Enclosed enclosure help

Wright78

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I have adopted a leopard tortoise named Charlie months ago. Charlie weighs 228 G and fits in the palm of my hand. I am not sure on the age? I am having a custom pvc enclosure made by Herptastic Reptiles. Its going to be a 4' X 8' X 30" high enclosure. I am having two 3' arcadia t-5 fixtures installed and 4 ceramic lamp fixtures. My question is what would be the best source of heat for the enclosure CHE, RHP or bulbs? Also how many do you think will be needed in a cage this size? Reptile basics is having a 20% off sale on RHP till this Monday. Thanks and Happy New Year.
 
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Yvonne G

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Since the fluorescent tube light and it's ballast puts out heat, the closed chamber really doesn't need much more than a RHP. My Vision cage is about 2'x3' and one fluorescent bulb and one RHP is all that's needed to keep it as warm as I want it.
 

Wright78

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Since the fluorescent tube light and it's ballast puts out heat, the closed chamber really doesn't need much more than a RHP. My Vision cage is about 2'x3' and one fluorescent bulb and one RHP is all that's needed to keep it as warm as I want it.

Yvonne what size should I get? Reptile basics sells a 40, 80, 120 watt. I will plug it in to my VE-300X2 thermostat. Should I mount it to one side of the enclosure?
 

Yvonne G

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You'd have to ask @Will as he's the one who set up my enclosure. And we use the RHP as the roof of a cave. It's set on bricks in a back corner:

closed chamber 4-22-18 b.jpg
 

Tom

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There are four elements to heating and lighting:

  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt floods from the hardware store. I run them on a timer and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them.
  2. 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. You'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT.
  3. Light. I use florescent tubes or LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most tubes at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. If you want it anyway, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height.
For your application, an 80 watt RHP would likely be enough to cover number 2 above.
 

CALM Pythons

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A 80 watt RHP wont give you a 80 degree ambient throughout a entire 8’ enclosure. I have several Animal Plastics (AP) enclosures from 4’ to 8’ all 30”deep and 24” H and my 4’ enclosures use 120 watt Pro Panels and my 8’ enclosures use 2 Pro Panels. One on each end. One RHP set to 90 and the other set to 80. I use Herpstats to run them. The 4’ enclosures are set to 90 on the Hotside and that gives me a 80 degree cool side. The room temp your enclosures are in need to be considered. Any room that falls below 65 degrees may need a higher wattage RHP. My home is set to 66 year round for heat and central air.
I first bought all 88 watt Pro Panels and Bob let me return them (Owner of Pro Products) and replaced them with 120 watt RHP’s. The 88 were great for the Hot Side but at night my cool sides dropped to low for me to feel comfortable, they would get down to 73 degrees and I’m compulsive about husbandry.
 

Yvonne G

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A 80 watt RHP wont give you a 80 degree ambient throughout a entire 8’ enclosure. I have several Animal Plastics (AP) enclosures from 4’ to 8’ all 30”deep and 24” H and my 4’ enclosures use 120 watt Pro Panels and my 8’ enclosures use 2 Pro Panels. One on each end. One RHP set to 90 and the other set to 80. I use Herpstats to run them. The 4’ enclosures are set to 90 on the Hotside and that gives me a 80 degree cool side. The room temp your enclosures are in need to be considered. Any room that falls below 65 degrees may need a higher wattage RHP. My home is set to 66 year round for heat and central air.
I first bought all 88 watt Pro Panels and Bob let me return them (Owner of Pro Products) and replaced them with 120 watt RHP’s. The 88 were great for the Hot Side but at night my cool sides dropped to low for me to feel comfortable, they would get down to 73 degrees and I’m compulsive about husbandry.

I boxed mine in with rigid foam. It helps immensely in keeping the enclosure warm in the cooler winter house.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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I have adopted a leopard tortoise named Charlie months ago. Charlie weighs 228 G and fits in the palm of my hand. I am not sure on the age? I am having a custom pvc enclosure made by Herptastic Reptiles. Its going to be a 4' X 8' X 30" high enclosure. I am having two 3' arcadia t-5 fixtures installed and 4 ceramic lamp fixtures. My question is what would be the best source of heat for the enclosure CHE, RHP or bulbs? Also how many do you think will be needed in a cage this size? Reptile basics is having a 20% off sale on RHP till this Monday. Thanks and Happy New Year.

For this size enclosure I'd suggest two or three lower watt RHP. That's a large space you have, and one large panels even the largest will not heat as well as two or three lower wattage panels - in that you can place the panels at different places to offer a more 'zonal' heat, than just a hot and not-hot area.

I heat night houses this way, which serves two purposes, 1) if a single heater goes out, some heat is still being applied, and 2), as they are mounted on the walls at tortoise level, the tortoises can press against them or just be near them.

I use 18 inch tall enclosures so reduce the 'heat rising' away from the tortoises. You might consider a small 'muffin fan, in one corner blowing down onto a water tray, they you'll get a more uniform heat and humidity through the enclosure. By using one heat panel to make a cave, as in the image Yvonne posted, the tortoises can still have 'still' air. You might consider plants for your enclosure as well, being as tall as it is they should do better than what I can accomplish in the 18 inch height.
 

Kapidolo Farms

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View attachment 263297

This is what I am thinking. @Will @Tom @Yvonne G
Will I need any other lighting like LED?
Any other suggestions?
It looks like a good layout. You definatly need to use thermostats. Maybe three, one for under the basking spot for highest daytime (in line after a timer). And another for the RHP near the basking light to increase the zonal effect (i dont think it wouls be a good idea or maybe even possible to have the basking light and the RHP plugged into one thermostat. Them the two RHP (away from the basking light) set for you minimum ambient temp.
 

Wright78

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It looks like a good layout. You definatly need to use thermostats. Maybe three, one for under the basking spot for highest daytime (in line after a timer). And another for the RHP near the basking light to increase the zonal effect (i dont think it wouls be a good idea or maybe even possible to have the basking light and the RHP plugged into one thermostat. Them the two RHP (away from the basking light) set for you minimum ambient temp.

@Will
I have a VE-300X2 I was going to use to control the 2 RHP to the left side and keep them at 80 degrees constantly. I have a VE-300 that I was going to use for the right side RHP to keep 95 degrees during the day and down to 80 at night. The basking bulb I was going to control with another thermostat that I have. I may also add some LED lighting to the front of the tank to light it up more. I appreciate all of the feedback.
 

PA2019

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Looks great so far! I see the basking light fixture is the Arcadia pro model that I was looking at.

Could you please tell me the length of it from where it screws into the pvc to the end of the ceramic housing? Thanks!
 

Wright78

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Looks great so far! I see the basking light fixture is the Arcadia pro model that I was looking at.

Could you please tell me the length of it from where it screws into the pvc to the end of the ceramic housing? Thanks!

IMG_1549763693.006979.jpg
Does this help? I’m measuring about 3 3/4 inches long. The camera was angled it is 3 3/4.
 

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