I currently have a 4x3x3 greenhouse I am keeping my Aldabra in. I am debating on ordering a computer fan and hanging it in the enclosure to create air movement. I am planning on mounting it inside the enclosure. Should I cut the plastic and mount the computer fan against it to bring in fresh air or am I ok just moving the air around the enclosure? I am probably worrying about nothing but just think it might be more comfortable and make temperatures more homogeneous through out the enclosure.
Circulation inside enclosure
- Thread starter Andy27012
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Frankly I don't know, BUT my opinion is...I sure would hate that if I were a tort in that table. He doesn't care at all if his air is moving...And I kinda think it would make it harder to keep the temperature constant thru the whole table. I don't think I could have a hot area, then a savanna then another hot basking area...But if the air is constantly coming in the table cool, my hot bulbs or che or what have you are staying on...you're moving the hot basking area and I bet the hot stuff stays on...
Are there windows in the greenhouse you can open ajar to get fresh air in? Moving same air around is not going to be useful?
You would not want to bring in outside air with the fan. You would never be able to keep the humidity high enough.
If it were me I wouldn’t worry about moving the air around in this enclosure, you are going to need progressively larger ones in the near future, maybe add that feature later?
I circulate the air in our outdoor night houses but the intention there is to move all that expensive heat from the ceiling to the floor.
If it were me I wouldn’t worry about moving the air around in this enclosure, you are going to need progressively larger ones in the near future, maybe add that feature later?
I circulate the air in our outdoor night houses but the intention there is to move all that expensive heat from the ceiling to the floor.
Word for word, I agree with everything the dd33 said.
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He's an awesome tortoise
He looks great. Your life would be a lot easier if your CHE was set on e thermostat, and the daytime bulb was set on a timer.
Here is a general breakdown of the heating and lighting. The basking bulb is less important for an Aldabra than for other species, but the rest of the info applies:
Here is a breakdown of the four heating and lighting essentials:
- Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
- Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night. Some people in colder climates or with larger enclosures will need multiple CHEs or RHPs to spread out enough heat.
- Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
- UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.
All heat sources are run off of a herpstat 4 and I will for sure get another timer for the second light. I was unaware they only need a couple of hours of full spectrum a day, is
three sufficient? I keep the big thermometer in there because I am paranoid about ambient air vs near heat source temps.
