Greenhouse cover for indoor enclosure

Theo2002

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I have found this greenhouse cover and was wondering if it would be effective in holding heat and humidity in my tortoise table?
Also can anyone confirm it would be safe to use with my CHE as I don’t want to burn my house down lol4F7E8801-72EC-4F71-AADF-5368E594974F.png
 

Maro2Bear

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At 30cm high, thats a pretty good distance, but you have to figure in your current enclosure’s height AND how you will hang your heater & lights, etc. Seems like you can adapt this. It will definitely help to keep both heat and humidity inside.
 

Theo2002

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At 30cm high, thats a pretty good distance, but you have to figure in your current enclosure’s height AND how you will hang your heater & lights, etc. Seems like you can adapt this. It will definitely help to keep both heat and humidity inside.
Okay thankyou, I’ll probably go for it then.
 

Theo2002

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passwordstaco

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I use the one Karen linked and it has been working well. Here is a photo to see my layout:
PXL_20201119_192542265.MP.jpg

I do not have much experience with other enclosures, so hard to compare but I can give you some notes on what I deal with.

The heat is handled wonderfully. I used to have an open top enclosure before and it was really hard to control the temperature without heating up the entire room. With this setup, I can have it 95+ in the enclosure and 75 in the room easily. Heat does escape and the room is still the hottest in my house, but it was nothing like it was with the open enclosure where I had to have the room around the same temperature to maintain it.

Because the lamps are hanging on the steel bar at the top, it really doesnt warp anything due to the heat. The plastic cover is also designed to be out in the sun, so it is pretty sturdy for this use case.

Humidity is an odd one. I also use a CHE. So whenever I turn the heat off, the humidity rises really easily. But when the heat is on, it is really hard to maintain the 80% without having to constantly spray it down. It is still way better than the open, but still requires a bit of maintenance.

I tried using a fogger, but my tortoise started to behave very differently. Like would burrow into the ground and almost hibernate, not eat, hide right away when I gave him a bath. Once I stopped, normal behavior picked back up so I stopped using it. But as far as effectiveness of the fogger, I was able to keep 80%+ super easily with no maintenance. Too bad it didn't work out for me :(
 

Theo2002

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I use the one Karen linked and it has been working well. Here is a photo to see my layout:
View attachment 311488

I do not have much experience with other enclosures, so hard to compare but I can give you some notes on what I deal with.

The heat is handled wonderfully. I used to have an open top enclosure before and it was really hard to control the temperature without heating up the entire room. With this setup, I can have it 95+ in the enclosure and 75 in the room easily. Heat does escape and the room is still the hottest in my house, but it was nothing like it was with the open enclosure where I had to have the room around the same temperature to maintain it.

Because the lamps are hanging on the steel bar at the top, it really doesnt warp anything due to the heat. The plastic cover is also designed to be out in the sun, so it is pretty sturdy for this use case.

Humidity is an odd one. I also use a CHE. So whenever I turn the heat off, the humidity rises really easily. But when the heat is on, it is really hard to maintain the 80% without having to constantly spray it down. It is still way better than the open, but still requires a bit of maintenance.

I tried using a fogger, but my tortoise started to behave very differently. Like would burrow into the ground and almost hibernate, not eat, hide right away when I gave him a bath. Once I stopped, normal behavior picked back up so I stopped using it. But as far as effectiveness of the fogger, I was able to keep 80%+ super easily with no maintenance. Too bad it didn't work out for me :(
Okay great, I bought the one I showed, should arrive in a few days. Hopefully it works for me as well as it does you, sounds a lot better :)
As long as the humidity is easy enough to keep on top of lol
 

Theo2002

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So I’ve setup the greenhouse enclosure, I’m slightly worried that the che might be a fire hazard. I’m gonna get a dome for it too.
also will my tortoise suffocate lol?image.jpg
 

passwordstaco

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Do you have an surge protector with a temperature monitor/auto shut off? If so, probably will not be a problem. I do have a dome on all mine though so the direct heat does downward, so maybe a good idea.

One concern I have with your setup is the humidity. You will probably be able to control it but the dew or condensation from the humidity + heat will dampen your carpet. I built my enclosure so that the cover sits on top, but still get a bit of water dripping here any there. I think the idea set up is to have it inside sitting on a stand so the water never escapes.
 

Theo2002

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Do you have an surge protector with a temperature monitor/auto shut off? If so, probably will not be a problem. I do have a dome on all mine though so the direct heat does downward, so maybe a good idea.

One concern I have with your setup is the humidity. You will probably be able to control it but the dew or condensation from the humidity + heat will dampen your carpet. I built my enclosure so that the cover sits on top, but still get a bit of water dripping here any there. I think the idea set up is to have it inside sitting on a stand so the water never escapes.
I have a thermostat for my CHE if that’s similar to what you mean?
Yeah that definitely makes sense, I’ll have to see how it is, don’t want my carpet to get damp.
 

GMDVM

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I think raising your enclosure will allow heat to circulate better. I really like your idea of a greenhouse tent. My Western Hermann is still small so I use a shower curtain over the entire light stand. Next size enclosure I will definitely buy one of these
 

KarenSoCal

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@passwordstaco @KarenSoCal

What are you guys using for a tray for the 71" x 36" greenhouse? I haven't been able to find anything long and deep enough (except for $300+ pond liners/industrial paint trays).

I think some of the smaller greenhouses come with a tray. For the ones that don't, maybe they use a tarp? Let's ask someone who uses these..

@Srmcclure What do you use?
 

Srmcclure

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I think some of the smaller greenhouses come with a tray. For the ones that don't, maybe they use a tarp? Let's ask someone who uses these..

@Srmcclure What do you use?
So I’ve setup the greenhouse enclosure, I’m slightly worried that the che might be a fire hazard. I’m gonna get a dome for it too.
also will my tortoise suffocate lol?

I use the tarps you drape over your boat or jetski so they are thicker and i got them from amazon with prime really cheap ?
What I would do in your case is get cheap 2x4's and make a frame that fits the outside of that greenhouse snuggly then lay the tarp on the floor and over the frame then set everything back on top like you have it. It should keep all the moisture contained pretty well at that point. If your paranoid like me, you can also get those thinner plywood sheets and slide it under it all for an extra layer
02_waterproof membrane.jpg
(Frame with tarp)
upclose2__23718.1479754947.jpg
And Instead of on top, id fit the greenhouse on the inside of the wooden frame so there is kind of like a seal to trap that moisture inside.
Hopefully I'm making sense lol

My main concern would be how well that tortoise table will hold up to moisture coming at it from all sides lol.
And your right, a dome on that CHE would be best for sure.
 

Theo2002

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I use the tarps you drape over your boat or jetski so they are thicker and i got them from amazon with prime really cheap ?
What I would do in your case is get cheap 2x4's and make a frame that fits the outside of that greenhouse snuggly then lay the tarp on the floor and over the frame then set everything back on top like you have it. It should keep all the moisture contained pretty well at that point. If your paranoid like me, you can also get those thinner plywood sheets and slide it under it all for an extra layer
View attachment 311817
(Frame with tarp)
View attachment 311818
And Instead of on top, id fit the greenhouse on the inside of the wooden frame so there is kind of like a seal to trap that moisture inside.
Hopefully I'm making sense lol

My main concern would be how well that tortoise table will hold up to moisture coming at it from all sides lol.
And your right, a dome on that CHE would be best for sure.
Yeah that’s a great idea! The condensation actually hasn’t seemed to be much of an issue yet, I’ve had more of an issue with heating the space up ?. Once it reaches the temp it should be at though it does a great job keeping it in.
Keeping a tortoise is definitely a case of Trial and error, especially here in the UK.
Do you think the dome for my CHE would help heat it up better? I feel like it would still struggle due to it being a large area
 

passwordstaco

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I built my own enclosure out of wood @Armadillogroomer

In hindsight, I think the wood is making the humidity control a bit harder, but I was a little over ambitious with my first tortoise. Probably better to find something plastic or cover the entire thing in a plastic tarp like the picture above.
 

Maro2Bear

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Yeah that’s a great idea! The condensation actually hasn’t seemed to be much of an issue yet, I’ve had more of an issue with heating the space up ?. Once it reaches the temp it should be at though it does a great job keeping it in.
Keeping a tortoise is definitely a case of Trial and error, especially here in the UK.
Do you think the dome for my CHE would help heat it up better? I feel like it would still struggle due to it being a large area

You can always use larger wattage CHEs and always can use more than one. In one of my first enclosures, I had a “small” CHE far left, and one CHE far right. A basking light in the center. The combo of CHEs and bulbs helped maintain good overall ambient temps.

CHEs vary here from 40 - 250 watts. http://www.lllreptile.com/catalog/173-nighttime-heat-bulbs
 

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