 3.5 Lower than 3 may not trigger biochemical reactions, 4 is unlikely needed because 24W is long for that enclosure size and it's hard to achieve good UV gradient. You may place a bit more (extra inch) substrate at the basking zone to make UV exposure more gradual. If it's 4 near the basking lamp and 2.5 on the other end of tube - that's fine. With a Solarmeter you will see how a small change in distance affects UV level. The device should be pointed straight up in the tube. It is 4.2 inches long, so you have to dig a hole in substrate to do the measurement or measure first and add substrate later.

 

[Tom]

Yeah what I’m saying is, especially with cost of living here lmaopeople here don’t necessarily have the whole of their house heated to that during our cold winters

When looking for night&day thermostats here in the uk all the ones I saw were more expensive, she’ll have a job finding cheaper I reckon

Do you have Amazon in the UK? That's where a lot of us over here find these things.

Prior to joining this tortoise forum, I didn't realize that people in the UK kept their houses so cold. Over here, everyone heats their home in winter. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the vast majority of people do. I set my thermostat to 20C in winter. We have hot summers, so we have to cool our homes during the heat. Most of summer it gets up to around 37C every day, and I set the home AC to about 24. We get rare summer hot spells up to 47C, but that is unusual. The usual daytime high in summer is 36-43.

Anyhow, I suppose if you grew up knowing nothing else, you'd just accept that kind of cold in your house. Not me. I like it warm. So do my animals.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Do you have Amazon in the UK? That's where a lot of us over here find these things.

Prior to joining this tortoise forum, I didn't realize that people in the UK kept their houses so cold. Over here, everyone heats their home in winter. I'm sure there are exceptions, but the vast majority of people do. I set my thermostat to 20C in winter. We have hot summers, so we have to cool our homes during the heat. Most of summer it gets up to around 37C every day, and I set the home AC to about 24. We get rare summer hot spells up to 47C, but that is unusual. The usual daytime high in summer is 36-43.

Anyhow, I suppose if you grew up knowing nothing else, you'd just accept that kind of cold in your house. Not me. I like it warm. So do my animals.

We do but again the day&night ones on there with UK plugs are more expensive from what I saw, the cheaper ones I’m seeing don’t say what watt they are, but maybe I’m not searching properly. Either way though I don’t think she’ll need her che on a day setting if it’ll only really kick in on cold nights here?

Lol we do have chilly houses during winterfor the most part it’s cause we’re climatized to it, but a huge part for a lot of people is the cost of heating prices here! Our government is a state, has been circling a drain for a while

 

[Natalie44]

Aim for 3.5 Lower than 3 may not trigger biochemical reactions, 4 is unlikely needed because 24W is long for that enclosure size and it's hard to achieve good UV gradient. You may place a bit more (extra inch) substrate at the basking zone to make UV exposure more gradual. If it's 4 near the basking lamp and 2.5 on the other end of tube - that's fine. With a Solarmeter you will see how a small change in distance affects UV level. The device should be pointed straight up in the tube. It is 4.2 inches long, so you have to dig a hole in substrate to do the measurement or measure first and add substrate later.

Thank you for the help I aimed for a uv reading of 6.0 as I’m only going to have it on for 3-4 hours. So I can’t place the solar metre on top of the substrate and then measure?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you for the help I aimed for a uv reading of 6.0 as I’m only going to have it on for 3-4 hours. So I can’t place the solar metre on top of the substrate and then measure?

Ahhhh things are really starting to come together now!! So exciting!! Is it just your CHE and topper you have left to install now? You got your temp&humidity monitors all set up?
From what I remember @Alex and the Redfoot telling me, you need to lay it so the sensor is level with the substrate? I could be remembering wrong though so bare with and hopefully he’ll get back to you shortly

 

[Natalie44]

Ahhhh things are really starting to come together now!! So exciting!! Is it just your CHE and topper you have left to install now? You got your temp&humidity monitors all set up?
From what I remember @Alex and the Redfoot telling me, you need to lay it so the sensor is level with the substrate? I could be remembering wrong though so bare with and hopefully he’ll get back to you shortly

I know right yea, the CHE and topper to go, then I’m all done! I have indeed, and I’ve ordered a temp gun aswell to get a more accurate reading. Yea, I read Tom talking about him digging a hole so the solar meter is at shell level. At shell level it was around a 4.5. As I’m aiming for a 6 I might lower the uvb light a little. Can I see your set up?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

I know right yea, the CHE and topper to go, then I’m all done! I have indeed, and I’ve ordered a temp gun aswell to get a more accurate reading. Yea, I read Tom talking about him digging a hole so the solar meter is at shell level. At shell level it was around a 4.5. As I’m aiming for a 6 I might lower the uvb light a little. Can I see your set up?

Woooo! You’ve done great! Can’t wait to meet your little guy once you’re 100% set
Fair enough sounds goodI do believe 4.5 is an adequate reading for a herman mind, correct me if I’m wrong? @Alex and the Redfoot @Tom

Yes absolutely! Just bare in mind our set ups are very different because our species have such different needs, so I wouldn’t take inspiration on the equipment side of things, but perhaps you’ll like seeing the decorshe has a few faux plants, but tbh faux wouldn’t have been my personal choice, she belongs to my moms partner, so has been used to faux plants since being a baby and has luckily never show interest in them, I’m working on getting some live ones in there though currentlyalso that corner water dish is paired with a large terracotta, I wouldn’t recommend a dish like it for a smaller tortoise like your herman

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Oh also never feed your guy fruit like you see in my pics! Squirt is a fruit eating species

 

[Tom]

I know right yea, the CHE and topper to go, then I’m all done! I have indeed, and I’ve ordered a temp gun aswell to get a more accurate reading. Yea, I read Tom talking about him digging a hole so the solar meter is at shell level. At shell level it was around a 4.5. As I’m aiming for a 6 I might lower the uvb light a little. Can I see your set up?

4.5 is good!